Capitol Hill

Washington DC has been the set of countless movies, such as the Pelican Brief, All the President’s Men and In the Line of Fire. So taking  a stroll around this capital city was a little like revisiting somewhere you already knew – which is how a lot of people feel about New York City.

Washington DC or just DC as it’s also known, is full of great monuments and museums but it’s also one of North America’s culinary capitals.

Eating out in Washington DC

Bill Clinton may have courted controversy more than cuisine when President but there is something to be said for his choice of restaurant. The southern specialities served up at Georgia Brown’s is a sure fire winner if you like good honest food. Yes, Clinton mentioned in the same paragraph as “honest”, doesn’t happen often.

If you want to choose from a menu that encapulates the world’s favourite food, then try Adams-Morgan or Dupont Circle – there is something for everyone and every palate. Delicious!

Washington DC Facts

The city lies at the last navigable point on the Potomac River, where the coastal plain meets a higher, rockier plateau. The latter is the setting for DC’s wealthy residents; monumental Washington sits on the coastal lowlands.

It’s a city of gridded streets and diagonal avenues radiating from ceremonial squares and elegant circles. The city proper is quite small, with much of the metropolitan population living in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs.

The centre has wide sidewalks and few highways, ideal for walking to many destinations and the subway is excellent, uncrowded and convenient. I ask ya, what more do ya want?

Washingtonians

Washington is predominantly black and fairly segregated. The mjority of the population is African-American, making up 60%. There are however growing numbers of Asians contributing 2.7% and Hispanics with 7.9%. Perhaps unusually, 13% of the people in Washington DC are foreign born.

One third of Washingtonians work in government, but whites generally do not mix professionally or socially with black people and vice versa. Poverty affects 20% of the people here which is way above the national average. Ironically, this is the same town that has the second highest income per-capita in the whole of the USA.

Things to do at night in Washington DC

Head for the bars along the sidewalks of Adams Morgan or go clubbing Latino style at the Habana Village. You may want to get into your stride and into the mood first however, so visit Degrees Bar & Lounge in Georgetown for a fiery red Martini.

Washington DC Exports

• Portentous rhetoric
• CIA operatives
• The Al Qaeda myth
• Shock and Awe
• Gore Vidal novels
• Wars – lots of ‘em

My defining experience

Breakfasting at Jimmy T’s diner on Capitol Hill, wandering down the mall past the Capitol, picking a museum to explore before blowing my mind in the National Sculpture Garden. Strolling along the Potomac to lunch at Dean & Deluca in Georgetown and then taking in the blues at Madam’s Organ.