I don't know how I overlook this place each time I am near. I somehow just associate it with the…read moreMetro station and forget that it is its own standalone business. I think what happens is that I mindlessly walk through here as I use it as a passageway. I need to start paying attention to what is in here and keep note of it. Basically this is a mall. Like every mall just about everywhere, they are without some businesses. But, I will say this about the DMV area, even with some shops being empty, the malls still know how to draw people in. Even if it is just for the food options. This place has a ton of food options and some of the places in here are the only place in DC to find them, or at least a place where it is fairly easy to get to in order to visit the business. They got the run of the chains you would see in almost any food court. Charleys, Five Guys, Jamba Juice, Moe's, Panda Express, Starbucks, Subway, etc. But there are a lot of mom and pop stands mixed in. You can definitely find something for your lunch or a quick snack. This is one of the only places I have seen a Church's Chicken in the city. It can be a maze walking through here, especially if you arrive via Metro. But like I said, it is a great passageway to get yourself to areas without having to be outside. With the Spy Museum on the one end it's a great place to spend a day in the city. The Wharf not too far either. There are a few shops throughout as well. Mostly open during daylight hours if you need to grab a thing or two. Everything from a post office to a convenience type store. If you are lucky enough to work nearby, I am sure this is busy around the lunchtime hour.

A little confused what this is. I think it's a fancy train station/transfer hub, I guess. Anyway, I…read morefound out about it because I was staying at the hotel nearby. If you're staying at the Hilton, there's a direct connection to it from the hotel. So this place is helpful because it has several fast food options. Nothing to rave about, but when you're traveling access to quick, fast food is important. Many food places either seemed always closed when I went a few times or open at inconsistent times. The place also never seems busy. Kinda ghost town-ish. Panda Express seemed to be the main attraction here. All together tho, it was clean. I think the space has potential to be a more useful shopping space for people.

Nice walkable area with great stores and restaurants just north of Metro Center. Only been here…read moreonce to go to Yardbird during a conference at the Grand Hyatt surprisingly.

When we're in this part of DC (typically at least once during our 1-2 trips a year), I love walking…read morethrough to window shop and/or stop in shops to browse or actually make a purchase. The area is an open-air concept with offices, apartments, cafes & restaurants, and shops. The stores are luxury brand shops like Dior, Gucci, Hermes, etc. Everything about this area is high-end from the apartments to the restaurants. There are outdoor areas to grab a seat and sip a coffee while doing my favorite thing, people watching. I just love seeing all of the folks passing through in decked out in impeccable clothing and jewelry.

I've been here before and came again on a recent trip to the DC area ... we came specifically for…read moreUniqlo. This mall is large -- three stories plus the food court area on the Metro level. Easy to get here from the Metro's Pentagon City stop .. when you get off the Metro and exit the turnstiles, just follow the signs at the "T" for Fashion Centre. There's a mix of regular and high end stores here, so you're sure to find a store that has what you're looking for. The food court has a number of fast food options, but you'll need to walk around nearby for better-than-fast-food. The one thing that annoyed me was no directory! None of the boards that should've been directories displayed any kind of map. And no, I do not have any interest in scanning a QR code to pull up something on my phone: in a public place like that, I have no idea if it's legit or not, or if it's a fake one that will hijack my phone or wallet. PUT THE MAPS BACK.

This is a large mall in Pentagon City. Four floors of shopping with tons of options. I wanted to…read moreget out of the heat in the summer so we decided to enjoy some indoor shopping. It was very crowded with high school kids hanging out and playing games in the area. I was able to go around and check out the different stores. On the bottom floor there are several food options. I was able to pick up some food at Harleys Sandwiches. You have your usual fast food options available. Afterwards you can head out and catch the metro nearby. It is easy to get to from DC or Virginia. I enjoyed coming here to get out of the heat and relax for a while.

My favorite holiday market in DC, I love coming here every year! This market has grown over the…read moreyears with 50+ artisan vendors and more hot food and boozy vendors! There are lots of hand-made craft and unique gift items (ramen stall, truffle stall, cat & dog stalls, as well as plenty of jewelry, chocolate, candle, toys, ornament, and crafts stalls). I bought a Ramen bowl from Japan for hubby, Truffle butter @ Truffist, and dark chocolate Oreos (the dark chocolate pretzels aren't that good) @Capital City Jar, kudos for being a long-time vendor! I also got an overpriced $40 onesie @SOL, the material was very soft and made in the U.S. In terms of the hot chocolate stalls, the Truffle stall and the S'mores N More are my favorite. The Marshmallows are gigantic and should have mixed them in! I got a pack of 6 marshmallows and picked out the flavors - Rainbow, Cookies and Cream, and Toffee Marshmallows. The Racklette sandwich was delicious - you must try it! It was so fascinating to watch the melty swiss cheese get scooped off the big truckle cheese wheel and sandwiches into a soft baguette roll. The Churros with Dulce Leche filling are a must - I always get the every year! Kudos for being a long-time vendor! The Dirty Habit Chalet boozy is a bit gimmicky. I paid $17 for Whiskey and Cider, I wish it was served warm and the service was lukewarm. The air-fried Gnocchi from Carmine's was a complete miss and a total disappointment. The Gnocchi lacked the crispy edges and pillowy soft juicy center. The texture was completely off from the air fryer. Excited to go back next year for some more gifts and delicious goodies and sweet treats!

Since I have moved to the area, each year I tell myself that I am going to stop at the Holiday…read moreMarket. And each year I always end up bypassing it because after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is be jammed in with a bunch of other people going from booth to booth. I finally took the time to visit here and probably picked one of the worst times to visit, during a hockey game. With the influx of people coming into the area for the game and the arena right there, it made navigating to and through a nightmare. The downside here, and it is probably the only downside, are the amounts of other people. They will do one of two things. One, forget about their awareness to where they are. By this I mean that they will forget they are not the only person here at the holiday market. Two, the other people will either push you along, or walk at a glacial pace. Jamming up crosswalks and entrances to the main area. Two things you cannot control and you just have to go with the flow here. I will say it is lively and welcoming. Once you do make it into the stall area you will have to take your time to sift through what there is to offer. From gifts to food, you can find it all here. Live music is a usual draw as well which lends to the magical feel that you are in the middle of a DC street and don't have to worry about a thing. All of the vendors are local, so this is a big shop small venue. Offering you everything you can think of as a gift for a special somebody. Definitely worth a look around the holiday season.

I have to admit that Union Station in D.C. is really the main train station I know well. I've spent…read morequite a bit of time at Denver Union Station, but never actually to catch a train, and the other major station I can compare it to is Penn Station in New York City. Obviously, Penn Station handles a completely different volume of people, so it's not exactly a fair comparison, but every time I travel through Union Station I'm impressed by how easy it is. First, there is SO much room. Even when it's busy, I rarely feel like I'm fighting for space. It's consistently clean, it's easy to navigate, and the communication around where trains are and where you need to go is clear. I also love that they actually use all that space. There are sometimes little markets in the huge open area toward the front, and there's also a room off to the side that doesn't have a restaurant or anything in it, but people seem to use it as a quieter place to sit. It's just more space, which is something I really appreciate in a train station. The food options are also surprisingly good in terms of variety. You can have a sit-down meal upstairs, grab something reasonably priced and fast-casual on the main level, or head downstairs for the cheaper fast-food options. There's even a post office, which is incredibly convenient if you need to get an errand done before leaving town or while you're passing through. Overall, I'm always impressed by Union Station. It's spacious, clean, efficient, easy to understand, and has enough food and other amenities that you can actually spend some time there comfortably before your train. As someone who really appreciates not feeling crammed into a train station, the amount of space might be my favorite part.

I'm updating my review since Union Station has been making an effort to make some changes. But, I'm…read morenot giving up other malls or restaurants. I had a good time visiting lots of stores during the day. I always use a cross body bag whenever I'm downtown. When I use the red line at night, I take Chinatown's metro stop. The streets are well lit and I have less unsavory characters to deal with. The police have a presence at Capital One Arena and the convention center. There are new businesses on the Mezzanine level that are interesting. A case study is whether Wolfgang Puck's Bar & Bites will stay. A pop art installation has replaced Ann Taylor on the mezzanine level. The space that housed Victoria's Secret is still empty (rip). My Swatch store (rip) is where Amtrak passengers wait for trains. H&M is now on the lower level (where Borders Books was located). Walgreens is hanging in there too. Chipotle is always a favorite (but the 4th St location is closer). The main hall is a beautiful event space. All that marble floor used to have benches where DMV residents & visitors could sit and visit. It is one of the reasons I don't hang out inside that gorgeous building as often. Most of the seating is gone. The Amtrak gates are just gates. All of the seating was removed after homeless people caused injury to Amtrak employees. Union Station is beautiful. We used to visit more often. I loved trying items in the food court. The vendors change over more frequently. Wendy's is gone. Taco Bell is hanging in there. Raising Cane's is there (as of 9/26). We attended the grand opening of Halal Guys. I'm happy they are still in business. The "suggested rule" for dining in the food court area is staying for 30 minutes. I have never been asked to leave when visiting with friends but we're usually in Chinatown where places are open after 8pm. The food court shuts down promptly at 8pm. If you are lingering after that time, all the other tables and chairs have been stacked and moved. Wok a Holic was a disappointment but meat eaters can find a dish (just don't order fried rice). Unos was a big loss (rip). We loved having pizza or pasta and two floors of places to dine. The main purpose for visiting Union Station is taking Metro, Amtrak, a bus or the Marc Train. The loss of the Circulator buses is another reason I don't visit frequently. Enterprise Car Rental has taken over dozens of spaces in the parking garage. The expansion project fell apart & was halted. The Postal Museum is across the street and worth a visit. If you park in Union Station you can still get a few dollars off of your parking by validating your ticket at the bus entrance level.

This is one of my "go to" metro stops. It is near the Portrait Gallery, restaurants and movies. I…read moretake minimal items with me. I use a cross body pack or purse. I like walking by the arch in China town. If there is a game or show at Capital One Arena, the area is crowded.

Gallery Place pandemic changes should be verified. Inside I…read moresaw Regal 14, Clyde's and AT&T open. Haagen-Dazs is open 12-10pm daily. Smoothie King is also open daily 7am-8pm. It is actually addressed Capital One Arena but access is via outside Gallery Place alley across from Clyde's. McDonald's is just a few steps away on 7th Street for the adventurous. Lucky Strike has been closed for a while. Bar Louie, Thai Chili and Arosto Pizza are also now closed. Broken escalators, neglected sanitation and nighttime urban grittiness continue. I note with sadness the closing of Gallery Place in Baltimore Inner Harbor. Tough economy everywhere.

Small crampy parking spaces (not for trucks nor mid size SUVs) but the building itself is clean and…read moreclose to the museums. I witnessed the con today. A professionally dressed federal employee was sitting at a table by a conference room near FEMA Headquarters. He looked tired while waiting for someone when an elderly heavyset employee (looked like maintenance) berated him for quietly sitting there. I was hoping the man would curse the elderly man out for his rudeness but he didnt. He just looked tired as he moved to another area. The behavior of the elderly African-American man was unprofessional and classless. Hopefully not all of the maintenance workers are as rude and classless as him. DO BETTER.

Great secure parking. After 5pm and on the weekends there is a flat rate of $11.00. In walking…read moredistance to the museums which made it worth my time and money.

The team here is the absolute best. This is why you shop at Nordstrom…read more I found a lovely parka on clearance but it was the wrong size. Evelyn and Brandon helped me find inventory at other stores and even called over to a local store to check inventory before I drove over. Nordstrom has made its business the business of customer service and it shows. Five stars and lots of smiles here - I'll be back many more times.

I have enjoyed shopping at Nordstrom Rack for many years. I have never encountered the level of…read moresheer hostility I recently received from a female security guard as I tried to shop in peace. She wore security staff attire that resembled a crossing guard uniform and she clearly singled me out, hovering near me and ignoring other shoppers. She continued to glower at me. I no longer want to shop at this store. I will not continue to spend money where people of color are clearly not treated with respect.

Georgetown Waterfront Park is one of the best urban parks in DC. It's on the Potomac overlooking…read moreRosslyn in Arlington, VA. There are plenty of walk ways and benches to enjoy the water and a sunny day. They also have informational signs throughout explaining the history and purpose of eco-friendly innovations found in the park. Just off the park is a bridge that reminds people of Seattle. Under the bridge, you can find a coffee shop, a theater, and a few restaurants. Pro-tip: Walk a few blocks to Baked and Wired for DC's best cupcakes.

What's not to like at this lovely park by the Georgetown waterfront?…read more The benches are strategically placed throughout the park in such ways that you get shades from nearly every seats. That's great news because it gets unpleasantly hot and humid in DC this time of the year. I also appreciated how much shades are available in general at this park. This made it easy to walk dogs like cavalier spaniels who tends to do terribly in hot humid weather. Many of the good restaurants such as Fiola Mare is available right from the steps of the park. You can also hop on the DC tour boat and some allows for wining and dining on them. Perhaps the only gripes I have are finding parking and not being able to find dog waste stations easily. No big deal for the most part but mildly annoying nonetheless.