I flew from Buffalo, New York, to Baltimore, Maryland, on the original budget airline. SouthWest Airlines were the pioneers in the budget airline market, which JetStar, RyanAir and all those airlines are based on. They do, however, give FREE peanuts, softdrink and coffee, so maybe the abovenentioned airlines could still learn from them.
When I got out at Baltimore airport I was surprised by how warm and humid it was. I knew I was flying south, but I had no diea that it would be noticeable. I caught a local bus for 45 min to the outskirts of Washington DC. From there I connected with the metro to take me to my suburban hostel location.
As I got out of the metro station I was a bit scared. The area was full of black gangster types hanging around. Would I be OK to walk through this area or would I be mugged for the contents of my backpack and my shoes?
As I got into the back streets the look of the area was actually quite nice. Neat suburban townhouses. But the population was seemingly 100% black. Maybe just because it's a black area it doesn't mean its a ghetto.
Indeed when I got to my hostel I found out that it is a reasonably safe area. Upon further reading about DC, apparently a vast majority of the original population is African American.
The hostel was one of the nicest places I've stayed. Upon ringing the doorbell I was greeted by a girl in PJ's welcoming me to Loftstel. It was a 3 or 4 level townhouse which retained it's house feel. It was nothing like a hostel apart from the fact you were sharing bedrooms in bunks with strangers. The feel of the place was like just one big share house. I really liked it. Especially because most of the residents were American students from other parts of the country who were in DC to do internships at various organisations. It was a welcome change living with American students instead of Aussie backpackers. Actually meeting some Americans whilst in America. And I was the only Australian living there, that was a first!
I spent my days sightseeing and my evenings hanging out with the interns at the house.
DC itself was really nice in the central area. I had great weather so I spent a lot of time just walking around in the sunshine checking out the monuments.
Seeing Washington DC made me realise where Australia got its idea for Canberra, the Australian capital. There are lots of similarities. Not only is it a city set up specially to be a capital, but there are many design similarities. The main legislature is on “Capitol Hill” in both cities, and is joined in a triangle with other important buildings. I think Burley Griffin must have been to DC before drawing the plans for Canberra.
After 3 nights in DC it was time to move on. I packed my backpack, and caught a Greyhound bus through Delaware to nearby Philadelphia.
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