New York: My Day at the Met

Friday was one of the days where I was responsible for entertaining myself.  I decided during the planning phases of this trip (pretty quickly, I might add) that the Metropolitan Museum of Art was what I most wanted to do.  I'm not the greatest with directions.  Spatial orientation and maps are not my strong suit.  So when I was able to finally find the Met (after an unplanned stroll down Park Avenue and a quick call to Katie to reorient myself), I was excited!

I found the entrance and purchased my ticket (they give you this cute little button to put on).  And then I was in heaven for about four hours.  The Met is the most fantastic art museum I have ever been to (yes, it replaced the National Gallery in London).  It has SO MUCH in it.  At first I wandered around the Greek and Roman statue galleries (simply gorgeous!  And I'm not just talking about the ancient statues.  I was so impressed with the gorgeous architecture of the museum itself!  Glorious!) and explored the special Egyptian exhibits.  I also made it to the Medieval Statues and the French Decorative displays.  But once I found the European Paintings, I stayed put.  I spent about 95% of my time taking in the Vermeers, Reubens, Fragonards, Davids, Raphaels, etc.  I just wandered from room to room, making a beeline to whatever caught my eye to read the placard and study the work more carefully.  I misted up more than once.  Part of it was because I was overcome by the beauty of it all, part of it was because I was so thankful to have the chance to just wander around by myself at my own pace and just think about art.  I think an afternoon alone in an art museum ranks as one of my very favorite things in the entire world.

After a couple of hours, I was hungry and tired, so I went to the cafeteria for a snack and a drink.  I just sat quietly at my table, marveling at what a splendid time I was having.  But before too long,  I was back up in the European Painting wing, studying the Van Goghs, the Manets, the Monets, Degas' Ballerinas (I knew Piper would just love those), and all sorts of 19th and 20th century European artists.  I also went to the special Picasso exhibit, but that place was packed!  I hit the discounted gift shop (it's on the second floor and has some fantastic deals) and got the girls an ABC match game of paintings in the Met.  I briefly explored the modern art and saw the most stunning Jackson Pollock and that weird shark in a tank.  I took about four pictures during the course of the day, mainly because I would get so caught up in the paintings that I would forget to whip out the camera.  But I have to say, my time at the museum was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip.

I thought Carter and Chloe would get a kick out of the tomb.  I have to admit that I kept thinking, "They totally came here during Christian's season of Project Runway!"

I kept running into depictions of this woman with three babies crawling all over her.  I found out she represents Charity.  I guess I took this picture because I can relate to have kids all over me!

The last picture I took was of these two sisters by Fragonard.  I really liked them.  Right now I'm really wishing I would have remembered to take more pictures!

All too soon it was time to take a taxi up to 59th and 5th to meet Katie (yes, I successfully hailed my 2nd cab!  Woohoo!).  While I waited for Katie to arrive, I hit some of the shops and then found a delightful little square by Rockefeller Center (I was so psyched to see where my favorite show, 30 Rock, takes place!  The theme song ran through my head the entire time I was there!).  The square had these amazing fish fountains and smelled like the roses that were blooming all around.  Soon Katie strolled up and we began our unforgettable evening . . . but more on that later!