Blimey – this train is completely different from the others. First of all the sleeping car attendant was very grumpy! He did not like Chicago at all and had had a bad day! Things didn’t get much better for him when one of the clients accused him of stealing her very expensive water, them she wanted him to get someone to change rooms, then she asked some stranger whether she could use some of his wifi – he was a little taken aback, naturally. The meal last night was much easier to eat as we had proper metal cutlery!!
Didn’t sleep very well at all – the train went much faster than the others and was shaking from side to side all the time and constantly blowing his whistle. Paul was in the shower just after 5am and I was up by 7.30am. The scenery was pretty with the Potomac flowing beside the train most of the time. We went in for breakfast at just the wrong time as we ended up sharing a table with an American man who was fascinated by everything we said. He kept asking us to,repeat ourselves. Paul enjoyed discussing politics with him though. Said goodbye to him and got ready to disembark (or detain as they keep saying) in Washington. Walked up the platform and at the end were greet d by someone shouting “Hey Brits”, looked around wondering what was going on and it was him – he only wanted to introduce us to his daughter and to have a picture taken with us! How embarrassing!
Anyway, the hotel is great and in the perfect position. It’s about 10 minutes from the White House. Unpacked and decided to have a quick look at the area. Needless to say, ended up walking for 2 hours in the heat. The sun felt like it was crimping up our skin as soon as we went out. Luckily found a Hard Rock and, even better, they served Shock Top, our favourite beer! Now need an early night so we’re up and out early tomorrow so we can get lots of sightseeing in. Just keeping our fingers crossed that it isn’t quite so hot
Early feelings about Washington is that it’s much more laid back than Chicago. Certainly not so noisy and busy and the streets look much more English.
