Friday was the first day we had all to ourselves. It was filled with my favorite things—eating, shopping, and sight-seeing.
We ate breakfast at a restaurant ominously called Hell’s Kitchen. The dining room where we were seated was aptly located underground.
We shared a savory dish (Huevos Rancheros) and a sweet (Lemon Ricotta Pancakes), my favorite way to do breakfast. Both were excellent. I enjoyed the different textures in the Huevos Rancheros and layering of flavors. The lemon really stood out in the pancakes, and were light and fluffy due to the ricotta.
Even though we were full, I could not resist picking up a little something at the related Angel Food Bakery—get it?
The bakery was so cute. We saved our treat for later in the day, so I will write about it later.
Our next stop was the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center. Admission is free, and it is open early in the morning, so it was a good second stop.
The garden’s most iconic sculpture is “Spoonbridge and Cherry”.
Different angles.
Our next stop was the Mall of America, in Bloomington. It is about a twenty minute drive from Minneapolis.
The mall itself is not that unusual, except that it has a Nickelodeon Universe, a small theme park, in its center. D bought a watch from Swatch. I told him it was his anniversary present. 
My favorite store ended up being Typo, a stationery store which is based in Australia, but I showed restraint and did not purchase anything.
We stopped by at the American Girl store. These dolls reminded me of k and n. The camping set-up was cute too. I don’t even want to know how much it costs!
There were plenty of Minnesota-centric stores as well.
After walking so much, we refueled with a kale smoothie from Jamba Juice. D wanted to try something new, and I must admit, it tasted pretty good! I wonder if the kids would go for a homemade version.