Finally the day arrived where I got to leave the UK for more than the "blink and you miss it" 2 week holidays!
The first pit stop on "KDC does America" was Washington DC. I'd booked my flight for 11am, thinking this was a reasonable time but neglecting to remember that it took 2 hours to reach the airport and I needed to be there 3 hours before... nice one. Three large coffees later I set off for the airport in driving rain and sub zero temperatures, gosh I'm going to miss England.
Heathrow has now adopted the new age of electronic self check ins, which are meant to be idiot proof but they definitely aren't "4 hours sleep and high on expresso" proof. The usual time it takes people to conquer this technology is 5 minutes, it took me 15. Back. Of. The. Net.
Anyway, I managed it with only my self respect dented and hopped off to the duty free before having to leg it to the gate because I'd been sucked into trying every perfume so I could now board my 9 hour flight smelling like a £10 brothel.
British Airways, if you can avoid them do. The leg room is for dwarfs, the food is for those without taste buds and the toilets are for contortionists. But the movie selection is great, so if you are happy to keep your legs crossed and under your chin, starve and spend hours glued to watching the latest releases then you are onto a winning formula.
As we landed in Washington DC I must admit I began to brick it. As some of you may know due to a "technical difficulty" I had a touch of bother entering Las Vegas last year due to some punk putting someone else's fingerprint on my passport in New York. I got hauled off into a little room and treated to an interrogation by Nevada's finest. So as I'm entering the US capital I'm under the impression security will be on lock down and anyone that even has a funny squint is going to get arrested and sent home.
I approached the immigration desk with trepidation and saw, to my relief, it was a young and quite attractive gent. As all self respecting woman would do, I hiked up my boobs, yanked down my top and swished my hair across my shoulders whilst smiling sweetly. I'm pleased to say the trusty formula worked a treat, I don't think he even looked at my passport.
After prostituting myself at customs I made it out of the airport to glorious sunshine, there's a lot to be said about the horrid weather in England, it really does make getting away from it so much sweeter. Taxi hailed and I was off to see George.
I expected driving into Washington DC to be like arriving into New York but I was hugely mistaken. Washington is surprisingly well spaced out, it doesn't feel over crowded and the buildings aren't so high that you literally have to bend over backwards to see it all. And its really really green.
The hotel, L'Enfant Plaza, was a kick back from the 70s on the outside. You know the type, concrete with an orange tinge, big brown windows and all corners. Beautiful inside though, very tastefully decorated for an American mainstream hotel. After checking in (my room is right by the pool) bed was calling so I washed of the smell of plane food and hit the pillow, tomorrow was going to be a long day!
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