On Tuesday we visited America’s capital city Washington DC. America in general has been having a lovely summer, warm but not too humid. It has been lovely the whole time we have been here. Apart from last Tuesday. Last Tuesday it rained. A lot. My darling godmother warned me to wear sensible shoes but by that time we were already waiting for the shuttle. I was wearing my toms 
eek.
The hotel we were at provided a free shuttle to the metro station which would take us into DC proper. Having seen the drizzle outside and having no coats or umbrellas (again sorry mum) we jumped at the opportunity. We were told the shuttle would be downstairs on the hour so after breakfast we rushed to get ready and be down on time (you already know how much we struggle with that). When we got downstairs, with two minutes to spare, there were a handful of people waiting for the shuttle which promptly came screeching round the corner. We joined the back of the queue like the good Brits we are, as people boarded. Oops. There was one seat left next to the driver and two of us. We looked at each other in dismay… We didn’t want to walk to the metro in the rain. But the driver simply said hop in!! Err what?!? We managed to squeeze ourselves into the front seat, we tried me sitting on Chris’ lap to much hilarity (remember my laughing muscle weakness see here for a reminder) but both of our legs didn’t physically fit under the dashboard. We resorted to side by side and after several attempts Chris managed to get the car door shut. I had one bum cheek on the seat and one off so Chris had to physically hold me in place. All the other people in the vehicle were perfectly comfortable. Woo for them!
Turns out the metro station was just around the corner. But it was chucking it down. I was still desperately trying to save my shoes, hair, face, everything from the rain.
DC’s metro is ultra space age, much nicer that NYC or even London. The ticket machines however are so confusing. We had to ask the station manager for help. We needed two $10 smart card passes for the day. We had $20 in cash, seems fine right? No.
The machine didn’t give change and only sold one pass at a time. Fab. Our new found shuttle friends didn’t have change. Great. Chris’ bank decided that he was being fraudulent and declined his card. Fantastic. We tried the back up credit card. Self serve machines in America including the pay at pump service at gas stations require your zip code if paying on credit card. Clearly we don’t have one. Disaster. So we set back off into the rain in search of an ATM. The good news is on the way we found a man selling umbrellas. He was like a beacon of light in the darkness, a cool drink on a scorching day, a man with umbrellas in a downpour. I bought a very cute clear and yellow umbrella from him much to Chris’ amusement as he had realised on approaching the stall that I would not be leaving without the yellow umbrella.
Anyway our day consisted of wandering around Washington, visiting the American history museum and learning about the civil war and other wars through history from America’s viewpoint. Walking past the White House and spotting the not so concealed cameras and all the battered up vans that may not have been all what they seemed. A brief visit to the Museum of the American Indian and the Air and Space Museum. It was all very educational.
The highlight of our day was seeing my lovely godmother who I haven’t seen in over a decade. Chris was very excited as I marched him to the World Bank to meet her. She had told security on the desk to get us passes (yes security and passes we’re important) and we had to go through airport style checks of bags and metal detectors. The police officers on the desk loved Chris when they printed out his ‘Chris Brown’ ID pass. He’s promised them a signed album… He’s probably now the subject of a nationwide manhunt due to misleading an officer of the law. Oops better not turn on the news. Lunch was very yummy our first salad and fruit in a while!
Our day ended with a lovely burger and chips again with my godmother who put us back on the metro to the hotel. My feet were expelling water into the train’s carpet with every step. Sore and cold we then got stuck. On the train for about 45mins, I was not happy and my feet didn’t not look healthy after 8 hours of wet.
When we got home and turned on the tv we heard that some places in America had had 10 inches of rain today. I maintain at least 5 of them were in my shoes and I was creating the flash floods!
The rain was actually great fun and completely added to the beauty of the city. We had an amazingly fun day all in all.
Love,
B
Becky and Chris take America 