Washington D.C.

So it's now Saturday morning, and it actually took us until yesterday afternoon to finally make it to Washington D.C. proper.

The culprits are, first of all, our lack of four wheels, which makes things a lot slower (food shops and various other stores we need right now are on retail parks ('strip malls') over a mile away from here, much like Tesco or Sainsburys are in the UK).

Secondly we have run headlong into the brick wall of American bureaucracy which bests (if that's the right word) even that of Britain! The major issue is that Karen wants to get her freelance translation business (officially) established here in Virginia, and is required to do so before she can do any work at all. This has involved phoning about eighty four different people, all of whom have their own opinion on the right course of action. ARRRGH!

Anyway, so yesterday we ventured for the first time over (or rather under) the Potomac River into Washington. After my own experiences on the Tube, I was immediately struck by how spacious and comfortable the trains and platforms are, though this is understandable since the system was built in the 1970s, not in the mid-1800s, as in London.

Central Washington surrounding the Mall is very spacious and monolithic - in the best traditions of parts of London and Paris - with lots of the buildings housing government departments and national museums. We spent some time walking around the bottom half - the foot of the Washington Monument (we were too late to go up yesterday, but the view should be great) and the World War II, Vietnam and Lincoln Memorials around the reflecting pool.


I think it will take us months to see even all of the obvious stuff there in the centre. It is all a lot bigger than you would imagine, and we spent a good 2-3 hours walking around even to see these things. Along the way we glimpsed the White House from a distance, though from the Mall it is mostly obscured by trees. Apparently you can look around, but there is a six month waiting list! I'm also looking forward to seeing the National Museum of American History and, of course, the Capitol Building one day soon.

I will close with some linguistic food for thought:

• How do Americans know if someone is looking for a 'dentist' or someone called 'Dennis'?
• Or for that matter if something is being described as 'feudal' or 'futile'?!

Mark