art, toys and technology.

 

today we were awoken quite early to the rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning. having a bagel breakfast, we sat and watched the sky light up between the buildings. looking at the weather, we decided it probably wasn't prime weather to be strolling through central park. when it rains in new york, people run for shelter- and what better place to spend extended periods of time then a museum. we left the house, as mum put it, 'looking like a bawss'.

the start of the day was spent at the moma (museum of modern art). after having starbucks frappuccinos for breakfast, we arrived to find a flurry of people- all lining up for tickets or just finishing up and flooding the gift store. it would appear we had picked a rather busy day! we collected audio tours and began on the top floor, making our way down. although some of the work was super modern and wanky, most of it was fantastic. works from dali, kahlo, picasso, warhol and many other greats. i also really enjoyed the design portion- for sustainable living and the architecture. 

we emerged hours later out of moma- after five levels of artistic small talk we were understandably hungry. a small food cart selling halal food stood just outside the museum. now, food poisoning was a thought on our minds. we won't even lie to you. but with a line of at least 15 people waiting to be served we figured they had a high turnover of food. and one thing you learn in new york- eat where a whole heap of people are congregated. this cardinal rule didn't let us down- but it began to rain just as we were handed our food. running across the street to a nearby office building, we sat under the shelter out front and ate our meal like homeless folk. the security guards gave us funny looks and we thought they were going to ask us to leave. but they let us be, and as the rain cleared i hurriedly walked like an excited child to our next destination. and with good reason.

we arrived at fao schwarz to be greeted by a delightful man in a toy soldiers uniform. fao is a world famous toy store, and is an absolute wonderland. three stories of everything a kid (and kids at heart) could ever want! i found myself running around like a kid high on pixie stix. the atmosphere was contagious, and the attention to detail was impeccable.

 

mum and i spent hours in the store- often wondering why people weren't laughing or carrying on like we were. the ground level has fao schweetz, a giant area dedicated to candy of every kind. they had plush nerds, reece's pieces and tootsie rolls. they also had a muppet section in which you could make your very own muppet. we spoke to the man behind the counter for a while, as he made the muppets for the children.

'it may well be the best job in the world- or at least the best one i've ever had!'

the second level was where the real toys began. and they literally had everything! superheroes, harry potter, dinosaurs, barbie. they had an adoption centre for freakishly life like baby dolls, with a midwife carrying them around. the lego centre housed a giant statue of liberty, as well as a batman. we spent a significant amount of time playing with puppets, and the magician that was stationed on the second floor. people were set up to sell certain products- reeling off their scripts like it was being read off a prompter. it was when we found ourselves wrestling our puppets, laughing hysterically and being judged by children that we had had too much fun and it was time to go. we could have stayed forever.

selfiezz on the ipad.

'i can't take a photo- it won't let me!!'

walking out the front, we saw a glass cylinder that descended into the ground. the symbolic apple symbol shone on the top and we followed the staircase down into the giant apple store. hundreds of people flocked around ipads, macbooks and ipods. geniuses in blue helped customers. mum and i ran straight for a new ipad and played. we put our blog on an ipad and left it there. trying to show mum how to take a photo on the ipad, she possessed a stubborn inability to be able to touch the screen and successfully capture a photo. disapproving looks from one particular blue genius suggested it might be time to leave and head for home.

heading home, i had a sex and the city moment. dressed in my designer attire like carrie (who would expect anything less of me!) i walked along fifth avenue. a nyc taxi cab passed, and picked up the days water sitting in the gutter. i was in the right place at the right time, and bore the full brunt of the drive by- wetting half my body. of course, i held my head high and strutted in my louboutins off to bigs house to change into something a bit dressier....yeh....

dinner was at ariba ariba- a mexican restaurant. we had mole pollo- chicken in a chocolate sauce with spices, tortillas, rice and beans. an unusual dish- it was pretty delicious and very enjoyable, if not a little bizarre! a truly amazing and enjoyable day full of laughter.

-danielle.