Cyndy's Bottom Line: Is hangman's tree a legend, or a myth…read more... You decide.. The tree is gone but there is a plaque that marks the spot behind a bus stop where the massive oak tree used to stand on the corner of W. Broad Street and North Virginia Avenue in the City of Falls Church.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Historic landmark in Falls Church…read more This house was the home of civil rights advocates and educators Dr. Edwin B. Henderson and Mary Ellen Henderson (for whom Falls Church's middle school is named).

Cyndy's Bottom Line: A wonderful tribute to the African American heritage in Falls Church…read more Start at the beginning to read all of the inscriptions on the sidewalk opposite of the monument.

We had such a fantastic historical tour of the property when we visited for one of Fall Church's…read moreice cream socials at Cherry Hill Park. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable of the history of this landmark, and thoroughly answered questions we had.

We had so much fun here at Cherry Hill Park! We stopped in on a Saturday morning just before 9am,…read moredrawn in by the farmer's market going on in the parking lots next door. And then we just kept walking into this incredible park. As we walked through the gardens, there was an explosion of baby rabbits hopping about everywhere. My kids loved it, and I admired the beautiful gardens. I don't know if this is a wedding or events venue, but it should be because it's beautiful. The house and barns look like they belong here, as though someone might be living in them, except there's no driveway, there are public benches, and a few commemorative signs nearby. But at first I questioned whether we were in a public space or someone's yard. On the negative side, there were homeless looking guys sleeping on several of the benches. They woke up and disappeared not long after we arrived. The park is great. There are logs the kids can play on, in what appears to be a colonial reenactment area. My kiddos liked walking along the logs and jumping from one to another. There's two distinct play areas but both are great for toddlers and little tikes so I wasn't able to distinguish them very easily. The swings were a hot item when we were there, but there just aren't very many of them for a Saturday morning toddler rush hour. There is also a tiny house structure but it is slightly too large to be fun and too small to be interesting, no kids played in it except to inspect it. The sand volleyball court was also popular, as our kids joined others in excavating the volleyball service area. Luckily they didn't get very far by the time volleyball players arrived, though it wasn't for lack of effort. The park also has tennis courts and a basketball court, and there's a really nice nature trail along the edge of the park nearest the houses that back up to it. We walked through these flowers and gardens to find butterflies, bees and more rabbits. Also a nice feature, although there weren't very many picnic tables, there was one barbecue pit for people to build a coal fire. There was a very small pavilion area as well. I liked this park for the "nature in the city" feel. We were only a block away from fancy pants coffee shops, but it felt secluded and beautiful as light filtered through the enormous trees adorning the property. Other park visitors kept telling us about live music and imploring we check the schedule, but we aren't interested in that. This park is great with or without those concerts for me, and would be a really awesome spot to stop by anytime. I do not know if they have restrooms around, but with the restaurants and coffeeshops nearby, you should be okay. I think we spent about 5 hours here on our first visit and we didn't even really play in most of the park, so it's good for a long or short visit.

So adorable! Amazing service, everyone is so friendly. The used book store in the basement is…read morestocked!!

During the last sunny weekend, my family and I did a little Church street stroll and stumbled…read moreacross the Freeman Store & Museum which is located right next to the W&OD trail. Not only did it provide a nice, quiet respite from the heat we had tons of fun exploring the remnants of the old post office, ogling over the old-fashioned candy aisle, and browsing through the great used book store selection in the basement. Both of my girls found a current children's book to bring home, and at 25 cents a piece it was a steal! I loved browsing through all of the Vienna ornaments, stickers, and other home goods they sold from local artisans. The back opens up to the town green and I saw lots of people enjoying having picnics on the tables. The shopkeep was so nice! I truly felt like I was in an episode of Gilmore Girls or Hart of Dixie while walking around.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Native American Indians paved the way to roads in use today…read more Inscribed on the marker: Site believed near intersection of two indian trails, later used by colonial horsemen and wagons. Tobacco growers improved the routes for delivering this valuable crop which was about 1/2 of all colonial exports. Draft animals pulled large rolling cylindric casks or hogsheads along the original courses of Alexandria-Leesburg and Little Falls Roads. 1730 law established dockside warehouses & inspectors. They set the quantity and quality of tobacco casks and issued notes to farmers. Notes were legal tender, forming the foundation of Virginia economy.

7th Annual Nowruz Festival is advertised as a Persian New Year Celebration but this festival was…read moremuch more, because other nations in Asia celebrate spring as their New Year as well. I hope that one day Nowruz Spring Festival will be a mainstream festival like St. Patrick's in USA started - in the face of growing nativist opposition in 19th century as well as a public declaration of a hybrid identity, and a strict adherence to the values and liberties that the U.S. offered to the immigrants. Traditional Ash Reshteh soup served at the special Iranian events was reasonable $5. This vegetable soup is supposed to symbolize good fortune for the New Year but in my mind that was done by a default because the soup healthy ingredients give you a healthy start with the taste that is easy on the palate. Chicken kebab by Saffron Food Truck was the best chicken ever - it tasted like some fancy, high-end meat that should have had a golden leaf over it. The market was rich - full of items from Turkey (selling delicious Salep - flour made from the tubers of the orchid); Afghanistan shops as well as many Persian shops. The entertainment program was moving quickly and it was interesting. Interesting market items were the decorated eggs, and in the proximity of the Christian Easter, I was reminded how we are all closer to each other then we are apart. This Persian New Year festival has a great potential and I hope it will continue to grow. This was my 4th New Year in 2018 (American, Vietnamese, Chinese and Persian) and I loved it. There was no fee to enter and parking @ Tysons Corner is free.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: The history of the Cage House uncovers the year Falls Church became a…read moretownship. The Cherry Hill Farm was acquired by Joseph S. Riley in 1874. In 1875, Joseph S. Riley lead the effort to petition the state for Falls Church to become a town. Thus, Falls Church became a township. In 1908, Joseph S. Riley gave the site to his daughter, Kathleen Maude Riley, as a present on her marriage to Charles Gage. In 1909, the Gages built a house named it "Poverty Pines." In 1956, The City of Falls Church purchased the property from the University of Virginia. In 1974, The City of Falls Church acquired the house and site, and made it part of Cherry Hill Park.. Today, the house is listed on the City's Historical Register as a Protected Structure and Site.

My wife and I went to Italy recently to celebrate both of us turning 50 and our 25th wedding…read moreanniversary. In planning the trip, which began about a year prior, we were recommended through a friend to use Asimina Tours; we were put in contact with Dimitri. Right away, Dimitri worked very closely with us to find out what we were interested in seeing, how long we were looking to stay in Italy, and what our budget was. From there, Dimitri, along with his partner Christina, put together an amazing package that allowed us to see all the sights. We went to Venice, Como, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Sorrento. Along the way, we had many day trips, the majority of which were fantastic. From Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Cinque Terre (a favorite), the Vatican, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri, it was a once in a lifetime experience and we had the most amazing time. Other highlights of the trip were the wine tasting in Tuscany and the private cooking class in Sorrento. They were also very accommodating with some last minute trip ideas. About 2 months prior to leaving, I had learned that one of my favorite bands, Queens of the Stone Age, were going to be performing in Italy while we were there. We contacted Dimitri and he was able to rearrange our hotel and travel accommodations, including a last minute domestic flight, without any issues. Dimitri and Christina made the entire process run smoothly. All of our travel tickets and hotel reservations were all available through the app. Our hotels were centrally located and were within walking distance from the major attractions. We really appreciated the private transportation arrangements to take us from the hotels to the train stations/airports, as well as the private tours. If you are planning on going to the Mediterranean area of Europe, I would highly recommend using Asimina Tours, they were awesome.

Flawless from start to finish. Stella was absolutely wonderful and created a magical 3 week second…read morehoneymoon for us in Greece (Athens, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Santorini, and both Elounda and Chania Crete). The hotels, unique adventures, and travel arrangements all exceeded our highest expectations, on every level. At the start Stella spoke with us at length to understand all of our needs, preferences, budget, style, priorities... and then - quite uncharacteristically - I left everything completely in her hands. She made all of the right choices and created a trip of a lifetime that we will always remember. And she made it all SO easy and stress free, and even during the trip was available 24/7 with updates and to answer any questions we had, wherever we were. We are so grateful to Stella and can't recommend her highly enough.