Visiting USA

[DanS]

Originally posted by Winston


Yes, the service called TravelNow/hotels.com will charge my credit card for the full amount up front.

Well, then, good luck to you.

And may god rest your soul.

[Winston]

Thanks.

I should add that while I will certainly be a stranger in town, no argument there, I am not completely unfamiliar with staying in a large city that is unknown to me. In Chicago, I stayed very close to the city center, and also in San Francisco, though that was at a small place recommended to me by Sten Sture.

Here's a picture of my hotel in D.C.:

[Winston]

This also means that I've more or less settled on skipping a visit to Philadelphia this time around. I will be in Washington for 9 nights, and as it is now, I will go for 10 nights in New York. I think I will have more than enough to do in those two cities, without adding a third.

I've also moved away from my thoughts of renting a car for some of the days. At least renting it in advance. If I like to get out of the city a little while I'm there, I could always rent one for the day, but I think I will have more than enough to see by sticking with the metro and a cab every now and then.

Front of the hotel:

[DanS]

Hey, I know the area. I know exactly what you're getting into.

[Winston]

I'll wear my sun glasses to try and look a bit tough.

[DanS]

By the way, that's near where they're going to build the new baseball park.

The gay stripclubs are being evicted.

[Joseph]

Originally posted by lord of the mark


Baltimore is fun if you have time to spare - inner harbor, Fells Point, Little Italy (restaurants only, no street life like NY) Balt Museum of Art with its Matisses, etc. An alternative to extra time in Philly.


Too much in NYC to even get started.

If he goes to Baltimore, then he need to go Hunt Valley and see if Sid will take him on a tour.

[Timexwatch]

For a car, maybe you can get one of this "ZipCars" or other per hour rentals to get around town if you really need to.

[KrazyHorse]

Or just take a cab like a regular person.

[Winston]

Well, I already found out that I'll be getting a 7-day pass for the metro, and also that I can get from Dulles Airport to West Falls Church station by coach for 8$ on my arrival. A car will only really be needed if I decide to take a trip outside the city one day.

It's very convenient to find lots of practical information, that's one of the perks of visiting a large city taking in millions of tourists.

[pchang]

The hotel you chose is not too bad. The key is closeness to Metro. SW is actually pretty safe. In fact, a few supreme court justices live in that area. Can you not book from www.priceline.com from Denmark? Using the info from www.biddingfortravel.com and then placing bids on priceline has allowed me to get $200 hotel rooms for $100. Also, cabs in DC work on zones. It is very reasonable except during rush hour when they charge a couple of dollars extra per ride.

[Winston]

pchang, I didn't attempt to get prices from priceline.com as I had started out at hotels.com, which I had accustomed myself to; they gave me prices for all of the hotels up front, so it was easier for me to compare between several options and check out the ones that sounded good in more detail.

I'm glad you don't consider the one I've chosen to be too terrible. And that the surrounding area is not the worst either. Yes, I plan to rely heavily on the metro to get around, and I wanted to get a hotel near a station so I won't have to spend my time walking long distances unless I want to. The metro system seems very extended, unlike in e.g. Chicago where the rail system wasn't of much use to me.

And thanks for the advice on taking cabs, I'l keep that in mind.

[pchang]

I believe the hotel you booked has high speed internet available in the room (if you decide to bring a laptop). That makes it easy to upload pictures from your digital camera so you don't have to worry about filling up your memory card/stick.

[Winston]

Yes, I believe they have high speed access, but I'm not bringing a laptop.

And I'm only about to go looking for a digital camera in the coming days, I only have a "conventional" camera, which I bought before my last trip to the U.S. But I would like to get a digital one, to my knowledge they're pretty expensive here (starting at ~400 USD), so I thought I'd check out a couple of models, and then ask you guys here if you could find the same model's price in the U.S. I have a feeling it may be much cheaper to buy the camera in Washington than Copenhagen. But we'll see, I'll check the prices in the days to come.

[Japher]

you're going to have a great time!

In DC

Go to Ford's Theater. Also, there's that statue in that park, the one of the giant awakening while buried alive... anyone? I also like the Smithsonian (origional buildings) as I am more about the architecture. Definitly do Mt. Vernon and some Battlefields if you get the chance... and have fun