WASHINGTON DC 2013 INAUGURATION

I was living in Cairo at the time of the 2012 election and so took off a day of work after spending a long night in the Maadi for an election party. I woke up and tentatively opened my laptop....wooohooooo! 
I pondered for about 5 minutes and decided I was going to the Inauguration! Booked the airfare immediately and then came the rough part, finding a hotel. 
As I was doing this, I was IM'ing with a friend in Phoenix. I told her I was going. She left the conversation for about 20 minutes and then popped back on and asked if she could join me. EVEN BETTER! 
Finally found a hotel, and the review is here. 
I won't address the issues of getting from Cairo to DC...too traumatic. Needless to say, I missed a day of sight seeing and I arrived after my friend. I was supposed to get there the day before she did. 

We popped up Sunday morning and headed out to the sites. I hadn't been to DC in twenty years and then I wasn't able to see much as I was in town for Peace Corps orientation. We walked and walked and walked and walked some more! 

Saw all the major sites of course: Lincoln, Washington, MLK, the memorials for Vietnam, Korea and WWII. I found the Korean memorial particularly touching, though I know more people are impacted by the Vietnam Wall. Of great interest to me was the new memorial to FDR. It wasn't as crowded as the others, but I loved it as he is one of my favorite presidents. 

Later that evening, we decided to walk to Georgetown for dinner. It was cold but we managed. I don't remember the name of the place, but got a great burger. We walked a bit up and down the streets and then decided an early bed time would be best with the need to be up early to head to the BIG EVENT. My first presidential inauguration. I had tickets obtained from my state Congressman. They weren't great, but it didn't matter to me. I was there! With a friend. We had a great time just standing around and enjoying the liveliness of the crowd. It was truly amazing and something I will always remember. 









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Maldives

Image
This trip was sort of a last minute journey for me to see friends. I was reluctant because of the cost and length and how many people were going: me, the 2 dear friends and 3 more people I didn’t know.  That, for me, is way too many people. But I forged ahead and decided that I could travel to see them, but there was no real need to stay at the same hotel ... which was a tad on the dumpy side. And the island of Dhiffushi is very small. It was about a 15 minute walk between the hotels. So, the Maldives. Wow... from first glance, I was thinking paradise. Hmmm...not so much. There ARE indeed paradise resorts. Not our island! So my friend was all about seeing the local culture but the local culture included no booze, and lots of dirt and garbage. I suppose the island of Dhiffushi is no different from any other poor fishing village that you might find around the globe. I had a vision of paradise but found less than that. I got over my initial disappointment and enjoyed what was at han
Read more

LISBOA JAN/FEB 2020

Image
This post is a bit longer than my others. There was just so many special things on this trip. It’s taken me almost 6 months to get to this post though. Lisboa was the last trip before the world went flipping bonkers, so remembering this trip is a bit bittersweet.  The previous few trips were with friends, so this was the first solo trip in a year. It was good to be on my own again. Lisboa was a perfect place for a solo excursion. I had wanted to visit years ago when I lived in Cairo, but never made it. Decided over an extended holiday for Chinese New Year that this would be a great opportunity for a long flight to Europe. I planned this one rather quickly-not a lot of research. First up was finding the hotel. Decided to try an AIRBNB this time.  I could NOT have found a better place for this trip. The link below shows the property on AIRBNB https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17937168?source_impression_id=p3_1594176915_rParOzL2zPSMOAbb&guests=1&adults=1 The location was perfect
Read more

FLORENCE 2014

Image
https://naturalitaly.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/dante-quote/ Oh beautiful, beautiful Florence! Years ago in college I had several courses in Humanities which introduced me to the art and architecture of the Renaissance. I was enamored of the Renaissance period. So why not go to the birthplace. I chose a lovely hotel, sort of a cross between a boutique hotel and a BB  It was a tad difficult to find from the airport. It's on a little side street off one of the main piazzas. The door sign is barely visible. The hotel is located inside a renovated building and the rooms are scattered across several floors. I think there are around 10-12 rooms in total with a small sitting/breakfast room. It's self service and great for a cup of quick coffee in the morning.  My trip advisor review:  https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/ShowUserReviews-g187895-d272543-r199342333-Relais_Cavalcanti-Florence_Tuscany.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT One of the main things about Florence: almost everyt
Read more