A Trip to the Met

Today we decided to risk the possible two-year-old-in-a-museum insanity and go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Michael is generally not a fan of any activity that requires him to sit quietly in the stroller with nothing interesting to look at and no snacks, so we thought if we could get an hour in we would be happy. (It is easy to be satisfied by an hour in a museum when you can get in free thanks to your husband's company). Michael did surprisingly well, content to stay in his stroller as long as we were constantly moving (none of that stopping to read plaques business) and could sneak him a fruit snack away from the eagle eyes of a docent now and then.

I truly enjoy art museums, if nothing else for the self-esteem boost they provide. It is always nice to see sculptures that look more like my imperfect body and less like a Hollywood starlet in desperate need of a cheeseburger. And the Met has such a variety of collections that any person can be satisfied within its halls. There is something awesome about seeing a piece of Egyptian art that is 4000 years old and then turning the corner to find a Stradivarius violin and a Rodin sculpture. Armor, weapons, mummies, full rooms transplanted from palaces... I must admit, I had a rather Claudia Kincaid-ish urge to jump up on one of the many four poster beds and settle down for the night.

Once Michael was ready to abandon his stroller, we went down to the cafeteria for a small lunch at a large price, and then told him it was time for a nap. Having just downed a hot dog and french fries, his satisfied tummy didn't put up much of a fight, and within half an hour he was sound asleep. David and I were able to get an extra hour to peacefully peruse the artwork and artifacts while Michael snoozed.


Since he was obviously less than impressed by the Temple of Dendur (above), we decided to let him walk through Central Park on the way back to the subway station, which was much more fun for a little boy than a boring old museum. And with snow piles and puddles to jump in, it was practically heaven.


It's a good thing that when we go home at the end of this year, it will be to Washington, D.C., another city with world-class museums. We are simply too snobby now to settle for anything less.