"5 days of tourist rubbish in NY and DC”!
NY is great, so full of energy and buzz, I can recommend the Edison Hotel on 47th St, its only 50 yards from Times Square (out of the hotel turn right) and about $70 a night, Scruffy Duffeys Irish bar on 8th (turn left out of the Hotel), great chicken wings and Guinness (
http://www.murphguide.com/irish.htm#14-59).
Its worth doing the open top bus tour (with commentary), downtown to China town and Ground zero and uptown to Central Park, night time tour, Statue of Liberty and the Empire state see (
http://www.allnewyorktours.com/Body.asp?tour=NYC-B0002&page=TourDetails) advance ticket was about $67, well worth it. The 15 min Helicopter ride was great, but a bit steep at $115, it takes you around the Statue of Liberty, but is mostly along the Hudson and then up to the Yankees stadium and over Harlem.
I guarantee you’ll want to go back!
Washington is a lot quieter, but interesting, be careful of where you stay – I went on business and then stayed on for a couple of days so had pay my own accommodation – booked into a $67 Ramarda on New York Boulevard – even the Taxi driver said “How the F**k did you get out here (about 2 miles from the centre), This is a bad area, don’t go out walking, don’t wait out side for your Taxi! I think all the other rooms were rented by the hour!
The Smithsonian museums are good, the National Art museum is worth going just to see Da Vinci’s Ginevra de' Benci and the East Wing for the Piccaso’s (awesome in real life). The White House is very small, the Senate building very big!
