Karin did an amazing job putting our itinerary together, she had asked all of us what were some things we wanted to do in each of the cities we were visiting, and she included at least one thing for every person. My choice was eating at Cafe Lalo, which I covered in the last post, one of Ricky's choices was eating at the famous Ellen's Stardust Diner. I had heard so much about this fun place, but hadn't ever had the opportunity to eat there, so I was excited to get to experience it!
Ellen's is one of those places where you have to either show up before it opens, or be prepared to stand in a long line to get in for lunch or dinner. Karin had researched and found it is the easiest to get into for breakfast, and people start lining up before it even opens. So, we all got up early and managed to be the second group in line!
There are lots things that makes this place so famous and hard to get into, the classic diner food is amazing, the ambiance is so fun and electric, but by far the most well known part is the singing waitstaff. Young broadway hopefuls saranade guests during their meal. They all have amazing voices, and tons of former servers from Ellen's have made it on to the broadway stage!
I loved when they would do duets.
The pancakes were amazing! Thomas' face says it all.
They have one big number about every hour, where there are lights, disco balls and confetti involved. The big number we got to see was a duet of a Moulin Rouge Medley, it was pretty epic.
After breakfast, we walked to the Met via Central Park, it was so lush and green this time of year, truly a little oasis in the middle of the big city.
We made a quick stop at the Belvedere Castle, I hadn't even heard of this place before, it is so cool! And it has amazing views of the park and city
Then we arrived at the one and only Metropolitan Museum of Art
My mom had created this scavenger hunt of some of the most famous pieces of art in this museum to help us have a little itinerary of sorts and to keep the boys interested and engaged. Every time we saw one of the items on the list, we got to put a little jewel sticker next to it. This was such a fun way to manage this ginormous museum, there's no way we would have even came close to covering half of it in a day if we didn't have a game plan. We have used this idea to navigate several other big museums like the British Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, the kids really have a good time with it.
One of the most famous works of art in the Met is William the Hippopotamus, he is the unofficial mascot of the Met. Found in a shaft associated with the Upper Egyptian tomb chapel of "The Steward, Senbi", in what is now Meir, William dates from c. 1961 BC – c. 1878 BC, during the reigns of Senusret I and Senusret II. This 8 in figurine in Egyptian faience, a clay-less material, has become popular not only for his endearing appearance, but also because his defining characteristics illustrate many of the most salient facets of craft production in ancient Egypt during this time.
There is even a whole section of the gift shop devoted to William the hippo. Our William wore the right color of shirt that day!
Mom made sure to put some armor on the scavenger hunt so the boys would have the opportunity to explore the majestic Arms and Armor exhibit hall.
This amazing piece is not made out of carved wood, it is all painted!
Mom is always fascinated with the Human Headed Winged Bulls and other arts from Assyria, so she added them onto the scavenger hunt. She made sure to include at least one thing each member of our party would love.
For me, she added the Damascus room, so that we would have the chance to walk through the Islamic Art section, that is one of my favorites.
The Damascus Room is a residential reception chamber (qaʿa) typical of the late Ottoman period in Damascus, Syria. Among the earliest extant, nearly complete interiors of its kind, the room's large scale and refined decoration suggest that it was part of the house of an important, affluent family. Poetry inscribed on its walls indicates that the patron was Muslim and possibly a member of the religious elite who were believed to have descended from the Prophet Muhammad.
This is such a lovely spot in the museum, it is quiet and peaceful and there is a small fountain that creates such a relaxing sound. The museum was rather busy and hectic that day, so having a few minutes in front of such a beautiful work of art in a quiet corner of the museum was just what we needed to catch our breath.
Then it was on to the Impressionists and Post Impressionists. These were for everyone, but mostly my dad, Impressionism is his favorite art movement.
This canvas shows how Van Gogh would often use both side of a canvas or even just reuse them all together by painting over things. It is displayed in the middle of the room in a clear box, on one side he painted a self portrait, on the other he painted one of his well known potato peelers.
I always look for nautilus cups in every museum since that is what I wrote my senior thesis on, they will always have a special place in my heart. Plus, they are gorgeous.
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