After the day before neither of us were in any rush to hit the streets again.  When we did eventually get a move on it all started badly.  Having a Metro underneath the hotel was great, but when we tried to buy our tickets we couldn't.  The credit card readers on the machines wouldn't work.

We occasionally hit problems with Irish credit cards in machines, but when the US card didn't work either we knew it was a problem with the machine.  We tried a few other machines but none would work.  We had cash, but not small enough bills, and as good as the Washington DC Metro is it seems the idea of giving change hadn't occured to them.  So when we least wanted to be walking up and down stairs, we had to go back to the hotel to get change.

Our first stop was Roslyn.  It was Sunday so everything was closed, but even allowing for that Roslyn seemed quiter than I remembered.  We carried on to Pentagon City where we had breakfast the day before.  This time we were in search of Lunch, and I wanted a sweatshirt.  DC was a lot colder than I had expected.  I ended up buying a very touristy Washington DC hoodie, that came with a free hat, I'd be glad of that hat by the end of the day.

At this stage our plan was still to go out to Alexandria for the ringing in of the New Year.  Before that we wanted to take a walk around the Mall (the big grassy area, not the shopping mall), and go back to the Lincoln Memorial.  This would mean a lot more walking.  We stopped by the hotel to get ready then we headed out.

We took the metro to the Smitsonian stop which lends you right in the middle of the mall with great views of both the Washington Monument and the Capitol.  We had seen more than enough of the Capitol the day before, so we walked towards the monument.  It was dark which made it more difficult to take photos (I didn't want to bring the tripod on the plane), but we did get the see the monuments lit up, which is the best way to see them.  All the flags were flying at half mast due to the death of President Ford.

We crossed the Mall and passed the monument on the right side which gave us a view of the Whitehouse and the National Christmas Tree.  We then crossed back to the other side of the mall towards the tidal basin.  We took some photos of the Jefferson monument accross the water.  In all the times I've been to DC, I've never actually crossed over and visited Jefferson.

We doubled back on ourselves to get back to the mall then turned left towards the Lincoln memorial.  The New World Ward 2 monument has been built since I was last here.  It's extremely impressive.  We walked around the entire monument, and took photos.  Then we walked along the edge of the Reflecting pool towards Mr. Lincoln.

I don't know if it's just me, but it's always a thrill to walk up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, to read the speaches engraved on the walls, the stare up and Lincoln himself as he gazes out over the reflecting pool towards the Washington Monument and the Capitol.  I've always thought a statue of Martin Luther King on the steps would be a nice touch, and one that Lincoln would approve of.

After Lincoln we returned to the Vietnam Wall.  We hadn't had a chance to see it up close on the photo tour.  Even though it was cold, dark, and late on New Years Eve, there were still families searching out the names of relatives among the thousands.

We began the long walk back, heading generally in the direction of the Whitehouse and the National Christmas tree. There was a light drizzle and going to Alexandria was starting to feel less enticing.  By the time we reached the Christmas Tree and took a few photos we were starting to get hungry.  By the time we found a Metro stop we were tired enough and hungry enough that watching the ringing on of the New Year live from New York on TV was all we wanted to do.

When we got to the hotel we found out which Pizza Delivery services would deliver to the hotel.  We watched the Ball drop in Times Square from the comfort of a DC hotel room, eating delicious pizza.  Those who saw it in person had to stand in Times Square for 10 or more hours, and they still had to find their way home.  I reckon we got the better deal.