What a way with words, DS!
[QUOTE=Dragon Slayer;1137392]Cut off my left testicle if she would lick the other one. Dragon Slayer[/QUOTE]DS, I'm a polyorchid, and that visual even makes me cringe. But, what a testimony to your heart's depth.
I once heard a friend say of a girl, that she was so beautiful that ". He would crawl, on hands and knees, over a mile of broken glass, just to sniff the exhaust of the laundry truck carrying her soiled panties."
(Not So) Great Expectations
I've just come back from my first foray to the highly-touted, just-opened Abreeza (Ayala) Mall that, prior to its opening, was billed as a smaller version of Greenbelt in Davao. Well, whoever claimed this at least got the Davao part right. First, Abreeza is to Greenbelt what Davao is to Makati; less sophisticated, less pretty and infinitely less wealthy. In essence, it's nice, new and shiny, but just another mall, lacking the architectural prowess of Greenbelt, lacking the green space, lacking-for the most part-the high-end shops and restaurants. It's a slightly higher end version of the current SM Mall, and absolutely nothing to get excited about.
There are a few high end shops, most of them not yet opened, including Marks and Spencers, Lacoste, Polo, Occitane and 9 West, but for the most part, the same medium to low end stores found at SM are also found here.
I originally had high expectations for the restaurant variety and choices, but these expectations have been dashed. Though it's probably true that there are 35 places to eat, most of them are low end type places that wouldn't attract me or the people I know. True, there's an Italiannis (unopened until next week) , a TGI Fridays (ditto) and a reasonably high end Mexican place that's also yet to open and also can be found in Greenbelt. There are also lots of food stalls where the crowds with tee shirts, flip flops and shorts hang out munching hot dogs on a stick; exactly the same crowds I had hoped would be excluded by price alone from this place.
The biggest nightmare is the parking, though that will likely improve once the gawkers, picture takers, and the rest of the "curious but I ain't going to buy anything" hordes diminish. However, there are no signs indicating where to park, there's but a single entrance to the underground parking lot, and a line that oozes along without any assistance from attendance. I finally got so frustrated that I made a you-turn and, to the consternation of the guard, parked on the side of the access road. He kep telling me that I couldn't park there (which hundreds had already done) and I kept telling him to tow me if he didn't like it.
All in all, the place is a complete disappointment, with the same poorly dressed people, the same uninteresting shops and dreary fast food places, including McDonalds. There is a Starbucks, and I presume it serves the same mediocre coffee it serves everywhere else, but it's small, with an outside area that has but three tables.
We went there to shop in the new Robinson's grocery store (there's a full Robinson's Department store as well) , and while it was okay, it's neither as large nor as well stocked as the store in SM. As is typical here, no one gave any thought at all to the width of the aisles (narrow) , the length of the check-out counters (short) or the distance between the store exit and the parking areas (long to very long.)
I'm invited to the formal opening of Italiannis and TGI Fridays which should be next week, and I'll be sure to take a taxi when I go rather than hassle the parking, but aside from that, I doubt that I'll return for a while, at least until the crowds subside.
GE
