The-Accountant-Jul-Aug-2016

TRAVEL
Smithsonian
Museum
is regarded as one of the most iconic
functional buildings in the country. There
are plenty of different transport options
from the airport to the city centre – the
Metrobus is $7, with a taxi around $50.
Compared with many other
American cities, hotel accommodation
in Washington is not cheap, reflecting
the fact that many of the city’s visitors
are calling on government offices to
discuss important legislation or lucrative
contracts, and are backed by generous
expense accounts. Basic accommodation
can be found from about $88 a night, but
expect to pay $400, $500, and upwards
most times of the year for a 4-star or
5-star hotel room. Most discerning visitors
agree that the best address in town is The
Jefferson on Dupont Circle, named after
the principal author of the Declaration
of Independence, and America’s third
President.But if The Jefferson is your
choice, be ready to part with plenty of
portraits of anotherAmerica’s Founding
Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, whose image
graces the $100 bill.
Wherever you choose to stay, it is
advisable to have a bucket list of the sights
that you would like to see, because there
is so much to do and see in the city that,
no matter how long your stay is, it would
not be possible to fit in everything. A
selfie at the railings in front of the White
House is de rigeurand do not expect to
leave without buying souvenir Washington
T-Shirts from the women hawkers who
throng the area calling “three for $10, three
for $10.” And while you are there, take the
opportunity of visiting the National Air
and Space Museum of the Smithsonian
Institution, which is just a stone’s throw
away. It is well signposted, but if you are
asking directions, use the full title because
the Smithsonian is not a single museum,
but a whole series of 19 different museums
and galleries, and a National Zoological
Park. The Smithsonian is the world’s
biggest museum and research complex,
covering the whole gamut of human
knowledge and culture.
The Air and Space Museum has an
astonishing collection of exhibits covering
every aspect of the history of aviation, and
an enthusiast can spend two whole days in
the place without exploring all there is to
see. But for the most important artefact
under the custody of the Smithsonian
requires 40-kilometre trip along Interstate
66 and then U.S Route 50 to Chantilly in
Virginia, where the space shuttle Discovery
is permanently housed in the James S.
McDonnell Space Hangar in the Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center.
Discovery flew 39 missions, and the
scars of those 39 searing, bruising re-entries
into the Earth’s atmosphere are etched
onto the fabric of the spacecraft, which,
obviously, is the centrepiece of the exhibit,
with other space artefacts arrayed around
and above it. Aviation history buffs can
also find a Concorde on display within the
complex and other aircraft including the
most historic Boeing B-29 Superfortress
bomber of World War Two, the Enola Gay,
which carried out atomic bombing of the
Japanese city of Hiroshima, which ended
the war but marked the start of a new era
of ever-imminent oblivion for Mankind.
Chantilly has a lot more to offer than
Discovery and mass destruction delivery
systems. A tour of the area can give a
visitor a snapshot of some of the historical
issues that still haunt modern America,
and which lead many Americans to feel
that less government is better government,
and the Big Government that Washington
DC represents is something that they
must resist at every chance they get. More
than 300 years ago, which is a long time
by American standards, the Chantilly area
64 JULY - AUGUST 2016