*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.

Thursday was Teen Shopping Day; we took the subway to SoHo so my son could burn some cash. (I’m just happy that within the past year he’s gotten some fashion-sense; he used to dress like a bum.) Getting off at Canal and Broadway, we hit the jackpot for teen fashion. Our first stop was Stardom, a sneaker heaven, where The Boy (yeah, we affectionately call him that) bought some very sweet Adidas. My husband called at this time and was so jealous—he is complete a sneaker-head. Right next door to Stardom is Volcom, one of The Boy’s favorite brands. I sprang for a new Volcom backpack for school. Broadway has way too many stores to list, but it is a good shopping jump-off for both teens and moms: Daffy’s (love it!), Scoop, Old Navy, H&M (so over-rated), Bloomingdale’s, Z Gallarie and CB2 are just some of the stores.

Our next destination on Broadway was one of our favorite stores, Pearl River Mart. This store is just so much fun! I could stay in there forever and we did stay a long time looking at the toys, clothes, dishes, candy and all sorts of Asian stuff. We finally left with parasols, fans, a toy accordion, incense, a tea strainer and Asian candy (more candy!).

Walking deeper into SoHo, we stopped by Gourmet Garage for lunch and grabbed sushi, fruit and pasta to eat right there on the corner. Refreshed, we continued shopping at Stussy where The Boy bought another stylish hat. Sidebar/cool fact: When I met my husband I was wearing a Stussy hat. By this time Girly had noticed that her brother had many things and she had nothing, so we ducked into Lucky Kid and bought her a shirt for the fall.

What’s the one phrase a mom doesn’t want to hear walking around Manhattan?—“I have to pee!”The Stussy guys tipped us that the Mac store on Prince had a public restroom and it was the cleanest one in the neighborhood. They were right, so that is something to remember while walking around SoHo.

By now we needed another break after browsing the shops on West Broadway. My absolute favorite place for afternoon tea was nearby, so we headed that way….and got hopelessly lost in the West Village. By the time we made it there the kids were cranky, hot and tired. (If you ever go, just take the subway to 8th Ave. and 14th St. and it is right there.) And do go; it is wonderful. Tea & Sympathy is an authentic British restaurant with all the traditional British dishes that I have never tried, but I go for the afternoon tea. It is a tiny place, but it is warm and cozy and they have perfect tea and the best scones.

Dessert at Serendipity 3 was an absolute must, so we met Husband and a friend for dinner (eating dinner is the only way to get reservations; showing up for just dessert guarantees at least an hour wait). The food was good, but we were there for dessert. The Frrrozen Hot Chocolate is the signature dessert and it is soooooo good. We had that of course, but a woman seated nearby turned us on to another must-order, the Forbidden Broadway Sundae.  Ooooh—that was delicious! The desserts are not cheap ($13.50 for the sundae), but they are easily shared by 2 or more people.

Friday was our last full day to enjoy the city and Manhattan didn’t disappoint; we had an incredible day. First we walked to one of our favorite sections in Central Park down the Mall, listened to a young guitarist sing/play Beatles songs at the Fountain, on to the Boathouse, listened to a very good jazz band at the Alice in Wonderland statue and finally to Conservatory Water, or Sailboat Pond as we call it.

What happened next is now a legend in our household and one of my previous posts.

Leaving Central Park we walked the Upper Westside until we got hungry and stopped at Alice’s Tea Cup for some afternoon tea. Yes, this the 3rd time that we have had afternoon tea; we do like our tea-time! We loved Alice’s; the scones were huge and delicious, the sandwiches were hearty and the tea menu was extensive. The décor is funky with an Alice in Wonderland theme. It is very kid-friendly (our waitress wore fairy wings), but all of the customers were adults except for my kids.

Shopping on the Upper Westside was plentiful and relaxing. The Boy bought a watch at the Swatch store and we browsed in Z’Baby and tons of other shops on Columbus Avenue. Our favorite store was Therapie, a sort of upscale drugstore that sold beauty products, purses, hair accessories, stationary and pretty much anything you can think of. I absolutely love these kinds of stores! The kids loved it because downstairs was a HUGE toy store. We stayed in Therapie a long time, but finally left in search of S’Mac, a macaroni & cheese restaurant. Girly and I were still full from Alice’s, but The Boy ordered a nosh portion of the Cajun macaroni & cheese and it was delicious.

Unfortunately it was time to meet the husband back at the hotel and get ready for our flight back to Atlanta. Although we had experienced a full week, we weren’t ready to leave; there was so much that we didn’t do, or see or eat! We must go back soon for more fun because