NYC: Day 7 (Met, NYU, SoHo)

Day 7 didn't start out quite as I had planned but it turned out to be my favorite NYC day next to Day 2. I overslept in the morning and wasn't able to go out until almost lunch, so I had to skip most of the places in my itinerary such as Grand Central Station, UN, and New York Public Library. After I headed out, I first went to the Met, then stopped by Cafe Sabarsky in Neue Galerie New York, but didn't have time to wait in line (I regretted not being able to drink coffee here). I then proceeded to NYU and from there walked down to SoHo where I met up with Queen J. For the rest of the day, we just walked around SoHo without following any itinerary, which meant no pressure to be on schedule. Before heading home, we stopped by Times Square (again) to finally buy some gifts for people at home then ended the day with takeaway from Big Nick's along Broadway (77th St) across our hotel and a pint of Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream purchased from Westside Market.

Breakfast at Cafe Metro while waiting for 20 minutes to pass since I went into the wrong subway entrance (heading downtown instead of uptown). The unlimited 7 day pass doesn't allow the cardholder to go in again within 20 minutes of exiting the subway. Anyway, this spicy pasta salad with beans and corn was tasty and filling and the iced coffee was good too.

On the way to the Met, contemplating whether or not to have someone take my picture at the Met steps a la GG but was too paranoid that my camera might get stolen

Entrance to the Met, a view of the lobby from the second floor, and a few favorites. No photos allowed in the American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity exhibit.

I missed having tea time at Cafe Sabarsky, perhaps another time?

Stopping by Grand Central Station before finally deciding to just do all 42nd St activities the following day.

NYU Stern School of Business, would return here the next day in search of an iPad WiFi 64GB, which was in stock in the NYU computer store when I went inside to browse.

Making my way to SoHo from NYU. I spotted Leica Gallery on the way and got 2 issues of Leica Fotografie International for Dad.

Bond St was on the way so I also stopped by Bond No. 9. I was planning to get a perfume during this trip so I considered getting one from here until I learned that each bottle cost $150 to 200. I felt this was a little to much for a fragrance.

Met up with Queen J at Dean and Deluca in SoHo, which turned out to be a coffee shop and grocery.

Walking around SoHo

Stopped at Cubana Cafe at Thompson St to have coffee and early dinner. Good thing we came 10 minutes early and were able to get a table. It was happy hour and the quesadillas cost only $5. The place started to fill up really fast. I ordered fried rice and iced coffee which was unfortunately terrible. Even so, it was a fun experience hobnobbing with the locals (my assumption).

Walking around some more

Did you notice the man in the truck was looking and smiling into my camera?

Grown up clothes for babies at Gap. My mom loved those tiny shoes in Nike which cost almost as much as grown up shoes. Clearly, this rubbed off on Queen J.

One of Queen J's best NYC moments

Subway crooner. As Queen J was taking out a dollar to give to this man, the last girl who threw in a dollar got a kiss from him, which made Queen J change her mind.

At Big Nick's, delighted to discover many vegetarian options and finally getting vegetarian hotdog in a bun. Yum, tasted like real hotdog!

Vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel. How to say no to that?

NYC: Day 6 (MoMA, Frick, Department Store Hopping)

Busy, busy day. I started the day with breakfast at Barney Greengrass, "the Sturgeon King", at 86th and Amsterdam Ave, then stopped by 72nd St just to see Gray's Papaya and The Ansonia, which I forgot to include in our itinerary when we went to see The Dakota a few days earlier. From there, I then headed to MoMA, stopping briefly at TKTS to see if we could score some Broadway tickets at half off. Lining up required time investment, which I didn't really have so off I went to MoMA. After lunch, I stopped by The Frick Collection then went off to Bloomingdale's to meet up with Queen J and start our tour of NYC department stores. We ended the day with delicious Chinese takeaway while relaxing in our hotel room.

I read about Barney Greengrass, along with Zabar's and H&H Bagels, on Frommer's New York City. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of choices for me here so I simply had egg salad on toasted bialy which turns out to be a kind of bread similar to a bagel but without a hole in the middle.

Getting off at 72nd St to get a glimpse of the beautiful Ansonia. Artsy buildings abound in NYC, if I were to become a resident there, would I ever get tired of these wonderful works of art?

For sale on the sidewalk

Since I couldn't eat hotdog sandwiches, I just took pictures of Gray's Papaya. There was a drink called Manila Calling, which was champagne made with coconut milk. It was too early to be drinking alcohol and I didn't have time to go back to try this.

It was a waste not to be able to watch a Broadway show, but I wasn't sure I would be willing to pay full price for a ticket, that's roughly $80 for a hit like Wicked.

I was taking a photo of this sculpture by the road. I didn't know then that the building behind it, Lever House, was the first skyscraper with glass walls to be built in 1952. And below, Hello Kitty in Lever House.

Finally, MoMA and a few items from the collection by Warhol, Van Gogh, Rousseou, and Matisse

The staircase in black and white looked like it could belong in a horror movie. Below, the Sculpture Garden and a man looking good in fuschia topsiders.

I passed by Smiler's and stopped for lunch here when I saw that it was one of those choose your own food places. My selection cost me around $7, a good price for a fresh and healthy lunch.

Next up, more sightseeing: Villard Houses/The New York Palace Hotel

I can't remember now what this place was supposed to be...

St. Bartholomew's Church and the GE Building right behind it

The facade of The Frick Collection. Photographs weren't allowed inside so I could only take pictures of the entrance and the garden. Being inside the Frick would have to be one of my favorite experiences. The interiors of the house and the arrangement of pieces all worked together beautifully. I also loved that the place was quiet and not overflowing with tourists.

While waiting to meet up with Queen J at Bloomingdale's, I saw Bloomberg building which was just across the street.

Delighted by the sight of Dylan's Candy Bar! Later on during the day, a few people asked us about where they could find it.

I spotted a coffee shop named Gene's while walking along 60th St. I wonder now why we didn't stop for a cup of coffee there.

Enormous Apple Store along 5th Ave which would surely make my dad drool. It was crazy inside so we didn't go in plus the department stores were about to close and we hadn't been to Barney's, Bergdorf and Henri Bendel yet.

Barney's New York. I parked myself at one of these comfy couches in the shoe section. There were racks and racks of shoes on sale including numerous styles of Manolos.

Central Park branch of Strand Bookstore

The Plaza Hotel, which is supposedly "the best hotel in the world"

No photos allowed inside Bergdorf, and it was almost closing time when we got there. Good for us, too, because Queen J informed me that a few days later, there were further discounts of up to 60 off.

Columbus Circle

Finally, ordering Chinese takeaway from The Cottage across our hotel. It's funny how this place looks like a fine dining restaurant with the dim lights and tablecloths. It's the opposite of real Chinese restaurants which usually look like a marketplace.