Washington

We went from the new glossy Moynihan hall at Penn Station by train to Washington picking up a bagel and a fancy coffee for the road.  It was all very smooth and comfortable.  Passing through grey countryside, the colour leached out from being under snow, no shoots of spring yet. Stopped at Philadelphia and Baltimore and Delaware, I forgot how close they all were to New York. 

And then you come out and there is the Capitol.  Central Washington is familiar from a million movies but impressive and just what a capital city should be. Wide avenues, slightly devoid of people or traffic.   But then it was very cold. 


We were meeting V’s daughter at her club, the Cosmos Club, very Old Washington, pictures of members who’d been Nobel prize winners, senators, President’s Medal recipients etc.  Suriya must be the youngest member by about 40 years. We were there to see V’s aunt and her husband.  The sister of his mother who died when he was young.  Aunt Judy is a blast at nearly 90 and lunch was fun and even though Suriya had to leave to catch a flight we chatted on.  Obviously the main topic of conversation was the new US administration and from someone who knows it was suggested that a coup was taking place. Particularly with the infiltration of the information systems in government.  

After lunch we popped into the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian partly to see a particular pot that V wanted to revisit but we also enjoyed Whistler’s Peacock Room, transferred there in its entirety.   And the story of the feud between artist and patron.  Pictures of both in extra. 

Train back and dinner at Ci Siamo near the station, Danny Myers’ wonderful new restaurant at the Hudson Yards development.  I drank the martini I’d been promising myself.  I don’t often like cocktails, too sweet, often slightly disappointing but if someone can make a good martini I’m in.