London with kids, our visit to the Snug Art Cafe
Living in London as a mother is giving me the chance to experience it through different eyes, revealing realities that were previously hidden from me. While exploring the city with a pram or with your toddlers is not always easy, each neighborhood often hides child-friendly realities that can make the life of young families a little easier.
A few days ago Sammy and I discovered the SnugArt Cafè.
At number 549 of Green Lanes, in an area that wasn’t this popular a few years ago, there is a place that will make happy parents and their children alike.
Once you walk through the doors on the busy road that from Manor House takes you towards the north London neighborhoods, the noises turn into the excited cries of the children who find a dimension made for them.
A cafe with menus good for the grown-ups as well as the little ones, coffee, snacks, and desserts seem to be appreciated by the customers. The walls show the paintings of local artists to embellish the environment and make it welcoming whilst promoting the local talents.
But it is after crossing the three steps that separate the café area from the family one that the secret is revealed… A community within the community, the area reserved for children is colorful and full of games and activities for children under 5.
Sammy, at first intimidated by the children who rolled around in the colorful balls pit after diving in it through a slide, after perhaps five minutes of hesitation, joined the others and, looking at me with the eyes of someone who had just discovered something hilarious, began to “swim” among the colored spheres.
To complete his happiness there it was, a small house from which he could look out of the windows, shelves full of books suitable for different age groups, many toys in an area that is not so spacious perhaps, but with everything that is sought at that age…
Socializing seems easy and this is a place where many parents seem to come for a break from the daily routine, and perhaps a chat between adults.
While we were exploring the various activities available, a girl a few meters from the play area entertained the children in one of the various classes that the cafe organize, and music and songs made the atmosphere even more cheerful.
Our exploration of London’s play cafes has recently begun but I feel I can say that this space just a few steps from Finsbury Park is a great alternative for families in the neighborhood who, perhaps on a rainy day, don’t know what to do.
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