One of our favorite places to lunch-and-shop is Merritt Park Mall in Coral Gables. As rarely as we shop, this one is close and Villagio is just about Rick's favorite restaurant in all of Miami. As you can see, the seasonal decorating took on a new twist: giant rabbits constructed from recycled plastic. Six artist from South America have created the bunnies, alligators (which adorned the Cuban Freedom Tower last month,) snails we find around town, and a colorful collection of frogs. You can start your own "lawn installation" for $125 and add to the sublime if you have deep pockets. A gallery (one of many) in the mall represents them, hence the local display. For us, it was charming to find bunnies among royal palm trees, and we spent a lazy afternoon over a pizza in gorgeous weather.
The weather has taken another cold turn here and everyone is seriously bundled up, griping as are we, that you can't leave the slip. We made a Miami Bucket List and we've been able to keep busy, waiting for the weather to get out on Biscayne Bay. Another holiday without family will be strange, but it looks like we might get to a beach that day if not out for a sail.
It appears our last two postings didn't make it to the web, we'll try to figure that one out!
