As we were all in the throes of showering and dressing we had the T.V on and the weather forecast for the day was not looking good; already there were reports of localised flooding on the capitals’ roads. Unwilling to get another good soaking, we sprang operation “hit the shops” into motion.
This was going to be a high-energy outing requiring skill and stamina, so we dragged The Man Bird out for a good breakfast; after all, he was going to need the energy carrying all our bags ;). The brilliantly named “Nerds and Nibblers” is just around the corner from our hotel, Loews Madison and provides a great hot menu that you can pick items from and the Chefs will cook them on their griddle. I had French toast with Bacon and Scrambled Egg, Chickadee had a Bagel with Scrambled Egg, and The Boy Wonder had the Full Breakfast Platter with Toast, Bacon, Scrambled Egg and fried Potatoes.We grabbed a table at the window and watched the city come to life with all the commuters headed into their offices. The food was really tasty and piping hot thanks to it being cooked fresh to order; it goes without saying that the portions sizes were very generous, this is America after all!
At the Loews Madison there is an absolute gem of a concierge called Euwie (I think that’s how you spell it); what this gentleman doesn’t know about the City isn’t worth knowing. We were going to grab the Metro out to the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Mall, which would be roughly $10 each (maybe a little less with a promo ticket), but a private taxi would cost $20-$25. Outside the hotel front doors there are always taxis waiting, and the doorman blew his whistle to summons one up to the door; we hopped in and sped our way across the river into Virginia State ready to shop-till-we-dropped.
Our taxi driver dropped us right outside the Mall entrance; just as well because it was slinging it down! The Mall is spotlessly clean and consists of four floors of shops; with Macy’s locate at one end of it. The Chicks’ eyes lit up with happiness at all the top brand names and we dropped by guest services to get a map of the Fashion City.
The first store we hit was Pandora and a lovely young lady called Paige took care of us; because we bought two charms totalling $100 Chickadee could choose a free gift up to the value of $75 from a ring, pair of earrings, or a leather bracelet. It was a tough choice, but My Chick decided to have another ring and chose one with her birthstone in. Paige carefully boxed and wrapped our purchases, and wished us a good day as we left the shop.
There was a Zara store that looked very inviting from the outside, so we just had to check it out. A short while later we were armed with another bag of goodies and smiles on our faces; The Man Bird wasn’t quite so chipper, can’t think why!A few years ago when we visited Disney Resort Florida we discovered Forever 21, so Chickadee was happy to see one of these at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Mall. The rails were given a very thorough inspection and several armfuls of clothes were taken into the changing rooms to try on; the successful garments were duly purchased and another bag found its way to The Man Bird.
No self-respecting Mall is without that pink striped Mecca that is Victoria’s Secret, and the one at Fashion Centre also just happens to have Pink right next door too :) The tornado that is my Chick whirled through the store and scooped up some cute pieces to bring home; my poor Boy Wonder was aching by now so we went down to the food court for an early lunch.
I had a stir fry of Teriyaki King Prawns (Shrimp as they’re called here) with vegetables and fried rice; for fast food it was really tasty and none of it went begging. His Nibs and our Chick fancied Taco Bell’s temptations; Quesadilla for him, nachos with salsa and sour cream for her.With our bellies full and energy levels topped up there was only one thing left to do; hit Macy’s. Needless to say even more Dollar got spent; we definitely boosted the local economy! The taxi driver who took us back to the hotel gave a little smile as he spied all the bags, and gave a wry smile of solidarity to His Nibs as if to say “I feel your pain”.
Euwie greeted us back to the hotel as he held the door open for us, asking if we’d had a good time. He laughed a little when we replied that our day had been awesome, but we couldn’t vouch for The Man Birds’ pleasure at having parted with money!
We’re having a small siesta before we go out for a pleasure cruise down the Potomac River this evening, on the “Spirit of Washington” cruise boat, courtesy of Entertainment Cruises. I’ll update you on this little adventure soon, don’t worry.
