Underground

Anyway.

Got out of the JetBlue terminal with our bags intact, and head for the subway. We need to walk a VERY long way. The terminal seems very narrow, and curved. We are walking to the next terminal, to connect with the train.

Getting to the train was the easy part. There are no staff to sell tickets, or even help figure it out. Only a bank of ticket vending machines lined up against the wall. How do these machines work? A couple of false starts later, and we are good to go, but which way? There are two escalators, but the signage is less than clear.

Signage sucks in this town!

We have used subways before. We have used ticket machines before. We figured most out easily. Most are designed for the average Amrikan to operate, so it can’t be too complicated, right? But this place? Not so much.

Made it to the train, and to our station. Then it got hard again. The signage at our station is less than clear. Eventually, we figure it out, and begin the long, underground walk to the right exit. Half way down a corridor, there is a lift to the hotel. We knew there was a subway station below, but we have gone from the airport at Boston to our hotel room in Washington, without setting foot into real air. Weird, huh?

The picture is of our subway station, but they are all the same. The concrete shell looks blast-proof. One odd thing, though. There are rubbish bins everywhere. Try finding a bin anywhere near the subway system in Sydney since 9-11. No chance! Here? No problem at all.

Settled in, and off for a look around. Something to eat, or the tourist trolley, whatever comes first. We are in the CBD, just south of the Independence Avenue, and there is nothing around us but office blocks. Not a restaurant, not a bar. Nothing. I’m sure the term concrete jungle was coined for Washington. Blech!

We thought there was a mall below us, and there probably was. There isn’t now. 90% of it is closed down for renovations. I’m sure it will be lovely down there in a year or two. Today? Not so much.