Day 6 Goodbye NYC, hello DC!

Previous day is here

Welcome to our trip report. I'm Emily & my Husband is Gary - we got married on 5 March 2016 & spent our honeymoon in NYC, Washington DC & Orlando. Our pre-trip report is here if you want to have a look at our plans.

Saturday 12th March

We were sad to be leaving NYC, we’d had a fantastic week, but we were excited about the next leg of our trip. Washington DC here we come!

We left the hotel just after 8 and made our way to Penn Station under Madison Square Garden with all the luggage. We were only a few blocks away so we didn’t think it justified a taxi (would probably have taken longer than walking) and we hoped the streets wouldn't be too busy as it was still early. I wheeled the big 4 wheeler along with my cath kidston bag on top, while carrying my winter coat. Gary pulled the big 2 wheeler & pushed the 4 wheel cabin case along, with a big bag full of crisps and snacks he'd bought that morning in case we starved on the train journey. It wasn't too difficult, we couldn't have made it much further though ! We got to Penn station & had to walk around to the other side to find an elevator (there was no way we were surviving an escalator!). We held the elevator for an Irish lady who was pushing a HUGE suitcase and a medium case herself. She had a down jacket on. It was a bit cooler this morning but still not down jacket weather, she must have been roasting . We made small chat in the lift, I think she was heading to Boston.



We got to the waiting area and sat down near the red caps. Gary waited with all the stuff and I went to Dunkins for coffee & donuts for breakfast. When I came back, I approached the red caps with our tickets. The man checked our platform and loaded our bags up on his cart & off we went. We followed him through the station and down an elevator which the red caps had to turn on & off (it was like going down a secret passage). He was friendly and asked where we were from and told us he would sit us as far forward as possible & near the diner cart. We got on and chose some seats and he loaded our luggage. The platform still hadn’t been announced upstairs on the board. This was an excellent service which we wouldn't hesitate to recommend. It completely took the stress out of getting all our stuff down to the platform and on the train while battling the crowds . Well worth the $20 we tipped. The train was quite busy too so it was great getting seats before the rush. Gary was very impressed as he wasn’t quite sure what was going on, other than the fact it was something I’d read on the DIBB, but he was very impressed.

The train left bang on time at 9.05 and the NYPD K-9 unit came down the aisle as we were leaving. A bit different to what I’m used to seeing on the west coast mainline!

The journey isn’t known for being scenic, but I enjoyed seeing different places. There was free wifi too which was pretty good. Gary spent the journey editing Go Pro footage and I mostly looked out the window and napped.

After Newark Penn, our train stopped at -
Metro park Station
Trenton
Philadelphia
Wilmington
Baltimore
BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport
New Carrollton

I couldn't get the Hairspray song 'Good Morning Baltimore' out of my head after seeing this!

We arrived in Washington DC at 12.25pm, right on time.



We headed out and got in a taxi. The driver got a bit lost so he ended the meter at $11.79, we gave him $16. We stayed at the Residence Inn Washington, DC Downtown, on Vermont Ave. We arrived about 1pm and checked in. We charged the room to the clarity card and it was £256.28 for 2 nights. We were really pleased with our room, as it was a Residence Inn it was more of a suite with a kitchen and sitting area.



By half 1 we were ready to explore. We walked to the White House, taking some photos.

It was approaching the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC

Then took in The Treasury and then to the Washington Monument. We had tickets for a 3pm visit. I’d ordered these online before we went for $1.50. They are available on the day, but we heard a ranger tell someone they’d ran out by 8.30 that morning, so to get there early the following day if they wanted some.




We had a short wait for the lift. The views at the top were great, even with most of the mall dug up.



The Rangers were really informative. On the way back down the elevator went dark and slowed down so we could see all the blocks on the inside of the walls. There are blocks from lots of US states and some from foreign countries too. Sorry, I didn't get a photo as I was listening to the Ranger.

We found this visit really interesting and it was very worthwhile for the view, especially as it was only $1.50.

We went to get some late lunch at the food trucks lined up on the road. We opted for Mikes Philly steak and ordered one Dirty Mikes with fries and a can of Coke for $13 & some change.



This was reeeeeallly good . No way we could have eaten one each though!

Then we went to get some bikes. If you’ve read the day we spent in Central Park you’ll remember the bad luck we had trying to find some bikes then. Well…this station was out of order! We walked up to the next station and we couldn't get the machine to accept a uk phone number, so no bikes again . Poor Gary, all he wanted was to ride along taking in the sites, but it wasn’t to be. He was a bit gutted!

We headed up to the national air and space museum and we were through security and in by 4.50. We had a great look around here, although it closed at 5.30 so we left then.



This was Gary’s choice but I enjoyed it too, definitely worth a visit. We crossed the mall and walked back down the other side, knowing we'd be further up to see the Capitol building tomorrow anyway.



We walked back down to The Monument and kept going, across to the WW2 memorial, just as dusk was setting.



As we walked down to the Lincoln Memorial, the lights came on and darkness fell. It was really amazing to see! The photos don't do it justice.



We walked through the Vietnam Memorial and passed the Eisenhower Executive Offices to the back of the White House, which looked lovely lit up.

We wandered up 15th NW street and found one of the restaurants listed under casual on the hotel recommendation list. It was really busy as it was#Saturday night#and although it was listed under casual, we both still felt a little under dressed as we'd been walking around all afternoon, so when she said there would be a 45 minute wait we said no thanks. We couldn't see many other restaurants about, Washington DC is quite a quiet city and we realised that you had to look closely to spot shops and restaurants!

We wandered towards the hotel and a couple with fancy square pizza boxes which smelled amazing passed us. We looked at each other and silently agreed pizza would do! About 15 feet later we discovered the source of them - &Pizza. It was basically a pizza delicatessen, like an upmarket Subway but for Pizzas. There was so much choice.



This was $20 total including tax for both our pizzas. We quickly went in to the 24 hour CVS beside the hotel and spent $20 on juice, water, milk, sweets and ice cream. We got back to our room just after 8pm & dug in. The pizzas were delicious! Like our first night in NYC, we were spending the evening in our room with pizza . We really enjoyed them though and we’d walked loads today, so we were grateful to be in and having an early night .

After eating, Gary noticed my eye was really red, so I took my contacts out and we crossed our fingers that it would be better in the morning. We went to bed about 10pm.

Todays Highlights
- The train journey - I enjoyed passing new places.
- Seeing the WW2 monument and Lincoln Memorial light up as it got dark. Very impressive monuments.
- Pizza for dinner! I wish we had places that good in Glasgow.

Fantastic pic. I love love love Washington, D.C.

I've not been to Washington for about 12 years but loved it when I was there last. Really must revisit! That pizza looks sooooo good!

Wish I'd known about the red caps when we had to take a train from Penn Station! Haha! x

We go to DC in September again and now that pizza place is on my list! Gorgeous city and great pics.

Great day! We too are getting the train from NYC to dc and planning on using the red cap service,so good to hear it was a worthwhile service.
I'm excited to see DC too. We got 2 lots of tickets online for Washington monument,one for sunset on the day we arrive and another for afternoon the next day just in case we can't b bothered the day we get there. I was thinking we'd give the spares away if we don't use them as I'd heard the s ell out on the day quickly. Good old dibb
That pizza looks gorgeous

Thanks for reading!

There's so much to do! We only had a short time but would love to spend more time there and properly do the Smithsonians etc. The red caps are brill, I wish we had a similar thing here! x

It's sooooo good! So much choice too. Thanks for reading

Definitely use the red caps, such a brilliant service, especially if you have lots of luggage or aren't sure where to go etc. Oooh going up at sunset is a brilliant idea! Its a great view. Enjoy your trip

Gorgeous room!

Great pictures today.

That pizza place sounds incredible.

Another great day seeing lots of places and sites with some brilliant photos the pizzas look fantastic

Joan

Loving your report so far, great pictures and you've seen so much

It was soooo good .Thanks for commenting!

Thank you

Thank you!