I took the kidlets to the mall today. I had a few errands to run and the man of the house was otherwise occupied so I figured I would brave it solo. At least it's cool in there, right?!
Once the necessary goods were bought and the rejects returned, we made some wishes in the fountains we passed as we walked to grab an early lunch at Grand Lux. Here, we were seated almost immediately in a quiet corner and the manager graciously bought my kids a plate--gratis--of avocado and banana slices to accompany the bread and to stave off hungry-child syndrome while we perused the menu and decided what to order. As a parent, there is absolutely nothing like feeling your kids are more than welcomed at a restaurant and this small but chivalrous gesture made my day.
One portion of chicken nuggets and fries (more than enough for two kids), one Pellegrino and a small salad later (lunch for one adult and two kids for $24 at the mall in a non-food-court setting was pretty impressive by my standards), the kids and I made a potty stop and made our way to probably the only free indoor activity for kids left in town--the Rainbow Valley Playground.
The Rainbow Valley playground, designed by Miami artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, known collectively as Friends With You, is also the premiere project of Turnberry for the Arts, an innovative arts initiative that fuses art and retail. Aventura Mall is the first mall in South Florida to debut a playground designed by contemporary artists.
The playground features three mountains, a rainbow bridge and a control center. Rainbow Valley celebrates the spirit of play and entertained both my children (one 3 1/2 and the other 15 mos) so that for 10 minutes, I could sit down, take a breath and relax while my kids threw caution to the wind, ran wild and blew off steam. Needless to say, good naps followed during the carride home.
And so, for the price of our $24 lunch (oh, and a Pez machine for my son's collection at next-door It'Sugar), the kids and I walked around, threw pennies in the fountain, ate and had some good, old-fashioned playground fun.
There's nothing like a cheap (kid) date!
Once the necessary goods were bought and the rejects returned, we made some wishes in the fountains we passed as we walked to grab an early lunch at Grand Lux. Here, we were seated almost immediately in a quiet corner and the manager graciously bought my kids a plate--gratis--of avocado and banana slices to accompany the bread and to stave off hungry-child syndrome while we perused the menu and decided what to order. As a parent, there is absolutely nothing like feeling your kids are more than welcomed at a restaurant and this small but chivalrous gesture made my day.
One portion of chicken nuggets and fries (more than enough for two kids), one Pellegrino and a small salad later (lunch for one adult and two kids for $24 at the mall in a non-food-court setting was pretty impressive by my standards), the kids and I made a potty stop and made our way to probably the only free indoor activity for kids left in town--the Rainbow Valley Playground.
The Rainbow Valley playground, designed by Miami artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, known collectively as Friends With You, is also the premiere project of Turnberry for the Arts, an innovative arts initiative that fuses art and retail. Aventura Mall is the first mall in South Florida to debut a playground designed by contemporary artists.
The playground features three mountains, a rainbow bridge and a control center. Rainbow Valley celebrates the spirit of play and entertained both my children (one 3 1/2 and the other 15 mos) so that for 10 minutes, I could sit down, take a breath and relax while my kids threw caution to the wind, ran wild and blew off steam. Needless to say, good naps followed during the carride home.
And so, for the price of our $24 lunch (oh, and a Pez machine for my son's collection at next-door It'Sugar), the kids and I walked around, threw pennies in the fountain, ate and had some good, old-fashioned playground fun.
There's nothing like a cheap (kid) date!
