a day at the broad

so sometimes things sneak past me. and i am embarrassed to admit, this place almost did. here's the story. i work downtown and like to take walks during my breaks. downtown is just the best place to take a stroll, do some people-watching and observe huge museums like the broad unravel. while it technically showed its exterior back in december (to much disappointment, gasp! haters), i was stopped in my tracks just a few months ago. i couldn't believe it. how had i not known about this huge whatever it was? the place is really hard to miss. not only does it have a very famous neighbor, the walt disney music hall, the broad is huge, and has the exterior of a honeycomb. so what had i been staring at these past months? sheesh! and then i remembered that my walks around this section of the city coincided with the hottest summer ever, thus leading to my addiction to lemonade, which is right across the street from the broad. so ANYway. one day, because of this perpetual heatwave, and a need for lemonade, i finally noticed it. and proceeded to google it immediately. and then make reservations for the crew and myself to view it before it opened to the public.

so here's the low down. the broad (pronounced like 'road' with a 'b') is a contemporary art museum built by philanthropists eli and edythe broad on grand avenue in downtown los angeles. the museum was designed by diller scofidio + renfro in collaboration with gensler, and will be the new home to the nearly 2,000 works of art in the broad collection. oh yea. it will also be FREE admission always, so as to ensure the broadest amount of people can enjoy it. nice. i also want to mention how welcoming everyone was. getting in was a breeze (they allow strollers YESSS!) and the docents were all very kind, and happy to see my kids there instead of putting off a keep your kids away from the priceless art vibe, which i was prepared for. a million trillion thank you's from this and every other mama trying to museum train their kids.

dear broad. i was so excited to finally meet you and you did not disappoint. in fact, the visit was magical. a few captures from our experience below...

>> my jaw may have dropped at this point. it's what you see right as you get off the coolest elevator ever or the coolest escalator ever. i was instantly transported to my visit to the ny moma almost seven years ago. and that made me very, very i happy. ny, i miss you everyday, and now i have a piece of you here at the broad :->

>> dots!

>> trains!

>> anyone peep my how-the-heck-do-i keep-my-kid-off-this face? because who could blame him?

>> and me, with my sister from another mister :->

>> insane art aside, i really enjoyed the way the architects made the facade of the building visible from the inside. genius.

>> i really tried to take a great shot of the elevator but none did it justice. you just have to experience it for yourself. meanwhile, here are our shoes in the elevator.

after the museum, we spent some time at the playground at grand park. like the museum, you can tell a lot of thought went into it. it's interactive, vibrant and modern. a trip here is highly recommended if you're in the area.

>> "mama are you ready to rock?!" YOU KNOW IT.

>> hi cheeky!

>> this slide is actually scary high and takes you down really fast. josh posted a video of just how fast here. i think it's supposed to keep kids from climbing up the slide, as kids do. but that doesn't stop them, and you have a jam of kids at the bottom because of it. it's pretty awesome and almost makes me want to be a kid again :->

that's all i got. i really hope you get a chance to visit the broad, one of my new favorite places ever. and we're out!