The View from the Top of the Met

One of the things on our must-do list on our recent trip to New York was a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's rooftop. I had been there once before, but Paul had missed out. And this time strollers were allowed, so even Edith got a peek -- or she would have if she hadn't been asleep.

The views, and the exhibit:

From the Roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Visiting the roof of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art was one of those things I had vaguely heard about doing but had never actually done.

Paul and I had visited the museum several times but had never actually come across the entrance to the roof. But on our last trip there, I made it a point to seek it out.

Turns out, we'd come very close to the special elevator before; I don't know how we missed it. Unfortunately, however, strollers weren't allowed. I'm not sure if that's standard or because of the special paintings on the rooftop, but it meant that Paul and I would have to take turns.

A fraction of the rooftop exhibit.

Paul stayed behind as I got on the elevator. But as the doors were closing, I learned it would be the last trip up -- it was starting to rain. My trip would be hurried, but Paul's would be nonexistent.

I didn't spend much time looking at the art. Instead I concentrated on the view. And mostly I deeply regretted not having visited the Met's rooftop on a nice, cool, sunny day to take more iconic photos of the city from one of the city's most iconic buildings. One day.

O Christmas Tree at the Met

Up Close with a Marble Sarcophagus

Our first holiday season in New York, we saw the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Pretty, but crowded.

Our second year we took in the light show at Grand Central. Not that impressive.

This year our destination was the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche.

Sounds fancy, and it was. The 20-foot blue spruce was decorated with angels and cherubs in the branches, and a nativity scene with dozens of attendants surrounding the base. Unfortunately photos were prohibited, and the pictures on the Met's website doesn't do it justice.

We spent only about 90 minutes in the museum when we visited in mid-December, but that was enough time to make a quick run through our favorite section: Greek and Roman Art. I feel like I'm in a garden each time we're there.

Culture and Video Games

I had wanted to visit the Cloisters, but it was so far away that it never seemed convenient to go.

Paul had wanted to visit Barcade, but the lack of a direct train route from Bay Ridge would make that a pain, too.

So what did we do? We decided to make both inconvenient journeys in one day.

First, a little explanation.

The Cloisters is a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, it's in the far northwest reaches of Manhattan, and you can only get their by subway followed by a bus or a 10-minute walk. It's small but is well-known for its tapestries and architectural displays.

Barcade is a (what else?) cross between a bar and an arcade. It has a wide selection of microbrews that regularly changes along with about 30 old arcade games you can play for a quarter apiece.

So with the Saturday newspaper in hand, we boarded a subway after lunch and made the 90-minute ride to the Cloisters. I knew it was on the edge of a park, but I didn't realize we would also have beautiful views from the museum of the Hudson River below. I had never seen it, aside from out an airplane window.

As for the museum, I especially like the stained glass windows and the unicorn tapestries, like this one. Obviously, the doorways, archways and exhibits were beautiful.





We were at Barcade in time for happy hour. I don't know if Paul was more excited about the beer or the games. We sampled them both. I watched him play a Mario Brothers, Marble Madness and a couple games I had never heard of but which he assured me helped form his childhood. I played a couple of games of Frogger and found out that I'm not nearly as good as I was 20 years ago.

We capped off the night at a Polish restaurant, where I ordered the potato pancakes and some delicious blueberry pierogis.

After that: home. And it didn't take as long as we had anticipated. I guess we'll be going back to Barcade after all.

A day at the museum(s)

One of the perks of Paul's job is that he gets free admission for himself and at least one guest to most of New York's major museums. With normal admission prices at $20 apiece for some museums, I was thrilled when we realized in March that we could go to all of them for nada.

So we spent a few Saturday afternoon hours at the Met about a month ago. A couple of weeks later, the Guggenheim. Yesterday, the Museum of Modern Art.

Surprisingly, the latter has been my favorite. And unlike the others, you can take photos in most areas.

Watch your step!

Paul, face to face with a face.

Recognize these?

Paul, pretending he's in an iPod commercial.

We actually had to wait in line to face the crazy mirrors.

We usually follow-up our afternoon at a museum with a walk, and Sunday was no exception. Central Park was crowded, but the sunshine put most everyone on their best behaviour.