Tea at the Willard – take two

C – So, it happened! Second time’s a charm, apparently. We made it in for tea at the Willard. The week prior, we made an attempt and found that Peacock Alley was blocked off for a bridal show and the tea was exiled to a small corner of the lobby. As a result, we cancelled our reservations and made plans for the following week.

And it did not disappoint.

Both my friend and I lived in London for several years, so we’re all about the tea. Even though, I’m really not a fan of the beverage itself. It’s all the stuff that goes with it. That’s what I love.

A few things of note about the Willard tea:

• It is pretty much your standard tea. At $45 each, it’s not bad. You’re paying for the experience and the atmosphere.
• Everyone on staff remembered us from the prior weekend. They went out of their way to make sure we had an enjoyable afternoon.
• The scones were amazing. The choice of spreads worked really well together. I demolished the lemon curd.
• The sandwiches were so-so.
• The harpist was great. At times, I felt so relaxed by the music and, really, the whole experience, I thought it could be a good cap off to a spa experience. (Note to self for next time).
• Our valet parking ticket was validated! Hey – parking’s not cheap and valet is so easy. Nice touch.

Tea is served Friday – Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Willard Intercontinental
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20004
202.637.7350

Tea at the Willard – take one

C – So, the Saturday before last we tried to have tea at the Willard. Sounds so sophisticated, doesn’t it? My friend and I had this planned for weeks. Imagine our surprise to find a big, brash bridal show going on in the lobby and hallway – Peacock Alley – where tea was to be. The tea had been moved to a tiny corner and the harpist had to compete with a wedding band. No one called us to let us know our tea experience wouldn’t be the one we had expected. We were not thrilled. However, kudos to the Willard staff, as they apologized saying someone should have called us. They cancelled our reservation without penalty, validated my parking and rescheduled us for the following weekend.

By this time, we were hungry, so we went into the famed Round Robin bar. We had bar snacks – club sandwich and calamari – along with some hot, alcoholic drinks to stave off the chill of the day. It wasn’t very crowded and it was lovely. And then the Hoyas fans descended. It got very loud, very raucous and quite crazy incredibly quickly. That was our cue to leave.

Next week… Tea at the Willard! (we hope)

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The Willard Round Robin and Scotch Bar
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

Before Peter became Pan

Photo from official website

K – Saturday night I saw “Peter and the Starcatcher” at the Kennedy Center, which is playing at the Eisenhower Theater until 16 February. The show, which has won five Tony Awards and touts itself as the “a grownup’s prequel to Peter Pan,” is based on the best-selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

The story explains how Peter, who was an orphan boy without a name – he wasn’t even called Peter, just “Boy” – came to be. This is way before the Lost Boys, Wendy, Tinkerbell and Neverland existed, even before the notorious Captain Hook got his name. For a synopsis of the show click here.

The show is a fun mix of vau

Photo from Washington Post

deville, musical, storytelling and a play. There are puns, gags and anachronisms. The scenery is simple, inventive and imaginative. The actors play multiple parts and multiple items play different things such as a few people and a rope could be a door, a cell or ocean waves.

All of the actors were fun to watch.

The actor who played Black Stache, John Sanders, stole the show. I don’t know if it was the way the part was written, the actor, or what, but he definitely stole the show for me.

If you can, go see it – there’s a reason it won five Tony awards and has had rave reviews.

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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20566
Tickets and Information: 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600

At the Car Wash – Where to go When Lines are Long

C – I just bought a new car and, you know how new car owners can be. Over the past few weeks I’ve watched black paint fade into salty grey thanks to all the snow. Three times I went to the car wash, only to watch it go back to grey. With ridiculous lines backing up traffic outside the area soft washes, what’s a girl to do?

My first choice is usually Sonic Soft Car Wash in Falls Church. They are very nice, totally thorough and on normal days, quite fast. Sonic is everyone’s favorite here, which is why last week traffic on Rt. 7 was backed up for half a mile. They place is small and they can only handle so many cars. So, I took the opportunity to try another place.

I found Flagship Car Wash Center of Herndon with a quick Google search for soft car washes. I happened to be in the area and I thought this would be a good alternative to Sonic. On a Tuesday after a snow, during lunch hour, I was in-and-out in 12 minutes. I chose the cheapo, $8, exterior-only wash and was very pleased. It was crazy cold out and I didn’t even have to get out of my car. You pull around back, an attendant takes payment (cash or credit) and off you go into one of the largest car washes I’ve ever seen. On exiting, a crew of 2-3 drys off your car and there’s a box for tips (recommended because, seriously, it was cold and they deserve a little extra).

Over the weekend, same issue with Sonic backing up traffic on Rt. 7. If Facebook posts are to be believed, a 30-40 minute wait. I found another Flagship Car Wash near my destination, Gainesville. Despite what appeared to be long lines, I was again in and out in 12 minutes. This time I went for the slightly more expensive $12 exterior-only wash. Outstanding. And then it rained.

Flagship Car Wash Center

GAINESVILLE
14131 DAVE’S STORE LN

HERNDON
632 GRANT STREET

And other locations across the DMV

Sonic Soft Car Wash – Falls Church
1050 West Broad Street
*still great, just too small for high volume