Passing the time

So, what DO you do when you have an uncertain amount of extra days in a foreign country so vast you probably don't have the time to get to the interesting bits? Well, apart from spending 5 hours on hold to your airline listening to a recorded message so inane it's a miracle you don't end up throwing the telephone from your 8th floor window in disgust (the message begins "Hello Gorgeous, we're SO glad you called." Hello WHAT did you just call me?) there is, I suppose, the usual stuff you do on holiday, namely, for us:
- Climbing up some high things to take in the view. The fewer elevators en route the better. The resulting calf-aches are all part of the fun.
- Finding a good graveyard to mooch around. I love a good graveyard.
- And preferably a big old church to throw into the bargain.
- And, so you can say you've been, some art galleries jam packed with glorified innuendos from artists you've never heard of, but which you have to look at as you pass them in search of the one genuinely famous item in that museum, which invariably turns out to be on loan to the gallery you visited last year.

We did all of these things. In THREE cities. Bingo. Here are some highlights:

New York
A view from the ultimate High Thing, the Empire State Building (though it has lifts - and rather impressive ones at that.)


...and a memorial for 9/11 in a lovely church round the corner from Ground zero:


...and a spot of Jackson Pollock...


Washington:
A view from the tower of the beautiful National Cathedral - bam - two in one!

Oh and this was the Cathedral, in case you're interested:

We then proceeded to the art gallery at the Smithsonian, which was missing various things, but did include the Avercamp exhibition we'd already seen in Amsterdam 3 months ago.

Boston:
A big monument. 294 steps and no lift! Calves ache like hell. Mission accomplished!

And here's the view...

This handily formed part of the Heritage Trail, which also took you to no less than 3 churches and 3 graveyards: I don't know who Ezra Dibble is. I just like that fact his name was Dibble. Anyway, Boston Tourist Board, we love you, and we are forever in your debt. Now for a flight home...