Sunday continued

Yesterday evening, I followed the instructions, sorry, advice of fellow Pink Floyd fan Andy Neale, and ate a burger at a branch of Five Guys. Wow. Forget McD*n*lds, which is a pale impersonator. This was a tower of succulent meat, pickles and relishes, served with a sackload of fries, cut from real potatoes, not processed mash. And the flavours..! Absolutely delicious.

After that, I did something I’d always wanted to do. I walked, alone into a proper, American bar, “RFD – Love the Beer“, took a stool at the counter, ordered a beer (Founders American Ale, a really good porter from Michigan), and struck up a conversation with the locals. One was a young African-American woman, recently graduated, who was enjoying a Belgian ale. She was very interested to hear about “Beer Beauty“ — perhaps a DC franchise is in order?

I gave a talk this morning, about Wikipedia and QRpedia, to a bunch of staff from the US National Art Gallery, plus guests from the Smithsonian Institute and other bodies. A daunting audience and this was in a proper auditorium, lights dimmed, and all. I’m pleased to say I acquitted myself well, and received very favourable feedback.

As I was in the gallery, I spent a couple of hours (days would be needed to do it proper justice) viewing the highlights (the only DaVinci painting in the US, works by Rembrant etc.) and the impressionists, including a pair of Monet’s paintings of the Cathedral at Rouen.

The rest of the day was spent riding bikes and waking, taking in the sights, window shopping, and acquiring a new hat; a poor substitute for the one I lost yesterday, which has yet to reappear. I finally saw and at the same time heard an American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), and heard a Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus).

This evening, several of my fellow Wikimedians, from the UK and elsewhere, arrived. I’ve been catching up with old friends, including some from Germany and Holland, who I met and saw for the last time in Amsterdam last December. Monmouthpedia founder John Cummings and I had a stroll to nearby Chinatown, and a remarkably cheap and filling Chinese meal. Then another beer, a “Fat Tire” amber ale, at RFD.

And then I wrote this. And now I’m going to bed.