I'm so glad that we Met

Over the past few weeks at work I'm racked up some excess hours and my boss was kind enough to give me the day off today.  Rather than sleep in or do laundry, I got up early and took the subway to the Upper East Side to spend a few hours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka The Met).

I'm rather embarrassed to admit that since I moved to New York, I haven't set foot in The Met at all.  I went there a few years ago when I visited New York, but I guess I always figured that as a resident I could go there anytime.  Today was that day.

I cut through Central Park to get to The Met today and of course I got lost (on a straight road...go figure), but when I finally arrived at the Museum - only 5 minutes after opening time - the lines were already out the door, down the front steps, and onto the footpath.  They moved quickly though, and I was pleased that I had bought my ticket online ahead of time - plus I paid extra for an audio guide, partly to get the inside scoop on the works I'd be looking at; but mostly to act as a buffer against anyone who might try to talk to me.

Courtesy of The Met

Upon arrival today I headed straight to the brand new Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition.  I don't really care too much for fashion, to be honest, but this exhibit only opened yesterday (May 8) and has been getting a lot of publicity.  It coincides with the refurbishment of The Met's Costume Institute, and the newly-named Anna Wintour Costume Center.  Don't get me wrong, the gowns on display are spectacular.  The lights in the exhibition are dimmed to protect the fabrics, but any idiot can tell that there is such skill that has gone into devising and sewing these works of art.  Each garment is spotlit and has a camera panning up, down, and around it, to give the viewer a 360-degree, close-up inspection of each item.  I whizzed through the exhibit quite quickly, just because there were so many people in there, and I couldn't get a proper look at each dress.  Maybe down the track the Met will invite small groups to come through before or after hours, and I'd really like to be part of something like that.  But squeezing in with the masses, and peeking between people's heads to get a fleeting glance of a dress, wasn't my idea of a good time today.

As a way to cheer myself up, I headed straight to my favourite exhibit in any Museum, which is anything to do with Ancient Egypt.  I have a good friend from Chicago who feels exactly the same way, and I always think of him when I'm browsing Ancient Egypt art and artefacts.  The Ancient Egypt gallery at The Met is amazing: it features full-sized temples; funerary trinkets; jewelry; sarcophagi, the whole bit.

I had tuned my audio guide to the Director's tour of the first floor, and his narration took me from the Temple of Dendur (which you can see in the photo above) straight into The American Wing - a leap forward of only several thousand years.  The timewarp was welcome though, and I had a lovely time browsing the galleries of silverware, fine bone china sets, Murano glass, and I even got to see one of the Tiffany glass work desks that I had read about in "Clara and Mr Tiffany".  

Through no fault of the Director's commentary, I lost my bearings for a while and ended up in the Medieval Gallery, surrounded by some beautiful Byzantine art, religious triptychs and sculpture.

And you know what?  The Met's a really funny place.  Just when you feel like you've adjusted to a period in history, you turn a corner and all of a sudden you're somewhere totally different - not just in a different era, but in a totally different country too.

Who wouldn't want to
sit by this fireplace?!

Take the Decorative Arts gallery (and particularly rooms 522-527).  When you walk through there, you feel like you've been transported to the grand salons of Paris, Vienna, and London.  It's like they've uprooted the room in its entirety and just dumped it in Manhattan.  I'm talking plush fabrics and damask curtains, ornate fireplaces, feather-filled cushions, and dappled sunlight on honey-colored floorboards.

In 2 hours I'd been through so many galleries, so many periods in history, and soaked up so much culture - and I still hadn't left the ground floor of the Museum!  It was definitely time for coffee.

I headed downstairs into the cafeteria and was pleasantly surprised to find it fully-stocked with delicious food.  Not just your garden-variety sandwiches and muffins either, but also sushi, pasta, a salad bar - the whole lot.

A croissant is HOW much?

I was going to eat something but I learned that a plain croissant was $3.55, and I just can't justifying paying crazy prices for things like that.  So I stifled my hunger for a bit longer, and enjoyed some coffee and water instead.

By the time I came back upstairs, The Met had become seriously crowded, but I was ready to tackle the delights of the 2nd floor.  I walked up the Grand Staircase of the Museum, cut through Asian Art, and headed straight into the Greek and Roman Art Gallery.  From there it was an easy transition into the Art of the Arab Lands Gallery, which includes amazing mosaics, textiles, and sculpture reflecting the very beginning of Islam and the gorgeous artworks of Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia.  I loved this Gallery, and even gasped at the immensity of some of the works on display - so very impressive.

Next I found myself in the Musical Instruments gallery, marveling at how anyone could even get sound out of some of them!  All the weirdest shapes and construction materials. 

But what particularly impressed me was that my Met Director's commentary on the audio guide actually had video footage of a guy playing some of the ancient pianos on display.  Amazing!  Those audio guides really are great technology and really useful.

With the intensity of the exhibits and the ever-growing crowd, I was feeling the need to get some fresh air.  I sought out the elevator that would take me up to the rooftop, home to one of the best views in the City, but also one of the Museum's newest commissions (on display until November 2014).  I didn't think much of it to be honest, but then again I really have no idea about modern art.  I just appreciated the cool breeze, and the fact that not as many people were up on the roof to get in the way of my photographs (fuzzy though they were).

Rooftop serenity

Leaving behind the gorgeous rooftop view and the priceless art and sculpture of The Met, I wandered out through the gift shop and walked to Lexington Avenue for some lunch.  There are plenty of restaurants around The Met of course, but they can be crowded tourist traps and not really worth the trouble, when there are so many other options just a few blocks away.

Today's destination of choice was Lexington Candy Shop, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 83rd Street.  This place is like a time capsule - a real piece of vintage New York.

Lexington Candy Shop opened in 1925 and was last renovated in 1948 (when they installed the soda fountains that are still there - and they're still serving up Cokes and Diet Cokes with them today).  Have a look at this video and let the original owner's grandson tell you all about the store:

As you can see, The Lexington Candy Shop has linoleum tables, swivel stools at the counter, and green leather banquettes throughout.  I had one of their famous chocolate milkshakes, and I absolutely loved it.  If "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus hadn't been playing on the luncheonette's radio, I reckon I could have tricked myself into believing I'd really gone back in time.