Valentine’s Day for me is not about flowers and going on a date night. For me, it’s spending it with the ones I love and this year is no exception. We headed to Victoria Gardens over the weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family and got everything we wanted – from how we want to spend it to what we want to spend on! (Yes, I made a big purchase in the end). LOL.
Here’s what we did at Victoria Gardens for our Family Valen-TIME:
First and foremost, thanks to Victoria Gardens for partnering with us for this post. In case you’ve never been to Victoria Gardens, it is a 147-acre open-air shopping mall in Rancho Cucamonga that I recommend you visit. For those not from Southern California, it is 1 hour and 15 mins away from Los Angeles Airport or 55mins. north of Disneyland.
Our first stop, Hello Kitty Cafe. We are huge fans of Hello Kitty so this was our first stop as we haven’t visited it yet since it opened. We got a Hello Kitty cookie and a Strawberry Smoothie. If you are craving for ice cream though, you may wanna try Afters Ice Cream located a few steps away from Hello Kitty Cafe.
While the kids were eating their Hello Kitty goodies, the Choo Choo Monga Express passed by. My girls wanted to ride it and I happily obliged. Tickets to ride the train is available for purchase at the information center at South Main Street in front of Macy’s. The train ride loops around Chaffey Town Square twice for only $3 per person. It was a lot of fun!
We were headed for lunch when we passed by this colorful chairs and a rock slide at Monet Plaza so we made another stop and the kids played while the hubby and I just watched them from the side. At this point, the kids didn’t want to leave the rock slide. They each were saying they love Victoria Gardens. I wish I can let them stay longer but we were getting hungry.
On our way to grab lunch, I had to make a quick stop at See’s Candies. The hubby and I love See’s Almond Royal, so hmm.. that’s our Valentine’s treat for each other? LOL! If you’ve never tried this, you have to, it’s really good.
There are so many restaurants at Victoria Gardens. It’s hard to choose which restaurant to pick. On our last visit, we enjoyed the Seafood Risotto at Brio Tuscan Grille but we didn’t have all the time during this visit for a sit-down lunch as we needed to be at the airport so we went to the Victoria Gardens Food Hall instead and each ordered from the different food stalls.
Hubby got this huge nachos, I ordered Philly cheese steak, big sis’ went for cheese pizza and the little one had her favorite hotdog on a stick. This was our first time at the food hall and I really love its architecture.
On our next visit though, I do hope to try the different oysters at King’s Fish House and have a dessert crepe at Crepes de Paris.
After lunch, I wanted to see all the Locks of Love (located on Monet Ave. between Urban Home & Anthropologie). The kids had so many questions upon seeing them – Why are there so many locks? What does it mean and all?
If you want to put on a lock with your significant other, do bring your own lock and leave it here.
We’re not leaving without the kids getting their own Valentine’s gift or at least they won’t let us so we visited Optimus Toys across the street to pick up LEGOs. All LEGO sets were 25% off so we save more here than buying it at big box stores.
A few steps away from the toy store is The Pie Hole. They just opened some months ago and I’d have to see what yummy pies they have. I’ve never seen so many unique pie flavors in my life. Make sure to visit and enjoy some heart designed latte with any of their pies. If you’re unsure what to order, their 3 most famous flavors are Mom’s Apple Crumble Pie, Earl Grey Tea Pie, and Mexican Chocolate Pie.
Before heading out, we visited the Apple Store to get my Birthday gift/Valentine’s Day gift for myself – a new MAC computer. Blogging has taken up a lot of space on my laptop, it was time for a storage upgrade.
I wish we had more time to explore Victoria Gardens during this visit. There is just so much to do, eat and see. Make sure to visit, I guarantee that you’ll enjoy it. There’s something for everyone. Here are a few more stores I recommend you visit while there including spots for photo ops and stores to find your wish list:
Stores: Pandora, LUSH, Bath & Body Works, Francesca’s, Urban Outfitters, Anthony Vince Nail Spa, ULTA, AFTERS Ice Cream.
Photo Opps: Chaffey Town Square and Guasti Gardens
Come up with your Wish List – Helzberg Diamonds, Kay Jewelers, Swarovski, and Alexander Jewelers.
Parking at Victoria Gardens is Free. To get around this huge outdoor mall or just for fun, do ride the trolley.
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What a great weekend day activity. They have a shop for everything there.
I think I would have fun at Hello Kitty…. and that Pie Hole sounds AMAZING!!!!! Count me in!
I could spend hours shopping.
That Hello Kitty cookie looks almost too cute to eat! Congrats on the new Mac! I just upgraded to a newer Mac this past Christmas. It’s amazing!
So this is not that far from me, and the fact that they have a Hello Kitty cafe, now I am going to make sure I plan a trip there soon. I love shopping, and I love malls like this one. I will for sure grab my son and go shopping for his birthday present here.
What an incredible place to spend the day. I would love to visit and see it for myself. The food looks and sounds out of this world, and I have always wanted to place a lock. Plus, you came home with an amazing birthday / Valentine’s day gift. I mean seriously. How cool is that!
Victoria Gardens sounds like the most wonderful of places to go as a family! Especially for Valentine’s Day. There’s a little something for everyone including Hello Kitty, train rides, great food, and pie to top it off. I’m sure it’s a trip the kids will remember for a long time to come. x
What a day out! Looks fantastic! I really nearly to plan more things like this with my kids, there is so much to do out there and we always return to the same old stuff. You had me at pie… apple pie all the way! And Mac all the way too, I love my MacBook Air, although with all the heavy blogging I wish I’d gone MacBook Pro… upgrade next year I think!
This sounds like a great idea. So much fun! I need that Mac screen. That is a thing of beauty. I would love to see that one too – The Locks of Love is great – it’s so beautiful. I love this concept. It’s so sweet! I saw this in Dublin too. There’s one in Toronto as well. They make me happy actually.
OH MY GAWD. My daughter would FREAK over that Hello Kitty cafe! Ok, I would too! What a lovely little place to visit!
My head is spinning! You had me at Hello Kitty but then a train ride! I am obsessed with trains! THEN Sees candy!!! WOW!!! Okay THEN PIE! You have no idea my love of pie do you? Oh why are you teasing me so?! Then ROFL you got a new Mac! I use a Mac and will never go back! Seriously no wonder you are not into candy and flowers! All this is WAYYYY better! Love it!