The Welly Trav-Ellers

Lincoln Memorial Washington DC

Abe & us!

5 March 2019:

Monument day today.. and there were so many to see so we caught the subway up to Union Station and once again used a hop on hop off bus. It was a stunning cloudless day but quite nippy at 3 degrees.

We had limited time as the train back to New York was at 7pm so we chose to visit just a few key places.

The Lincoln memorial was first up and is even more impressive in person that it looks in photographs. And the view down The Mall past the Reflection Pool to the Washington Monument (Obelisk) is quite a sight.

No sign of anyone trying to re-enact the Forest & Jenny reunion scene from Forest Gump…too cold I suspect but I bet it happens during summer time!

Walked around the Vietnam memorial and found 3 ELLER names listed in the book of remembrance. Related ? Maybe, maybe not.

Drove past all the Smithsonian museums but no time to visit them. I have been to the Air & Space museum before and it’s amazing.

Saw the Jefferson Memorial among many others from the bus and then headed to the White House. The Donald was home but we weren’t invited in for tea! Rude😀. Lots of very serious men in black guarding the gates and grounds and snipers on the roof trying to look incognito… but black clothes against a White House…not so camouflaged boys!!

Ubered up to Saint Mathews where JFK’s requiem mass was held. Magnificent building and no tourists at all as it’s not on the main points of interest.

Then it was back to find the rep cap services at Amtrak to help us get our seats on the train. By 11pm we were back in our apartment in New York.

4 March 2019:

The predicted overnight snow storm was just a light dusting in the end so we were at Penn Station at 6am & headed to Washington. We used the Red Cap services at the station where for a decent tip they will ensure you & your bags are personally escorted onto the train well before the masses avoiding any chaos when the main platform is opened for boarding. Recommended!

Caught a glimpse of Phillidelphia & Baltimore cities & in 3.5 hours we were at our DC hotel. The main reason for DC was to visit the Bible Museum. It was gigantic. Six floors of history so beautifully & cleverly put together. The technology was incredible & we walked ‘through’ Genesis & Exodus ( yes the Red Sea parted !) and even through the village of Nazareth! (Will check for authenticity when we are in Israel !) Touched the only piece of the Temple Wall Stone that is on display outside of Jerusalem. Four hours there only scratched the surface & a staff member told us not to get disappointed as you need 9 eight hour days to see it all !

Met up with a distant relative for an early dinner & from the uber back caught a glimpse of some of the monuments we will visit tomorrow before the train back to NYC.

3 March 2019:

Having contacted ANZ who had blocked all my cards the night before!!!!! ( I did tell them a month ago I was travelling !) we headed off for the day. Nova had her first ride on the subway and although my navigation with the up town / down town thing was a bit off the first time it meant we could tick off Grand Central station as a happy accident.

We strolled down 5th Avenue past the beautiful library ( will have to go back to take a peek inside as closed at the time ) and then went to Times Square ( chaotic as ever!) and hopped on a bus round the city. Was great to get an overview of Manhattan. So much to see & do in this amazing city.

New York. Just a small slice!

Outside our apartment

2 March 2019:
Snow in New York!

Spent the day acquainting ourselves with the area we are staying in. The little basement brownstone studio apartment is on St Marks place in the East Village which is buzzing day or night. Lots of places to eat and has a great vibe. Very safe to walk around and so close to the subway. We also spent some quality time in Macy’s department store .. had to be done!

Onboard QF11 waiting for takeoff!

2nd March 2019:

After 3 flights over 30 hours we arrived at 4pm Friday 1st March in the city that never sleeps – but boy did we need sleep. Found our apartment easily in the East Village where our lovely host Shelia met us. We ventured out for some takeaways and devoured them with a gorgeous bottle of red courtesy of Shelia, then off to bed. New York awaits tomorrow….

PS: Special assistance we requested at each airport was worth its weight in gold! Mum was wheeled through the miles of airport security mazes avoiding all the queues. At LAX all the shortcuts still took 45 minutes…we gave the young woman a decent tip as we would have missed our flight without her.

Get ready USA and ISRAEL  – Nova & Madeleine are on their way

28 February 2019:
Packing began in earnest several days before we left, but we weren’t finish until 7pm the night we checked into the airport hotel! But all was well and the excitement was starting to set in. 4am wake up call for the 7am flight would have been ok if we’d both slept, but you can sleep when you’re dead, right?