Liam from Camp Leaders - Summer Camp in America: Washington DC

The penultimate destination on my trip is Washington DC, the capital city of the states, and somewhere full of culture and politics. I've been here for 3 nights and decided that I love this place A LOT. DC reminds me a lot of England - especially the area around the White House, mall and monuments which resemble Londons architecture around places like Hyde Park - with grand marble buildings, clean streets and plenty of green spaces.

I arrived around midday, after catching a 6:30am flight. This left me with the afternoon to go sightseeing. Our hotel is very close to most sights, especially the White House. We travelled along the mall from place to place - from the White House, to the Washington Monument, to the Lincoln Memorial we did a lot. All were very impressive and rather awe inspirng. We came back at night also, which made them all even more impressive.

That evening we did something a little different. A few blocks from the hotel is the Washington DC Improv Club. At $20, it was a cheap but great night if comedy. We saw 3 comedians in total, which were totally hilarious! The main comedian was Dan Collins, who is apparently big in the USA. It was something different and not at all touristy, but was great fun.

The next day we visited one of Washington's free Smithsonian museums - the American History Museum. The museum was very interesting, and had a variety of exhibits on how America first developed, about WW2 and it's struggles with slavery and racism. I found the exhibit about slavery most interesting, and how, even after giving black people equal rights, they still struggled hundreds of years later with racism and discrimination, which lead to leaders such as Martin Luther King. The other museum we did was the American-Indian Museum. This again was highly interesting.

The second evening, we headed out the touristy areas to a district called Georgetown. I am so glad we did this. Georgetown had the feel of a small, separate town, unlike the rest of America. The high street could have fitted well into a British market town - with its arechetectual styles, high-end independent stores and plenty of cafés. It felt very much like somewhere like Yarm, York or even Northallerton. This was somewhere I could call home.

We also dined at an amazing restaurant, which again felt very British. It was actually a restaurant, crossed with a bowling alley. Different, but upmarket and with great food. I opted for braised beef in red wine sauce. Tasted like heaven! If anyone is looking for a place to eat in Georgetown, Washington, I'd certainly recommend Pinstripes. The night after we had another meal out. It was at an American 'pub'. It was pricey, but I treated myself to another steak.