Week 1

We have come to the end of our first full week here in DC, I suppose it has been nearly 10 days since we arrived. We are settling in well, just trying to adjust to the constant high temperatures and humidity. Today they have been warning everyone that the heat will be dangerously high and that records will be broken in regards to the maximum temperature. I think it is supposed to reach 102, which I think is somewhere over 40 - I'm still getting used to re-calculating the temperatures. It is not the heat that is the problem so much, more so the constant humidity. There is not the relief after a few days which we tend to get in Sydney.

This week we have visited some of the Smithsonian museums. Firstly, we went to Air and Space. The girls were looking forward to seeing the gallery on Amelia Earhart, after having seen her in the Night at the Museum movie. Unfortunately, this section was closed for renovations, but we did see her plane. We also saw the Wright brothers plane, which Amelia and Larry flew on in the movie. It was Mars Day,so the girls were able to complete some craft activities all about Mars. We also saw the V2 Rocket, the Hubble telescope and an exhibition on "How things fly". We really only touched the surface of the museum - there is so much to see there.

Later in the week, we went to the Natural History Museum, which the girls loved. They had a whole section on frogs and lizards which was very popular! Pia and Ella also both held a rather large grasshopper - they are braver than I am! We saw galleries on insects, butterflies and mammals, with plenty more to see on return visits.

On Wednesday we went to Georgetown where James' university is. The main building is a very impressive gothic building and the girls enjoyed playing on the grassy areas around it. Georgetown has lots of shops and restaurants and beautiful houses in the streets nearby the university and we enjoyed sushi for lunch in a Japanese restaurant.

Yesterday, we visited the White House and the girls loved the park just opposite, Lafayette Square, home to many squirrels, mostly quite tame. The girls enjoyed getting up close to them, although Ella got a bit too close to one who lashed out at her! She was not impressed! Pia and Ella have enjoyed playing many squirrel games together and collecting acorns for the squirrels.

So all in all, we have had a great week and plan on visiting the local pool tomorrow to get some relief from the heat!

Our neighbourhood

We have spent the last few days going on a few outings and getting to know our neighbourhood a bit better. We are living in Capitol Hill, which as the name suggests, is just behing the Capitol. We have about a 10-15 minute walk to the metro everyday and get to walk past some beautiful old terrace houses, like the one we live in. They are all painted different colours and are really lovely. I'll include a photo of our street and of some of the houses in it. We are half a block away from Lincoln Park which has a couple of playgrounds and is home to many squirrels, much to the girls' delight. It is also a very popular park for joggers and dog walkers and has many kids in it.

Our nearest Metro stop is Eastern Market and every weekend there are real farmer's markets, as well as arts and crafts markets there. We had a good look around there on the weekend and it is great to have all the summer fruits in season again. The girls are loving the berries, cherries and donut peaches! Yesterday, we also went to the Lincoln Memorial, (quite a long walk from the nearest metro and a very hot day!) and I'll also include a photo of the girls there, looking down towards the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

We have begun to visit some of the Smithsonian museums and I'll write more about them another time.

San Francisco photos

Here are some photos from our time in San Francisco. Pia and Ella on a cable car, Ella enjoying her 'Californian Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread roll' and Pia on this great slide at Golden Gate Park, and a family shot at Angel Island on the way to Alcatraz. After 2 days now of Washington heat and high humidity, we are remembering fondly the cooler weather of San Francisco!

Washinton begins

We have now arrived in Washington and have had out first full day here. Much of it was spent sorting out bank accounts and grocery shopping but the girls did get a play in the park down the road and played with their first American playmates, who also enjoy digging in the dirt and holding worms! We also saw our first squirrel! The photos I wanted to add from SF are not co-operating so I will try and add them tomorrow.

San Francisco

We have now been in San Francsico for 4 days. It has taken me a while to add anything new to this blog as, of course, there were problems with James' computer and it took until our last day here to sort them out! I also have not connected our camera to this computer so I have no photos to add yet. We leave for Washington tomorrow so once we get settled I should be able to add some photos from this part of our trip.

San Francisco has been really great and the girls have been enjoying the city. I did see a fridge magnet today which said "The coldest winter I have ever had was a summer in San Francisco' and it has actually been a lot like that! The weather has been very cold and windy and we are weraing our winter clothes from Sydney all the time! This afternoon it finally turned sunny and warm and we could all rip our jumpers off and the girls even went for a swim in the pool - at least they got to use it once!I think Washington is the other extreme and we will all be feeling very hot this time tomorrow.

We have done cable car rides, been on a bus ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, walked the crookedest street in San Francisco, and today we went to Angel Island and Alcatraz which was really interesting. The girls also loved Golden Gate Park and the California Academy of Science which is there. It is this fantastic museum with an Aquarium, rainforest, Planetarium plus many other exhibits there.

Like I said, we have some great photos from the last few days so once we settle in Washington and I will try and add them in the next few days.

Hope you are all well....until next time xx

4 days to go!

In 4 days we will begin our trip to the United States where we will spend 6 months in Washington DC. We will use this blog to keep you updated on our adventures while we are there, so keep checking to see how we are going!