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Hello all,
It hasn't been that long since our last blog, but we have seen and done such a lot it feels like ages ago!
New York was awesome, but so much faster than I (Debbie) had remembered; it makes your head spin! In addition to what we wrote in the last blog, we also visited Wall Street (though strangely enough they aren't letting people in to view the stock exchange floor anymore!), the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where the long ferry queues were well worth the wait. Brooklyn Bridge was a marvel of engineering and the views were stunning. We paricularly loved the oasis of Central Park especially as it was a lovely day when we visited. We also admired the outsides of the Guggenheim and Met Galleries, and the insides of Belvedere Castle, the amazing Frick Collection and the Plaza Hotel (of Home Alone II fame). Ground Zero was very moving, particularly when viewing the tributes in St Paul's church which is next to the site. Chinatown again reminded us of the beginning of our trip and it was funny how much it was taking over Little Italy so that there were just a few Italian restaurants but with loads of Chinese stores surrounding them.
The train journey from New York to Pittsburgh took a whole day and was surprisingly tiring, though enjoyable. We went through three different weather fronts on the way going from rain to sunshine twice! Thankfully our day trip out to Fallingwater (Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece of architecture) was a beautiful sunny day, and our road trip through Pennsylvania, including Jellystone National Park (where Yogi Bear lives) was great fun (though we were disappointed not to see any Amish people). The house, built into a waterfall amid the beautiful forest of the Laurel Highlands in Jellystone National Park was well worth all the effort it took to get there; it is a marvel. There is so much we could say about it we could write all evening... ask us about it when we get home or google it!
The day out in Pennsylvania probably involved the most transport of any one day of our trip so far, starting with a taxi, then a hire car, an airport express bus, fennicular railway (or incline as they call them here!), two public buses, and a shuttle bus back to our hotel, not to mention a fair amount of walking in between!
We had an hour or so before our train to Philadelphia the next day to have a quick look around Downtown Pittsburgh, which was very pretty with its three rivers that converge on the site of Fort Pitt - the largest Fort that the British built in North America and the site of many battles.
Philadelphia was a pretty city, but sadly it rained through most of the day that we had to spend there. We did get to see the house where the star spangled banner was designed, the oldest residential street in America, the Liberty Bell, the sites where the Declaration of Independence was written, and signed. And also the 'Rocky Steps' at the front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
We are now in Washinton D.C. and so far have been to the Renwick Art Gallery, The White House, American History Museum, and the Washington, World War II, Lincoln, and Roosevelt Memorials, finishing at the free performance at the Kennedy Center in the evening. We have another two days here and plan to visit more of the Smithsonian Museums and other neighbourhoods of the city.
We fly to Miami early on Sunday morning and then have a few days there before our two weeks in Belize... and then we fly home... can't believe it is so close now. Can't wait to see you all!
Lots of love,
Debbie and Alex xxx
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