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Shopping-in-SoCal / Santa Monica Travel / Lucky Magazine / Malls / Shopping / → All Tags

What Else is Inside the Just-Opened Santa Monica Place?

As promised, we have a whole new batch of photos from inside Santa Monica Place, the new mall that just opened at the end of Third Street Promenade, steps away from the iconic Santa Monica Pier. (C'mon, you've all seen it in "Forest Gump.")

While Third Street Promenade has provided most of the recreational and retail action for Santa Monica, it's going to have to take a backseat to this new mall. Aside from the designer brands (Louis Vuitton, Bloomies, Nordstroms, Burberry and Barneys Co-Op), Santa Monica Place is finally giving shoppers what they really want--a wide variety of food options.

The third-floor open-air Dining Deck has a mix of high-end restaurants (Sonoma Wine Garden, XINO and La Sandia) mixed in with somewhat upscale food court options like tacos, pizza, and Chinese food. Of course, you can still get a cinnamon sugar pretzel at Wetzel's Pretzels.

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Shopping-in-SoCal / Shopping / Santa Monica Travel / Malls / Lucky Magazine / → All Tags

Santa Monica Place Reopens Today Near Third Street Promenade

Way back in January 2008, Santa Monica Place, the mall at the end of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif.--near the world famous Santa Monica Pier--closed for an extensive renovation. And we mean, extensive.

Much of the old mall, designed by Frank Gehry in 1980, was demolished and in its place, a 500,000sq.ft. three-story, open air shopping "destination" was erected.

Today that mall reopens as a spectacular high-end retail experience anchored by a stunning new Bloomingdale's. And not only does this new shopping mecca look pretty and modern but it's also eco-friendly and hopes to earn a LEED Silver certification.

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Charlotte Field Trip / Attractions / Malls / → All Tags

Hanging Around Charlotte's EpiCentre

On your next layover in Charlotte, don't be afraid to check out the city if you have the time. There’s a lot more to do than to just chill out on those rocking chairs between the terminals. Here are some tips for getting around quickly.

Every city that wants its share of the spotlight tries to create some sort of downtown entertainment and shopping Mecca. We recently saw Los Angeles adding to its “arsenal” of downtown attractions, and during our recent field trip we witnessed what Charlotte has up its sleeve. After taking the LYNX Blue Line to Uptown, we stumbled upon the city’s newest complex—The EpiCentre.

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Hong Kong Field Trip / Shopping / Malls / Asia Travel / Souvenirs / → All Tags

Hong Kong, Pearl of the Orient and...Mall Rat Paradise?

Culture shock has never been a problem for us; we're cool with whatever is the norm in a new destination and most of the time join in with gusto. But this week in Hong Kong, we've faced a huge challenge in embracing something so dear to the locals: the ubiquity of shopping malls.

In the main districts, you have something like a 95% chance of having to at least stroll through a mall to get where you are going. If you aren't inside of a mall, then you are on top of one, next to one, underneath one, or even using one as a landmark for orienting yourself in the city.

We've unwittingly hit a higher number of malls than days we've been in Hong Kong, and it doesn't look like the barrage of consumerism will be letting up soon. Since we hail from a Midwestern city that of course loves their Auntie Anne's pretzels and Abercrombie, we were at first unfazed by the shopping glut in HK.

After our fifth megaplex in two days, however, our patience with escalators and perfume counters began to wear thin and we stepped back to observe the scene.

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Poor Timing, Love: London Greets Recession With Giant Mall

Global recession be damned, Londoners are ready to shop. Er, at least they better be, because the city just opened one of the continent's largest shopping malls.

The 265-store, glass-roofed Westfield London Shopping Centre opened last week. The mall--in the White City neighborhood--is chock full of high-end retailers like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany's, along with 47 restaurants, and even a new tube station just to serve the traffic the mall is anticipated to attract.

Londonist has a neat photo gallery of the opulent interior. And judging from the pics, there appear to be plenty of folks left in London with some money to burn.

Related Stories:
· Westfield London Shopping Centre [Official Site]
· London Mall Opened by Westfield as Recession Looms [Bloomberg]
· Shopping Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Londonist]

Boston / Cambridge / Shopping / Malls / → All Tags

Mini-Mall Madness

Might as well make it mini-mall week. The Garage, in Cambridge, MA, is a curious little place we've been attached to for a while. Its stranglehold on us might have something to do with the fact that the inside feels exactly like a Habitrail.

The Garage is, in fact, a converted garage near Harvard Square. It's perfect for wasting an hour while you're waiting for friends, or, in our case, for getting in touch with your inner hamster. Most importantly it houses a holy trinity of retail outlets: Ben & Jerry's, tattoo place, and a Newbury Comics. There's a sweet stack of free papers outside Newbury here, making it an easy-to-find go-to when you're stuck for something to do at night.

And yeah, there's a Starbucks too. Feel free to shoot us now for loving it.

[Photo: bunge/callmissy]

Related Stories:
· Guide to Cool Tokyo Record Stores [Jaunted]

Jaunted Field Trips / Japan Field Trip / Shopping / Malls / Public Transportation / → All Tags

Jaunted in Japan: Sloppy Seconds

Jaunted editor Davie Kaufmann is currently touring Japan. All this week, we'll be running stories from her Jaunted Field Trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. Have something you absolutely need to know about Japan?  Just ask.

Not including human beings--I can now speak from experience--random pieces of crap are the most lost item on the Tokyo Metro. And you can shop for those secondhand gems to your heart's content at this store in the Nakano Broadway mall. It's dedicated exlusively to unclaimed lost-and-found junk from the subway.

There are watches, wallets, beat-up umbrellas, clothing, 8-tracks and, as of 10/12, not one but two VHS copies of some documentary about the making of Titanic the movie.

The store is located on the first floor of Nakano Broadway. To find it, make a right at the first "Information" counter within mall limits (that means AFTER the neighboring Sun Mall that leads right into it), a left at Poco a Poco, and look to your left a few steps down.

Travel Tips / Hotels / Concierges / Malls / → All Tags

Avoiding the Authentic Experience of Sbarro

It's not paranoia: Your concierge really is secretly working against you. Maybe not against you, per se, but certainly a concierge can be working at cross-purposes to what you want in a vacation, which isn't going to make anyone happy. Monica Hesse describes such an experience in the San Francisco Chronicle when she was in Panama; her concierge wanted her to visit places like the local mall, and she wanted to (understandably) visit more exotic destinations. She puts it this way:

In matters of food, adventure, and discovery, striking out on your own can lead to unexpected delights. In matters of scratchy throats and sinus infections, it's best to listen to the concierge.

Very true. In more expensive cities, concierges can be great, useful sources of information and procurers of reservations and the like. But in rougher spots, better to try it on your own and pick the brain of locals. Otherwise you'll end up eating at the food court.

[Image via Daragh/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Confounding the Concierge [SF Chron]