Category Archives: Bits and Pieces
Chico’s – The Store!
I was having a mooch around the Tyson’s Corner shopping mall in Virginia and came across this!
Chico’s! Check out the poster in the shop! How totally random is that!??!
Bourbon Steak – Four Seasons Hotel – Washington D.C.
If you like good steak, you simply have to go to Bourbon Steak which is inside the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, Washington D.C.
At $59 just for the meat, the steak is hideously overpriced; but it’s so beautiful in the restaurant and the service staff make you feel like royalty.
They brought out some complimentary fries, all with different seasoning and dips; another complimentary dip included some hot rolls infused with truffle oil. Utterly scrumptious.
With my steak, I had a double cooked potato (sounds worse than it was believe me!) and a potato and cheese gratin.
The steak was cooked to perfection, I could honestly have eaten it twice (it was a smaller steak that I got at Clydes!); washed down with a couple of glasses of Riesling ($11), a fantastic meal. Yes, I know you should have red wine with steak, but that’s just me innit!
Burger Tap And Shake – Washington D.C.
Burger Tap and Shake makes a mean sandwich!
They served me up a juicy quarter pounder with blue cheese and mushrooms in a sauce. It was utterly delicious; don’t think I’ve had a better burger in years!
The restaurant can be found on 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20037; if you happen to be visiting D.C., I’d heartily recommend a visit!
Four Seasons – Georgetown – Washington D.C.
I could not get 5 consecutive nights at the Fairmont due to availability, so I arranged to stay at the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown for two nights before heading back to the UK.
Upon getting out of the taxi, I noticed how the place dripped in pretentious luxury; being in places like the Four Seasons is slightly uncomfortable for me because I did not feel like I belonged here at all? The valet guys are wonderful and genuine in their welcome , but the reception staff are trying so hard to be 5 star that it feels like you’re in a Hollywood movie?
That’s not to be dismissive of their excellent service, I just felt it was a little robotic?
The lobby is amazing, a roaring fireplace and sitting area is right by the revolving door, just before the reception. The reception staff looked after me so well, took my baggage (still not comfortable with someone doing that) and had it delivered to the room.
The journey to my room felt like it took ages because of how big this hotel is? Perhaps they could benefit from adding some of the Heathrow pod parking vehicles to take guests from reception to their rooms?
The room is definitely more classy than the Fairmont, but the rooms are slightly smaller? That said, it’s immediately apparent that you are in a different class of hotel here. The bed is beautiful, the chairs are extremely comfortable and the TV was almost twice the size of the last one!
The bathroom had a HUGE shower (but no bath) and beautiful sink and countertop with a fantastic selection of toiletries.
For a single night, I’d recommend a stay at the Four Seasons because it is absolutely amazing and I would not like to get too used to this kind of lifestyle, so that it remains a treat? It was exceptional, but perhaps I was punching a little bit above my weight?
Fairmont – Washington D.C.
I had the pleasure of staying in the Fairmont hotel in Washington D.C. for three nights between the 11th to 13th of December.
Upon my arrival in a taxi from Dulles airport, I was greeted (very genuinely) by some very cool valet dudes and made my way through the stunning lobby to check in. Again, all very professional.
The lobby is beautiful with a centrepiece Christmas tree right next to the bar; just at the back of the lobby area is a concept fireplace (lots of photo opportunities to be had) and plush armchairs are littered about which make for a nice place to sit and plan out your days in D.C.
I had a really nice cheeseboard with a beer one evening whilst watching some American football and the prices are very reasonable.
There’s also a gorgeous courtyard full of trees and plants which are currently covered in Christmas lights for the festive season; animal statues made up of wireframe Christmas lights are on show here, their heads move with little motors which was a nice touch. Perfect for when you are totally fuzzed following a transatlantic flight and just want to watch some pretty lights.
The rooms at the Fairmont are big and are generously furnished along with a very, very comfortable bed. The bathroom I had contained a nice sized bath with shower next to a really big sink and counter, massive mirror for a shave (if you are so inclined!).
As you’d expect for a luxury hotel, the TV is bloody massive and has lots of channels to enjoy after trudging around the Capital. I watched the United vs Liverpool game, up yours you Scouse slags!
What makes the Fairmont stand out, is it’s concierge team, particularly a chap named Chris, for whom nothing is too much trouble in going above and beyond the call of duty for people staying at the hotel. Chris provided us with a reservation at nearby Clydes restaurant in Georgetown (excellent) and provided me with a handy ‘family’ discount at Macy along with general advice about the metro. Huge thanks to him for that.
Absolutely fantastic value for money!
Heathrow T5 Business Pod Parking
Heathrow Business Pod Parking in Terminal 5 is rather swish!
The pods are futuristic looking contraptions which are about double the size of a smart car and reminded me of something out of Blade Runner or Total Recall (The Johnny cab!).
After parking up in a standard airport car park (conveniently situated just off the motorway), you head to a pod station and programme a simple journey to the terminal on a touchscreen monitor.
The doors open, you get in and after selecting ‘start’ on a button, off you go!
It’s about a 3-5 minute ride from the pod station to the terminal, you go over the lake using a skyway; the ride is quite nippy and it’s almost like being on a rollercoaster! Almost.
During the journey, you have a little information video telling you where to go, nice and professional.
A weeks pod parking was about £90, which isn’t too bad when you consider the other parking companies operating at London airports are alleged to park your car in nearby streets or probably go joy riding in them!
It’s a fun experience to start your journey off and certainly a very easy way to get to your car after you arrive back to Heathrow.
Egx Eurogamer London Expo – Earls Court
Went to the EGX Eurogamer Expo at Earls Court yesterday; think it was the busiest one I’ve attended over the years.
Heard some foreign languages and accents this year too; it really has grown from the rag tag collection of games several years ago that’s for sure.
That said, I was disappointed with the expo this year.
Dragon Age Inquisition had a 2.5 hour waiting time to play games, all because they only had 8 consoles; I have pre-ordered this game and was looking forward to a hands-on preview.
From what I did see, the game looked amazing with great visuals and smooth gameplay. Guess I’ll just have to wait…..
Bioware should have managed this better, especially when you look out from the balcony next to the Dragon Age section and spot the obscene use of space for Call Of Duty…..I wish that franchise would just die already.
Battlefield Hardline was a lot of fun to play, although it did feel like there was a an over balance of vehicle combat (just run people over in cars) and I hope they fix that.
Elite Dangerous looked amazing, would have liked to see a running demo where you could freelance as opposed to the dog fighting demo they were showcasing. Still, that took me back to my BBC Acorn Electron days!
The Batman Arkham Knight preview was my first experience of being in a mini movie theatre watching video game footage; the guy providing commentary whipped up a frenzy amongst the fan boys, screaming about how Batman could remote control the Batmobile during the game.
I might be a geek, but I’m not in the league of people who clap because Batman can daisy chain grapple hooks during his ascension of Arkham.
I loved the look of the game; but there is something very annoying about the voice of the Arkham Knight and I can’t wait to smash his face in.
The cosplay twats were out in force again; I was told the scene was dying out when I visited Shibuya on a Sunday afternoon in October 2005. Someone should tell all the idiots who turned up wearing the same Assassins Creed outfit…..uber fail cunts!
Nintendo had a pretty paltry showing considering the amount of new games they have coming out AND now that the WiiU is starting to get a little momentum going in the market.
I thought Yoshis Woolly World had plagiarised Little Big Planet (one console to try) a bit having a knitted character (like Sackboy) and wasn’t that impressed with the format; whereas I can only praise the developers of Little Big Planet 3 (a dozen consoles to play) for their innovative game.
I honestly think the organisers were greedy and sold far too many tickets compared to the amount of opportunities you had to play the games.
Why was the Indie section so tucked away this year; that was a shame?
Why was the Nintendo stage limited to two tired geeky presenters who were stalling for time in between asking silly questions for prizes and organising Hula Hoop competions? It was amateurish like being back at Pontins.
Why have security when they don’t read your ticket credentials or inspect your bags anymore?
Why do they let call of duty have so much exposure for such a small amount of product (think that sums up the Games too)?
Why do you allow Game to peddle their wares at such ridiculous prices?
Sort it out Eurogamer you flids!
Invictus Games Weekend
I can honestly say that attending the Invictus Games was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.
The Invictus games are sporting events for injured service men and women from several countries around the World; Prince Harry was apparently inspired to create the whole thing after seeing the American ‘Warrior Games’.
I was privileged to attend the Wheelchair Basketball, weightlifting and Sitting Volleyball events; all of which were held around Olympic Park in Stratford, East London.
It was the perfect setting for such amazing athletes to show families, friends and supporters how sports had helped them reclaim their lives after receiving life-changing injuries whilst serving in the military.
There were representatives from The United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Georgia, Estonia, France, Italy, Afghanistan, Denmark and Great Britain.
The home crowd got behind the British team, but everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, was applauded and encouraged as they gave their all for their teams.
Inspiration was around every corner. From wheelchair basketballers righting themselves after going over in their chairs due to breakneck speeds, to seeing amazing men and women lift more than their body weight after losing limbs to IED’s and terrible burns.
Israel Del Toro of the United States, absolutely conquered the weight lifting and that was a stand out moment for me. He suffered terrible burns, but stood up as a perfect example of “I Am The Captain Of My Soul”.
Life does go on; these amazing people epitomise that.
I know I can get very mushy and emotional in my blog, but the Invictus Games brought out some of the best moments of humanity that I think I’ve ever seen.
Prince Harry is a credit to us all in Great Britain and I have nothing but admiration for the organisers and participants; I only hope that I will be lucky enough to get tickets at the next Invictus Games.
Amazing!
Jethro – Sacki Monkey
Jethro is an ageing Saki Monkey at Monkey World in Dorset; he’s absolutely my favourite monkey ever.
I’ve been to Monkey World a few times now; the pictures below were taken a couple of months ago and were the first time that I’d seen Jethro outside of his boudoir.
Born in 1990, Jethro is already twice the average life expectancy of a Saki Monkey; he is fascinating to sit and watch because I think he’s a bit eccentric in his advanced years???
He actually sits and watches YOU, all the while poking his tongue out or putting his fingers down his throat and stroking his tongue…..
Cool dude isn’t he?
The Antikrish 
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