Washington DC

Prior to arrival I knew little about Washington DC, other than that it was the centre of the complex political cobweb that is the United States of America.

Despite being home to the White House and various other buildings of national importance, what lies beneath this is similar to several other American cities.

Washington, like many cities, has a large Latino population and my trip to the launderette turned into a crash course on Spanish washing machines and many of the smaller businesses are also ran by immigrants chasing the American dream.

After falling into the 'drinking crowd' at my hostel in Boston, it was to the relief of my liver and bank balance that the hostel that I'm staying in here is somewhat of a quiet one. Alcohol consumption has been kept to a minimum although much to the amusement of the hostel staff, I misread directions to a Salvadorian restaurant and managed to end up at a Mexican restaurant more renowned for drugs and prostitution rather than food, but although my welcome was less than friendly, the food wasn't actually that bad.

The main reasons to come to Washington are undoubtedly the monuments and museums that line the National Mall. The State Building, White House and Lincoln Memorial are all spectacular and come to life when illuminated during darkness hours.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed three of the many museum within the city, many of which are free. In my first afternoon I took in the National History Museum and the Holocaust Museum, both of which were interesting for completely different reasons, however I definitely saved the best until last.

I was strongly advised to visit the Newseum and initially the $25 admission sent it tumbling straight to the bottom of my to-do list. However, I was finally persuaded and it was without a doubt the best $25 I've spent in a while.

The museum is spread over six floors and I took in exhibits on a number of subjects that are of great interest to me. These subjects included the Berlin Wall, a history of sports coverage, the Pulitzer photography prize, the free press and photojournalism (more of which to follow) and of course, Anchorman and Ron Burgundy.

The fact they have an exhibit on one of my favourite films made me a very happy man. In one afternoon I only managed to cover 3/6 floors, so tomorrow I'll be heading back to finish the jo as the ticket is valid over two days.