After a lot of walking yesterday, we slept well and didn’t get up until around 9:00 am. We got organised and headed downstairs for breakfast, where we discussed the agenda for the day.

Espresso and biscotti.
Espresso and biscotti.
Avocado on sourdough toast.
Avocado on sourdough toast.
Breakfast smoothie.
Breakfast smoothie.

We had a little bit of shopping to do, so we set off down Madison Avenue, on our way to the beautiful Bloomingdale’s department store. We stopped in at a few very nice shops along the way.

Looking up Park Avenue to the Helmsley Building.
Looking up Park Avenue to the Helmsley Building.
Andrea on Lexington Avenue, outside Bloomingdale's.
Andrea on Lexington Avenue, outside Bloomingdale's.

We got to Bloomingdale’s around 11:00 am. We were glad to get inside and escape the cold! We had a nice time wandering around Bloomingdale’s and doing a little shopping.

By the time we got back outside, the rain had set in. We flagged down a taxi (now more scarce as a result of the rain) and headed off to our next stop, the Guggenheim Museum. We didn’t much care for the current exhibition but we did enjoy the walk through the beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright building. The Guggenheim Museum was the last major project designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was one of his longest-running projects, commencing in 1943 and completed in 1959, six months after his death.

Looking up to the ceiling in the spiral of the Guggenheim Museum.
Looking up to the ceiling in the spiral of the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibit from "Nick Cave: Forothermore" in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibit from "Nick Cave: Forothermore" in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibits from "Nick Cave: Forothermore" in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibits from "Nick Cave: Forothermore" in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibit from "Nick Cave: Forothermore" in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibit from "Nick Cave: Forothermore" in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibit in the Guggenheim Museum.
Exhibit in the Guggenheim Museum.
Keith in the Guggenheim Museum.
Keith in the Guggenheim Museum.

We thought we might continue the museum theme and head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so we hailed another taxi and set off for the short ride down Fifth Avenue to the Met. But when we saw the line of people (in the rain!) waiting to get in, we thought better of it. So we renewed our plan to enjoy a blintz before we left New York, and we headed off to The Russian Tea Room on W 57th Street.

The Russian Tea Room has a storied history, dating back to 1927 when it was opened by former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet as a cafe and chocolate store. We were concerned that there were no blintzes on the menu but our waitress assured us that we could have them, so we opted to each have a cherry blintz and a cream cheese blintz.
They were delicious. We also had some pirozhok, the traditional small buns made with various fillings.

The Russian Tea Room.
The Russian Tea Room.
Cherry blintz and cream cheese blintz.
Cherry blintz and cream cheese blintz.
Pirozhok.
Pirozhok.
Keith and Andrea in The Russian Tea Room.
Keith and Andrea in The Russian Tea Room.

It was still raining when we left The Russian Tea Room. We flagged down a taxi to take us to our final stop for the day, Saks on Fifth Avenue. We did a little more shopping there before getting in a cab to head back to The Mark to get organised to check out.

We packed up our suitcases and headed downstairs just after 4:00 pm. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Mark.
It is a beautiful hotel in a beautiful part of Manhattan. We love its style and sophistication, and its perfect location on the Upper East Side. We’re already looking forward to the next time we stay here.

One of the bars at The Mark.
One of the bars at The Mark.
Very funky light fitting in The Mark.
Very funky light fitting in The Mark.

We fired up the Uber app to book a ride to the airport but surge pricing had apparently kicked in as a result of the rain, so we opted for a taxi to the airport (since NY taxis are regulated to charge a fixed rate to all three city airports). We got the airport just after 5:00 pm, checked in, cleared security, and headed for the lounge to relax before our flight at 8:40 pm to Casablanca.

Our flight lands at a god-awful time tomorrow morning but we’re really looking forward to arriving in Casablanca and exploring Morocco.