[Photo: Ellen Perlman] A light sculpture enhances the Metro station platform at Gallery Place.

How the locals do D.C.
Beyond the Mall, the monuments and the museums is Rock Creek Park, watersports on the Potomac, art galleries and ethnic neighborhoods and restaurants.

• Subway wanderings
  The Metro is an inexpensive and virtually hassle-free way to reach the sights of the District -- the famous ones and the "insider" places.
• If you go
  Typical budget round-trip air fare from the Tampa Bay area to Washington's Reagan National Airport is about $115 on Northwest or Delta. Often travelers can save a few dollars by flying on Southwest and USAirways into Baltimore-Washington International, about 30 miles north of Washington.

Faster hydrofoils serve Montevideo
Travelers between Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Uruguay, have two choices for water transportation. An article last Sunday reported on the overnight boat, but reader Evelyn Castillo reports that there is also a hydrofoil service between the cities.