General: Washington DC

I am not a city lover, but there are a few exceptions and Washington D.C is definitely one! I have been lucky enough to visit Washington on 4 occasions now so feel I know it quite well. Like any city it pays to do your homework prior to visiting to enable you to get the best from your visit. I hope my review will be useful to anyone planning a visit. Getting there. *********** Getting to Washington from the U.K is not cheap. Fares vary enormously ...
...from Heathrow to Dulles airport and paid about £250 in December 2000. I have checked the fares for 2005 and was quoted £377.00 including taxes and fees to fly in June; again with B.A. The fees are now £96, partly due to a massive increase in the cost of security. The flight takes about 7 hours. On arrival expect to queue for at least an hour to get through immigration. We have young children and I usually have a new comic or other small new surprise ...

anwar 22.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

It's amazing how people take for granted all of the tourist sights in the city they live in. You know they will always be there, so you can always go next weekend, right? I admit was guilty of this for the eight years I lived in Washington, D.C. The only time I would bother to go to a tourist attraction is when a friend or relative from out of town came to visit. However, after I moved away from D.C. a year ago, I decided to go back and see the ...
...is a city unlike any other in the U.S. This is true literally and figuratively-it's not an official state, because the founders of the U.S. wanted it to be a separate place for the federal government to convene, and not get tied up in state politics. But now that it has 550,000 residents within the city, not to mention the thousands that live in the surrounding areas, that theory seems pretty out of touch. However, all attempts to make D.C. a proper ...

alana123 24.03.2006 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Visiting Washington DC while both Britain and the USA are engaged in a contentious armed conflict overseas could perhaps be seen as poor timing. However, the trip in question was business and could not therefore be rescheduled. Naturally, much of the television and radio news is given over to reports of the war in Iraq – or as CNN title it: War in Iraq (in titles the style of which Hollywood circa 1956 would have been proud) and much of the weekend ...
...to do with hoisting banners and placards aloft, rather than the more normal seasonal activity of hoisting kites aloft – though there was still a fair bit of the latter going on; kids aren’t much for politics, and parents, no matter how strongly motivated aren’t going to deny their offspring the chance to gallop around trailing a multi-coloured dragon or similar behind them. Demonstrations here in DC are small, fairly well-mannered affairs. This ...

stevethesleeve 04.04.2003 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Weren't things easy under the old world order? You could travel to Washington D.C. and believe that you had arrived in the capital of the free world. Eyes wide open, you would walk along Capitol Hill, the Mall and the various memorials of former Presidents, and adore the achievements of the great American nation. So it was when I first visited Washington as a child with my parents back in 1984. I was impressed, to say the least, of the great sights ...
...Smithsonian Institution put almost every other city on earth to shame, White House and Capitol Hill are impressive monuments of the American democracy, and the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials combine great architecture with beautiful surroundings and a historical aura. In July 1997 I returned to Washington to attend parts of the official visit of Georgian President Edward Schewardnadze to the United States, and had some extra days for ...

From_The_Continent 28.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

I recently visited Washington D.C. after a conference I'd attended in Baltimore. After the nightmare I'd experienced there, I was keen to go somewhere else! So, I flung myself on a train to Washington D.C., which is about 40 miles away from Baltimore. This is my experiences of a day and a half visit. I took the train from Penn Station in the North of Baltimore. Marc trains run infrequently to Washington, although you can get yourself a seat on one ...
...this, as it's much safer and quicker. After a 45 minute trip, I reached Union Station in D.C. What a building! It's very stylised, and the central area has a lovely decorated ceiling (not to be missed….). I went to get a taxi out to my accomodation. I'd booked myself a single room in a hostel near the Foggy Bottom (no sniggering at the back, please) area of the city. I reached it quickly. One interesting point about D.C. taxi's is the pricing structure. ...

Saltire 16.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

I haven't had many really touristic holidays in my life. I usually worked or studied in towns where I lived, and didn't have enough money to visit just the right places. My only really sightseeing holiday has to be my three-weeks stay in Rockville, Maryland, where I didn't know what to do and went to Washington, D.C. almost every day. I took the metro, which is very nice and clean, - nothing too artistic I should say, nothing to do with Moscow-like ...
...What really surprises you in Washington, D.C. is the abundance of squireels and seagulls virtually everywhere. Squirrels are a marvel. Grey, unlike the European ones, and very sweet, they come to see you in groups whenever you sit down at a park bench and usually end up eating your French fries or whatever eatable you had on you. They let you caress them and want food, so they are fat and very popular among the Japanese and other tourists. The other ...

happy_hamster 20.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

So my American adventure is over (thank God). What did I reckon to the land of the free then? Well seeing as how you're reading this op then it's a good bet that I actually managed to write a review of my time there, and is it's in the Washington DC section then it's also a fair bet that it was there that I went. Well worked out Watson, now to crime itself... Exiled to the states for a 2 week business trip, my itinerary meant that I'd only have ...
...was short I only went to and and I'm only covering central Washington. If you're after the definitive guide to Washington as a whole then you'll be sadly disappointed but hopefully there'll be enough here to convince you that a trip to the US capitol is worth/not worth it*. Be warned, this is detailed in more a diary style than a straight review style, but you know me, I'll ramble off topic all over the place and only maybe occasionally actually ...

TheNeil 06.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Last weekend I spent some time in the exotically named town of Intercourse, PA. This weekend I needed a change of pace, so I went to D.C. because it’s (a) only an hour from here and (b) somewhere people have heard of and so are willing to talk about. If I start work conversations with “Tell me about Intercourse” I get funny looks, but with “Tell me about D.C.” I don’t. So, I decided to go. I went on Friday after work and didn’t get back until late ...
...plus point was that I was encouraged to spend as much time as possible out doing stuff rather than lolling around there. My first stop was the Old Town Trolley Tour. Usually $26, I had a free ticket so spent almost all the day hopping on and off, listing to useful and entertaining facts about the people and buildings of the city. I went round the national cathedral, complete with stained glass window dedicated to the Apollo astronauts (it contains ...

zoe_page 23.06.2004 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Well now that my reviews for Chicago and Las Vegas have been completed I guess its time to move onto my third stop, don't worry only two more stops after this, in what was an amazing summer. The next leg of my journey took me to the state capital of Washington DC. The roots of American democracy and the political capital of the world. This was actually my last stop before coming back home, however I just felt like writing about this now. I had pre ...
...with American Airlines from Chicago; it set me back about £150, which for a peak time in mid July was not bad what so ever. Having stayed in DC for a week this review will focus more on the sights and places I visited, if I forget to mention the obvious places to see its because I didn't really go their and I therefore don't see the need to mention something I have no idea about. Rather tell the truth than lie, so enjoy. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ...

jaygami1986 29.01.2008 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Washington DC was the first stop on our four week tour of the East Coast of the USA. We flew from Glasgow to Boston on Northwest airlines and got an internal flight to Washington where we picked up a hire car. We arrived on a Sunday (no traffic – quite quiet) and because Washington is laid out in a grid pattern thought it would be the easiest thing in the world to find our hotel – the Days Inn on K Street. Nothing could be further from ...
...into the normal grid system and proved difficult to find. Within 30 minutes of picking up our hire car we were driving across The Mall and seeing sights such as the Washington memorial and the Capitol from the car window –we were still seeing these sights an hour later as we drove in circles around Washington. Eventually, having found the hotel and parked the car in the underground parking lot, we freshened up and decided to dine in the hotel. ...

Donald 13.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Dear Everyone: Due to circumstances, I have decided to leave Ciao and all other opinionating sites. I have enjoyed the time I have spend here and just wanted to tell everyone goodbye. Now because of new circumstances, I will not be able to post opinions like I did in the past. I appreciate being able to read the posted opinions, and the exchange of ideas. I wish everyone the best. Thanks, Opinion Girl To new people reading this: Yes, there use ...

Theopiniongirl 24.04.2003 (05.10.2003) · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

So much to see so little time. We were only in Washington D.C. for the weekend having driven down from New York and wanted to see as much as was possible in a short space of time. We booked into a cheap and cheerful Days Inn in the Arlington District and after a good night sleep put on some sensible shoes and set out exploring. First stop Arlington National Cemetery this is a beautifully kept graveyard that runs tours pinpointing famous graves. ...
...brother Robert to name but two. Also in the cemetery is Arlington House the former home of Robert E Lee which you can go through. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a very popular stop and every hour there is a changing of the guard, it is a very moving experience and despite the 90+ temperature it brought me out in goosepimples. At the entrance to Arlington we bought our tickets for the Old Town Trolley Tour a hop on hop off ticket was $7 but that ...

elspeth334 21.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

This city was a marvellous change to the other capital cities I have visited over the years. There are several reasons for this, which I will address individually below. Cleanliness: There was an amazing lack of litter on the streets in comparison to say somewhere like London. I am not saying that its streets were bare of litter but that there were very few instances of burger cartons and such like lying around in the gutters. Public transport: ...
...ticket could be bought for a nominal amount and provided good transport around the city. Again the stations were kept very clean. Buses provided an equally good alternative to the Metro but take slightly longer to reach destinations. When I went to Washington there was no train service to and from Dulles airport so rather than pay for a taxi I used the bus and for eleven dollars was taken to the nearest road intersection to my hotel. The bus staff ...

Guzman 13.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

Washington is my favourite American city. Well laid out, clean, with plenty of trees and open spaces. Clean air, friendly people, and on of the safest cities in the USA. Start early in thw day, and take one of the bus tours. There are multiple drop-off points where the highlights of the City are to be found. My favourites include the following: 1.The White House and the Capitol building. Truly magnificent! 2.The Lincoln memorial and the Reflecting ...
...Capitol just has to be seen from Lincoln's chair! 3.The Korean and Vietnam war memorials. Very moving and sombre! 4.The Cathedral. A little out of the City, but very English! Also with magnificent views. 5.Museums galore, and all free entry! 6.Arlington cemetary. A must! But be prepared for long walks, or take the bus tour. Look out for the Kennedy memorial, the eternal flame and the changing of the guard. Also the memorials to the US astronauts, ...

wiseoldowl 02.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC

This is my first review for Ciao so i have decided to write about something i know a fair bit about . I lived in DC for a year from September 2001- August 2002 and had a fabulous time. There is so much to see and do and everywhere is so clean (coming from Manchester, England that was a real bonus. So, what did i like best? On our first weekend in DC we had to make the short journey into the City Centre. We were pleasantly surprised by the Metro ...
...the machine and wait for a Metro, They are extremely regular and when they come are again clean. the whole time we were there we never felt unsafe on the Metro or otherwise - even late at night. Anyway, that first weekend we saw the Lincoln Memorial (beautiful), the Monument, the Capitol building, Arlington Cemetry (very moving), walked the whole way along the Mall (a VERY long way) and went to Pentagon City (this is only a short Metro ride form ...

liberty6201 08.08.2005 · Read full review
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Review of General: Washington DC