FAO Schwarz & The Museum of Modern Art

A Visit to FAO Schwartz
First thing I had to do this morning was get cash since my Amex was hacked and had to be deactivated. I get to the ATM only to realize that Steven had my debit card, and Steven was at work 30 blocks away. The convenient thing about New York City is how fast an express subway can get you 30 blocks. Steven walked out of the subway about 7 minutes after I talked to him. Pretty impressive.

I told Bea this morning that we were going to FAO Schwarz. I didn't tell her what it was, and she didn't ask. We walked along Central Park West, making our way towards the store. It was a bit warmer this morning, but tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. As we are getting close to the store, Beatrix tells me she wants to go into THAT store. Maybe the human dressed as a toy soldier gave it away. I don't know.

We entered the store, and her face lit up. Her eyes and smile were that of a child that saw every wish come true in one moment. I did not have the heart to tell her that I only had a small amount of cash (really enough for a small item at the toy store, lunch, and my entry fee for MoMA), and I felt slightly bad about taking her in there. That being said, everyone has to realize there are limits, and some things are worth looking at even if we can't purchase them.

Charlotte spotted "Kitty" aka Hello Kitty in the candy section. Beatrix was so excited to see all the candy, and jumped gleefully despite us not buying any.

We went upstairs and Beatrix didn't take long to find the Barbie camper she wants. I think that will need to wait for her birthday or Christmas, along with the remote control Barbie Corvette.

Among some interesting items in the Barbie section was a Barbie fashion show where the Barbie dolls come down on the catwalk, take a turn, and go back. Maybe not fascinating, I don't know, the girls were intrigued.

Maybe more intriguing, or fascinating, was the Barbie Foos Ball Table where there was a Barbie at each point on the pole (a full size Barbie). This interesting foos ball table can be yours for no more than $24,999.

Beatrix found Miss Piggy and Kermit near the Barbie section, and she was in stitches over them. The didn't do anything, and I'm not sure she really knows who they are, but they were funny. And, what's funny to Bea is funny to Charlotte.

Video of funny muppet characters to come.

It wasn't all about Barbie, or those funny muppet characters. We actually ventured to the "boy toys" and found some cool structures made out of Legos. I couldn't resist a photo of the girls in front of the Statue of Liberty lego structure.

Walking away from the Lego structures, I realized I was hearing the sounds of a badly played piano. Oh, right! The Big Piano! I knew the girls would like this toy, which could be ours for the small price of $250,000. It did not disappoint. Both girls enjoyed playing their special tune on this bigger than life piano.

Video of girls playing the Big Piano to come.

I had to drag Charlotte away kicking and screaming (poor tot).

Beatrix came across some of the Peanuts gang. These dolls were really cute, and you'd just about miss them if you aren't paying attention, like myself. We love the Peanuts gang, so I'm glad Beatrix spotted them.

It's nearing lunchtime, and getting to the point where we need to escape this place, and I'm dreading what might ensue ahead, remembering I only have about $20 to spend at the store. as luck would have it, Beatrix really wants a kite and that is it! A $15 kite!

Now, time for lunch. We stumbled across a Chipotle, which suited my taste buds, probably much more than the girls, but hey, I couldn't find a closer McDonald's. This area is much more business oriented. We were the only girls in the place for quite some time. I felt out of my element. Three very stiff business men sat across from us, and I'm sure they were thrilled to be having lunch with us.

Browsing art at MoMA
Finally off to MoMA. Charlotte fell asleep in the stroller. Bea and I got the free audio tour. They have a great one for kids, and I went ahead and listened to the same one so we would be on the same page. We started on the fifth floor where we saw paintings by Seurat, Rousseau, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, and Monet. I knew Bea was already tired, so I planned on seeing the select pieces on the tour for that floor, and then we went to the family material lab to see what it was all about.

The family material lab was a great space for kids. The girls got to feel many different types of materials, and perhaps their favorite part of all was the digital painting they got to create. When I was told about the digital painting, I thought it would be like a typical paint program on a computer where the mouse is the paintbrush, but it wasn't at all. There is a paintbrush that you apply directly to the computer screen just like you would any other canvas. It was pretty neat.

We had to walk through the Sculpture Garden to get to and from the family material lab. I nice lady took our photo for us in the Sculpture Garden.

I thought we would have enough time to go back into the galleries and explore the fourth floor on the kid's audio tour. We made it up there, and I was looking forward to getting a photo of the girls with Jasper Johns' "Flag" painting. That didn't happen though. It had already been a long day and Bea's behavior while attempting to listen to the audio tour on the first painting on the floor told me that it was time to go. We can always come back another day after all. We returned our audio tours and headed home. I had forgotten that I needed to be back by 4 for a food delivery, but we made it back just in time.