the americana

i recently went to the americana to check out this "the grove" counterpart. they are sisters after all and developed by the same person (caruso) so the layout is pretty darn similar if not EXACTLY the same. from the fountain, to the pacific theatres, to the barnes and noble, to the cheesecake factory...and the trolley that didn't move because there were too many people milling about. the only thing "ungrove-ish" about the americana is that it's in glendale, there's no farmer's market, and you have to be an american to shop there. :)

i grew up going to the glendale galleria. in fact, i use to take the bus there and the highlight of my teenage years was being able to hang out with friends at the mall. by far, it is STILL my mall of choice, though scp has become a close second for other reasons. i'm accustomed to the galleria pace. you know, the slow walking, regular stores for the average worker. i liked that. when target took over the old robinson's-may location, i just pictured the galleria being more funky and ghetto...i thought, what's next to go? nordstroms or macy because the shoppers are carrying target bags now while they peruse their wares? apparently not.

i think the americana is a great addition! not good for the residents of glendale per se because of the amount of high density traffic it gets, but good for me, the average shopper who likes a ton of stores in the same location. come on now! park and shop..."like, isn't that rad?"

-at the galleria, i can shop at: nordstrom, macy's, bakers, the gap, verizon, and target.

-at the americana: forever 30 (oh my god it's huge! now i don't have to go to pasadena anymore when i want my trendy fix), H & M, and urban outfitters.

-at the glendale market place: pacific sun (?) and old navy.

now that you know what's in my closet.........

the only drawbacks of course is the horrid parking situation...though i successfully parked at the galleria once and walked over. i can imagine the galleria parking becoming uber crazy if you had a choice between paying at the americana or parking for free at the galleria. the americana also lacks in the bag department, but i guess that's what scp is for.

mass consumerism at its finest. i know people were trashing the americana for many reasons, but for bagnatic, it gets a TWO THUMBS UP. convenient shopping for me is SO the rage.