*As anyone who has traveled through the nation’s busiest airport knows, “T as in Tango” refers to the Concourse T stop on the airport train.

I don’t miss much about New York, but Central Park I miss terribly, so it was the next thing on our Must Do list. On that day we went to the Dairy, the Carousel (celebrating its’ 100^th birthday), and the Chess & Checkers house where my son proceeded to kick my butt in checkers.

On the way to the zoo we stopped at Billy Johnson playground to take a few spins in the huge granite slide built into the ground, my daughter was more interested in climbing every rock that we passed; it made for a very slow trek through the park, but a great view.  Central Park Zoo is small—easily seen in an hour or so—but inexpensive and worth a tour just to see the polar bears, who were in a playful mood that day and put on quite a show. The penguin house was great too because it was very cold and a welcome retreat from the humidity.

Leaving Central Park we walked down 5th Ave to FAO Schwarz, another place my daughter was eager to explore. It was as big and inviting as it had been in the past, with a few modifications. There is now a huge candy section on the first floor (no doubt trying to compete with Dylan’s Candy Bar) and the Big Piano has been moved upstairs to its own room.

While an orderly line manned by an employee gave visitors a chance to dance for quite a long time alone, and mandatory shoe-less feet no doubt helps to keep the piano in working order, the experience was less fun. Part of the magic of the Big Piano used to be the spontaneous discovery of it in the middle of the store. However, FAO is still a very hands-ontoy store; my kids had a ball playing with everything. The newest thing seemed to be custom-designed toyswith design-your-own-doll by Barbie and design-your-own car by Hot Wheels. 

After a quick dip into the coolest Mac store ever

and a wave to Eloise at The Plaza Hotel, we met Husband and friends for dinner at Primehouse New York for the best steak —or so I heard from my husband and son because I don’t eat steak. My choice, the sea bass, was excellent and the décor was very fabulous. My son particularly enjoyed viewing the aging beef on the way to the restroom.

On Wednesday we started our day at The Metropolitan Museumof Art, one the best museums in the world and impossible to see in one day, so we got a map and planned our adventure. And what an adventure it was because we were perpetually lost, dazed and confused. Some of our highlights were the musical instruments, the Temple of Dendur, the suits of armor, Degas’ ballerina statue and the bed that Claudia and Jamie used in From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. There is actually a museum publication that helps you find all the art mentioned in the book; it is not displayed but if you ask at the information desk, they will give you a copy.

In addition to the regular galleries and exhibition halls, there were two special exhibits at the museum. An installation of sculptures by Jeff Koons was displayed on the Roof Garden with a gorgeous view of Central Park and surrounding Manhattan skyline. The sculptures looked like big mylar balloons and the kids loved them.

My favorite exhibit was Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. As explained by the Met: The symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero are explored in this compelling exhibition. Featuring movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, it reveals how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body. Objects are organized thematically around particular superheroes, whose movie costumes and superpowers are catalysts for the discussion of key concepts of superheroism and their expression in fashion.

I do enjoy superheroes (what little girl didn’t pretend to be Wonder Woman) and loved looking at original superhero movie costumes, but I was particularly fascinated by how the fashion designers captured the essence of the superhero in their designs. The social commentary that accompanied the costumes was thought-provoking and analytical. The exhibit was spectacular and a MUST SEE by anyone living in or visiting New York. But go quickly as the exhibit ends on September 1^st. Since I don’t have a cape or will endure strange looks wearing one, I got this great tee shirt in the gift shop instead. Don’t mess with me or

Sans superhero strength to walk anymore, we took a bus down 5^th Ave to Saks Fifth Avenue for afternoon tea in the Café. When I lived in New York with a new baby, this was often a refuge for me—lovely, yet baby-friendly. While it is not the best afternoon tea in the city—certainly not The Plaza or St. Regis—it has a nice view and real food if you are hungry. More importantly, it gives you an excuse to walk through the gorgeous shoe department.

I managed to escape going to the American Girl store right next to Saks (whew!); instead we ducked into St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a bit and continued down 5^th Avenue stopping at my favorite stores. We looked for gifts in Takashimaya and not finding anything (although just being in there is a treat), went to H.Bendel’s. Here I must stop for a moment of wistful sighing…..I just love Bendel’s. When we lived in NY/NJ, my girlfriends and I frequently went to tea at the St. Regis and then shopping at Bendel’s. Many of my great make-up discoveries were made in Bendel’s (Laura Mercier, Tarte) and I always found fabulous accessories from young, new designers. Since I had kids in tow, I couldn’t linger as much as I wanted but I managed to buy a little something for myself. As for the kids, they had a good time taking photos in the Ray Ban Confessional Booth:

I wanted to take one these adorable “Bendel Girls” home, but restrained myself—too cute! As much as I love Bendel’s, sometimes the ladies pushing the latest beauty products can be a little over-the-top. As we were leaving I stopped at a Tarte display. As I said before, I love Tarte make-up, so a hard sell on me was not needed. One of Tarte’s newest products is Inside Out Vitamin Lip Gloss and the representative was eager to tell me all about it. She went into a monologue about the antioxidant, anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties of Inside Out (“anti-acid too” my son whispered). But she really lost us when she started spouting statistics about the amount of lip gloss women consume in a year and—seriously—suggested that instead of taking my vitamins, I can just eat the lip gloss.  Huh?

We left the store laughing and ended this full day at GoodBurger “Home of the Good Burger”. It was a good grilled burger, sort of smallish, but very tasty. Good shakes too. We were disappointed that besides the name, it didn’t have any ties to the movie Good Burger. That movie is hilarious.

Manhattan is a blast! We certainly took our bite of the big apple and we’re still not through; to read part 3 of our adventure, click here.