Washington, DC

From New York, I took a five hour bus ride to Washington, DC, spending the next four nights at Hostelling International.

I enjoyed the time I spent in DC, but was a little underwhelmed due to a few factors I can identify: New York had really set the bar high; I was very tired from the non-stop sight seeing of the prior week and becoming disinterested; and it's not like The West Wing, at least for a tourist!

More cycling: I bought a Capital Bikeshare membership to get around the sights, which is priced and works similarly to Melbourne Bike Share. Most of the sights are actually quite close together and not far from the hostel, so walking wouldn't have been a problem, but I enjoyed cycling and the breeze it created helped in the 30-something degree heat. I took a ride along the Potomac river one evening at sunset.

The White House: To take a tour inside the White House would be amazing, but these need to be applied for months in advance through your consulate. From the outside I wasn't as impressed as I was expecting to be because, really, all of the interesting stuff happens on the inside. To be completely honest, it was the fist sight I stumbled across and I wasn't even 100 percent sure it was the White House until I looked on a map!

Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial: I was very disappointed to find the Reflecting Pool drained for maintenance. I also realised that memorials and monuments probably mean more to one in their home country.

The War Memorials: Of the three memorials, being Vietnam, Korea and WWII, I found the Korean War Veterans Memorial the most stirring. Seeing the faces of those in the conflict etched in the stone wall, and the message "... to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met" was particularly moving. At the WWII memorial, you can dip your feet into the cool waters of the fountain pool, which is incredibly relieving in the middle of a DC summer, and apparently perfectly acceptable despite it being a war memorial.

The Capitol: I saw the dome of this recognisable building, home to Congress, soon after I arrived by bus. It continued to pop into view throughout the time I was in DC, quietly reminding me that I was in the nation's capital.

Supreme Court: Again, this is a pretty special place, but going inside on a weekday would have helped me recognise its significance. If Monday hadn't been a public holiday, I may have been able to watch bench sittings. Out the front were citizens with tables of petitions and signs protesting capital punishment.

To be honest, I did myself a disfavour by not going up close to or inside of these buildings and monuments, or going on a guided tour where I could have learned more.

Holocaust Museum: Here was another sobering and thought-provoking experience. Much like the WTC, I was in tears within minutes, but I also learned a lot. There were short films on: Nazi rise to power and propaganda; liberation when the war ended; antisemitism; and Genocide Defyers, being those who risked their lives to protect others from genocide, particularly focusing on Rwanda. I also listened to a couple of the many podcasts available, including one from a recovering skinhead. I learned more about antisemitism throughout history, including pogroms and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The main exhibition follows a timeline of WWII and the Holocaust, and was both informative and very saddening. They had, as part of the exhibition, a big long pile of shoes. Shoes that the Nazis had removed from the bodies of Jews after gassing in order to sell along with the rest of their belongings, presumably shortly before liberation. These shoes, their condition and their strange smell were particularly disturbing. I suppose it takes something tangible, like shoes, to actually make what happened feel real. Learning more about the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi people was scary - to know that this can happen in my lifetime, with the hindsight of the Holocaust and with prior warning that it was going to happen.

Air and Space Museum: I concentrated on the space exhibits in this fantastic museum because, unlike air travel and probably like many people, I am still absolutely fascinated by space. Along with two great shows in the planetarium, I watched a 3D film on the Hubble Space Telescope. The film was marvelous, it included footage from the last space shuttle mission to repair it as well as pictures of far off galaxies that Hubble can see. They also had on show all of the equipment from the moon landing, of course. I did feel some of the awe that people must have felt back then, watching on the news that a man had walked on the moon.

Georgetown: I would not recommend going here, or at least it was not my scene! After the lovely ride along the river, I found myself at Georgetown. The first place I found was an outside club on the riverfront, with women dolled up in strapless mini dresses and over the top heels, and Rihanna's S&M blasting out and disturbing the serenity of the river. I walked inland a bit, but the vibe didn't really change so I hot footed it out of there.

Meeting people: While there is nothing more comforting when travelling than speaking to someone from home who understands you, meeting new people is wonderfully enlightening and challenging. They teach you about places you've never been, and their points of view help you to see the world in new and different ways. At the hostel or out at night in DC, I met people from Germany, the US, Brazil and Ireland and had many surprising, meaningful or amusing conversations with all of them.

Next stop: New Orleans, LA.