USA 2005: Richmond - The Federal Reserves...

"Know when to cry, know when to laugh, know when to be silent..." - Mark Crow

(The city of Richmond)

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Policies and Strategies

(A heavy breakfast in the morning)

We had a leisure breakfast at the Barlowe's Terrace restaurant. Took the hotel shuttle bus to FRB Richmond. The whether was very cold. It was snowing and raining at the same time. I was subjected to tight and thorough security checks. Andrew was already waiting for me at the lobby. Met with Roland at the 23rd floor meeting room and we had serious discussion till noon. Lunch was at the Executive Dining room with Marvin, an interesting young man with lots of ideas, who is also the economic adviser to Greenspan. The vegetarian lunch was delicious and filling. We continued discussion at Roland’s office and had the opportunity to visit the processing room and their workshop where the engineers were in the middle of upgrading the BPS machines.

(An Art Exhibition in Richmond)

(Admiring paintings by local artists)

My attachment program ended with a visit to their money museum. They should come and visit our money museum in KL, which, I think is bigger and more interesting. The shuttle bus fetched me after 5 p.m. and later we took a cab to Chesterfield Town to window-shop and later to Sam Miller Restaurant for a lobster dinner, which cost us a fortune. Only tonight, after 5 days of my official duties, we started to plan what we want to do for our holiday and felt so excited about it.

Friday, February 25, 2005
A glimpse of The West Wing

We checked out of Omni Hotel right after breakfast and took a cab to the train station. The train was delayed for an hour and it was late noon when we reached Washington D.C. After checking in at Capital Hilton Hotel again, we took the Old Town Trolley city tour. As it was the last bus for the day we didn’t have time to hop on and off. At least hubby had the opportunity to visit a few museums including the Air & Space Museum when I was busy with my seminar.

(Back in The Capital Hilton)

(A monument in town)

(A mosque and Islamic Centre)

During the tour we passed by Washington and Jefferson's monuments and Lincoln Memorial and also the Library of the Congress and Federal Supreme Court and the US Capitol where elected Senators and representatives meet. We ended the tour by viewing from far the world famous White House, home to the American Presidents. We had Japanese dinner at the Union Station and later watched Cursed, a B-grade movie about werewolves, starring Christina Ricci.

Saturday, February 26, 2005
A Tale of Winter

(The Washington D.C. Train Station)

We had breakfast in the hotel before we checked out. The snow was still heavy outside but the sun was shining brightly. We took a cab to Washington Dulles Airport. Out flight was delayed. Our plane was made to wait at the runway for almost an hour. But we had ample time to spare at Newark International Airport before our flight to Stockholm. We spent time in the lounge and had light meal.

(Newark International Airport)

The flight to Stockholm was also delayed but the journey was pleasant as we had the opportunity to taste Malaysian food again on MAS. It was the beginning of our winter holiday. And we were all excited about it. We watched a few in-flight movies and listened to music and catnapped in between meals.

👈 2005: Stockholm, Sweden

2005: Washington DC, USA 👉