First Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art had been a dream for quite some time! Even though we'd visited New York City on other occasions, there was really never enough time on those visits to devote to a day at The Met. But this was top of our list on this trip!

First of all, before we even entered, we could tell that it was enormous, and there was no way possible that we could see it all.

The Met has an outstanding collection of historic costumes at the Costume Institute. Due to the fragile nature of textiles, it is not on permanent display, but special exhibits are held a couple times a year. We headed to the current exhibit, celebrating fashion icon Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, as our first stop of the day.

Some of her beautiful gowns. This beaded one in the foreground was just exquisite.

But it was this sleek and elegant piece that captivated me. It is a masterpiece of construction, as I believe the entire dress is made from just two cuts of fabric. Simply amazing!

Then we moved on to the art of ancient Egypt.

I couldn't resist.

The architecture of The Met itself is a work of art! I emerged through this doorway, trailing in the distance behind Colette, and she turned around and said, "Wow! Don't move! I have to take your picture here. It's amazing!" And after the photograph, I joined her and turned around to see what was so spectacular. "Oh," I said, "It's Pemberley!" Actually, it's the facade of the American Bank building rebuilt onto one wall of the American art wing of The Met, but I felt like I was at Pemberley!

Won't you join me for dinner? Wouldn't it be fun to say that!

Another beautiful gallery. We didn't visit this one, but I was glad to get a peek at it from an upstairs window.

After giving our feet a little rest and consulting our maps as to where we wanted to go next, we moved on to the medieval weaponry galleries. We had California neighbors who came back from a trip to New York raving about the medieval weapons, so we were most excited to see them!

But first, I paused to admire this lovely bronze by Auguste Saint-Gaudens. He had a home and garden in New Hampshire, and now I'm quite sure I need to visit there someday.

The suits of armor are not only astounding in their construction, but many are so beautifully intricate in their embellishments. Just look at all the little figures etched into this one.