Torte

Brilliantly bright cold day.   We went out for coffee after a leisurely start and then caught the subway up to the Neue Galerie on 5th Avenue by Central Park where we were to meet V’s stepmother Ranjit and niece India, who is studying Classics at Harvard,  for an early lunch in the attached Cafe Sabarsky.  The gallery is a home to Viennese art including the famous Klimt, The Woman in Gold about which my friend Simon made a film with Helen Mirren.  The cafe itself was elegant with delicious food.  It served cakes and classic Viennese food.  I ate spezle and salad and then we all had cake and champagne for Ranjit’s birthday.  They went off on their way and we looked round the gallery.  There wasn’t much on show currently as they were hanging an exhibition but we saw the Klimt, some Schiele and Kandinsky.  Plus some beautiful glass and china.   No photos allowed in the Gallery but I took a poster of the painting in the gift shop to show Simon we were there. 

We returned to the hotel to change for dinner and went to La Buca via the John Derian store where V had earmarked a lovely Valentine;s present for me - well, for us as it was something for the house.  Unbelievably tempting shop and I bought some earrings and a present for Ivy whose birthday is upcoming.  

Dinner at La Buca was glorious, they had a Valentine’s special on and the food was exquisite. It was a lovely evening.