The US of A

29th Jan Chennai/Doha/Washington
5th Feb Washington/New Jersey
11th Feb New Jersey/Washington/Doha
12th Feb Doha/Chennai
Stay: Arlington Court Suites in Washington

Anand, Pavithra and me had a lovely time in the US.
Though the weather was very very cold, we really enjoyed because we don’t get to experience this type of weather in Chennai nor get to wear some of those stylish winter clothing.

Pavithra was surprised by the noiseless surrounding – she was saying that students of just her class section are enough to make the whole of US noisy.
In Washington, during the day while Anand was busy attending the training program, Pavithra and me used to go around in the Metro or walk around the neighborhood, have lunch in our favourite Jerry’s – I just love their overstuffed subs while Pavithra likes their pizzas. Evenings, the 3 of us used to visit Macy’s, Ballston Mall, Pentagon City Mall (somehow we were not able to visit Potomac & Tysons Corner). Also visited most of the important tourist places in Washington in the hop-on-hop-off bus.
Really impressed with the metro trains, the precise arrival /departure, cleanliness, passenger friendly announcements/indicators/route maps inside the train.

Also had wonderful time in New Jersey in Ramesh & Chitra’s house – great hosts that they are.
Visited New York on 7th & 8th Feb - the skyride in Empire State Building was a waste - quite expensive - neither thrilling nor worth the money. We however liked going to the top floor of this building. I somehow didn’t like New York much – may be because of the severe cold there or because it was crowded unlike Washington & New Jersey. However, we had a great time in Madame Tussauds posing for photos with those famous wax statues.

On the whole, had a great time – 2 weeks of far away from home/work & stress free holidays – WOW !
Nonetheless, felt good coming back home. Our dear Sparky (pet dog) was so exited & wanted to be with all the 3 of us at the same time. The following week end, when we had to give our suitcase for repair, Sparky’s face drooped down thinking that we are off on a holiday again !