New York, New York Day 8 - Lunch with Doristas, Tiffanys, FAO Schwarz and the Met

Day 8 of our New York trip brought us back to Saturday.  This day was very exciting, because I was meeting my fellow Doristas, Kathy and Cher, and some of their family at The Smith for lunch: 

Here we all are, a very happy bunch:

It was fun to finally meet Kathy and Cher face to face, and to meet Bill, Joe and Runner Girl besides.  It was like catching up with old friends.

For lunch, I ordered a delectable soft shell crab, with poached eggs and homestyle potatoes (~$23):

It tasted as sensational as it looks!

After lunch, before going our separate ways, Kathy showed us this lovely urban oasis tucked in behind the sidewalk:

Tim and I had no definite plans for the afternoon, so we decided to wander up Fifth Avenue and eventually make our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A friend of mine had recommended afternoon tea at Bergdorf Goodman for a spot of people watching:

We went into Bergdorf Goodman but we dared not go to tea - we really did not fit in with the well heeled crowd in there.

Accordingly, we forged on and fulfilled my fantasy of going to Tiffanys:

I did not buy any diamonds, but I couldn't resist buying one of their cute signature heart necklaces.  We had our only brush with fame here, as Shelley Goldberg, the NY1 parenting correspondent, was in the lift with us.

Next, we went to FAO Schwarz, where, my boss had informed me, the keyboard from the movie BIG was located.  I got a little sidetracked by the candy section - it is ginormous and the smell is overpowering:

However, we did finally make it to the BIG keyboard:

Mission accomplished, we continued on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Philistines that we are, the main purpose of our visit was to go to the rooftop bar that we had been told about rather than to see art.  It was a little tricky to find, but we made it in the end, and were rewarded with stunning views of Manhattan:

It was pretty relaxed and casual up there, although the drinks were pricey.

By chance, there was an exhibition of Van Gogh's Irises and Roses, which we enjoyed very much.  I learned a lot about Van Gogh and his work that I did not already know - I always just think of sunflowers and Starry Starry Night, but these four beautiful, delicate paintings (two irises, two roses) showed his enormous range.

We also visited the Egyptian section, where we went inside an ancient Egyptian temple:

We then headed back out to Fifth Avenue, and on the way, I spied these magnificent statues guarding the doorway of an apartment block: 

For dinner that evening, we went to Manting Chinese Famous Food:

 

It isn't fancy, but the food was good and our waitress was very friendly.

Here is Tim in a humorous pose with his meal:

Tim had the seafood spicy stew ($11.95):

while I had the Hunan style chicken ($13.95):

I can vouch for the fact that mine was delicious, and looking at Tim's head in the bowl, his was pretty good too.

For dessert, we had bought some cannoli earlier in the day from Fortunato Brothers, a Brooklyn bakery who had a street stall not far from The Smith.

One had choc chips:

and the other had pine nuts:

From memory, they were a little pricey, but tasted good.

It had been another fun and eventful day.

The Smith

956 2nd Avenue
New York, NY

United States
Ph: +1 212-644-2700

Manting Chinese Famous Food

150 W 49th St
New York, NY 10019
United States

Ph: +1-646-832-5866