My Trip to the Met

Last weekend, I spent my 10th wedding anniversary with my wife (I have to include that, apparently) we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. and big surprise... NO SHOWS!Let's back up a bit. We got a room at the lovely Bentley Hotel. It's a decent hotel. Not jump up and down screaming bloody murder good, but then again what is? When was the last time you jumped up an down and screamed bloody murder because a room at a hotel was so great?

We walked past Central Park. Did you know there was a zoo there? and a Playground? We realized that there's a lot in Central Park we've never seen. And we vowed.... next time we (that is to say I) have an urge to go to the city, we should take the kids, and just rock Central Park!Our original plan was to go to the Guggenheim. Nice plan. I don't know if it was the fact that Paula wasn't really into the Guggenheim, or the extrememly long walk in the freezing cold that we wanted to cut short, but we ended up at the Metropolitan Mueseum of art. Which leads me to my rant....

We went in, and I'm looking for art. The first room we go to is the GReek and Roman exhibit. Now there are frescos, and statues, and you know, art stuff; but there are also pins, coins, sarcophogi, things that, as far as I'm concerned, belong in a museum, but a historical museum, not an art museum. I'm the kind of person who LOVES art, but fell asleep in history class. So, the modern art room, and the rennaisance room, Loved it! But, like seven rooms in the museum are devoted to ancient relics. And my education reminds me that I'm supposed to admire the artistry of the decorations, but I can't help feeling like Indiana Jones. And not the cool Indy, the nerdy archeology professor Indy.

So we stop for lunch. We go to a cafe in the museum. They sell sandwiches, cupcakes, and drinks. Nice. BUT, there are only a few tables to sit at, and they all appear full. I have a thought. When we finally get a table, we should offer to share with them. One might expect that this would be frowned upon and considered unsafe, or imposing, but it turns out everyone was doing it, and we did so happily. We ended up having lunch with a lovely old lady who was a member of the museum (and several others) and her Ethiopian friend. This is to say, she was accompanied by a young man who was originally from Ethiopia, and now living and working in NYC. We had a lovely time. She talked about art and the many things to do in the city. She asked me about No Child Left Behind, and I went off.... It was the best thing we could have done, and there's a lesson to be learned there.