Jun 092012
 

This is going to be a short one…it seems when I get to the end of big trips that I get less motivated to write. Of course, some of that has to do with familiarity. Normally, my trips end with a transatlantic on United, and I’ve done so many of these by now that it’s just routine and I don’t feel compelled to take many notes or pictures. This one isn’t much different, but there will be some upcoming! I’ve accepted American’s challenge, so will likely be trying lots of new airlines in 2012 and 2013, so there will be a bit of excitement!

Up early in the morning, and no coffee in the room means I stumbled through check-out, no trouble at all, used most of my remaining cash to pay down the room, and was off to the airport no problem at all. My already good impression of Bulgaria was reinforced, and soon was at check-in.

Check-in was not too friendly, but no biggie. Checked all the way through to IAD, bags checked, and was off to security. Line was a bit long with no premium line, but still was through in under 15 minutes. Maybe I’m too laid-back lately, but 15 minutes seemed reasonable to me.

Stopped in the lounge that Lufthansa sent me to, and it was adequate. It had an awesome espresso machine, diet coke, and comfy chairs. Not too much else I could want! Waited until 30 minutes before the flight, then walked the 3-4 minutes to the gate.

Lufthansa Flight 1707
Sofia, Bulgaria (SOF) to Munich, Germany (MUC)
Departure 7:15, Arrival 8:15, Flight Time: 2:00
Airbus A320, Registration D-AIPR, Manufactured 1990
Seat 3F

Got to the gate, and the queue to board was down the hall, and over 50 people deep. Grrr! There was no marked line, so being early, hyper-caffeinated by this point (did I mention the awesome espresso machine?), I just walked to the front trying hard to ignore the stares….and the one person who DID say something I just responded to in Russian. I figure nobody likes the Russians in Bulgaria, so it was safe 😉 Gate agent apologised for no separate line, beeped me in, and boarding was quick.

Continue reading »

Apr 282012
 

So, here’s where I admit I lied a bit.  What to do on a rainy Sunday in DC?  Honestly….we didn’t do a great job of this!  Once we saw it was raining, getting out of bed before we had to was difficult, and we just barely made it into DC in time for the planned 11:30 brunch with a friend.  Did I mention it was pouring?  The oddest part of the whole thing, was the encounter with a local DC crazy that went like this:

Crazy:  “Hello, you speak Russian?  I Russian?”

Me:  “Yes, actually I do”

Crazy:  (switching to Russian)  “Good!  I have DVDs to sell!  Pretty naked ladies!  Copies but very good.  You want to buy?”

Me:  “Um, no, thanks”  (walks away, leaves metro station)

Crazy:  (follows us to bus stop)  “You no like hot naked ladies?  I need to buy train ticket to Baltimore.  Sell DVDs.  No want to buy?”

Now, at this point we probably should have just kissed and convinced him that no, we really weren’t looking for hot naked ladies, but the amusement was just too much!  Got on the bus, made it to brunch…which was awesome.  Commissary is one of my favourite brunch places in DC.  The huevos rancheros are awesome, and don’t get me started on the blueberry pancakes.  The only downside is that from around 11:00 to 1:30 on weekends the wait is usually 30 minutes minimum, often longer.  It’s definitely worth it though.

After a very very long lunch, we headed back to the Library of Congress in an attempt to visit the reading room and check out a book and see the mural on the rotunda.  No luck – closed Sundays!  Wet and frustrated, we got back on the metro, and headed to the Smithsonian to check out the American History Museum.  It was pretty fun – although quite a disorganized mess.  We did see all the First Ladies’ dresses – including Michelle’s, along with some other interesting exhibits about the Civil War, Thomas Jefferson’s slave baby mamas, etc.  It was a good way to spend a few rainy hours while trying to stay a bit dry.  Below from an exhibit on US money, which will only be funny to Canadians:

Continue reading »

Apr 272012
 

We tried to get an earlier start to the second day of touring the city, but it just didn’t happen.  Met some friends for coffee and a light brunch at Northside Social in Arlington.  This place is pretty well known now by those in the Ballston to Clarendon corridor, but it’s a great local coffeeshop and place for light meals.  Plus, in the evening, it’s a fun wine bar with great outside seating during the summer.  I was worried when it opened it would be a bit too hipster, but it strikes a great balance, and is really lots of fun:  great food and drinks, fun atmosphere, and great location.

After that, it was off to DC for our first pre-booked tour.  We were off to the Library of Congress for their tour.  Offered every hour on the half hour, I didn’t expect this to be nearly as cool as it was.  However, I think it was one of our highlights of the entire weekend.  Our guide (Clark) was excellent, the building is probably the coolest sight I’ve ever seen in DC, and it was an overall fantastic experience.  We took the 11:30 tour on a Saturday, and showed up at 11:28 with no problems at all.  No booking in advance, and it was a great tour.  I’ll post a few pics here:

Continue reading »

Apr 252012
 

Wait, don’t I live in Washington, DC?  Well, not really…but right next to it.  So, it feels a bit strange to be making this post…but after having company in town this weekend, I really rediscovered the amazing area I live in.  I have to say that Washington is one of my top 10 cities in the world as far as the number of options on offer to the tourist or local, and the best part is, the vast majority of it is absolutely free.  On that note, I figured I’d offer a few tourist tips from our weekend of exploring:

1)  The Grand Walk – We started this at the Foggy Bottom Metro Station, and walked all the way to the US Capitol.  While there’s not anything in particular to recommend this, what I liked is that it offers a view of “official DC” at its finest.  You start at 23rd and H streets, and on the way down H/Pennsylvania/etc you pass by the George Washington University Campus, the World Bank, the White House, the Embassy of Canada, before you finally get to the Capitol.  Awesome!

Continue reading »