Generally relegated to my annual trip above 59th street or as a backdrop for sweet but awkward dates, the Met is my one that got away. I've lived here for 9 years now and I'm sure I haven't been in as many times. Since my 9-5 life faded to black in September, I've been wanting to go for an afternoon but nothing is as easy to put off as 3 hours of getting lost in thought uptown. I finally went in search of inspiration of the floral variety, found some, ate a macaroon and pondered the peculiars of solo museum scouting.
Changing out of one's slobby real-life clothes is a necessity. The Met is packed with out-of-towners, so a little extra eccentric goes a long way in keeping you and the camera clobbering masses apart, never mind the fact that you are also camera clobbering and just as prone to wearing ripped jeans. A lady doesn't pay the full suggested admission but she doesn't pay a quarter, either. While you're at it, if you're going to be walking on fancy floors, you might as well wear fancy shoes. A hat works wonders as does wandering aimlessly. I stayed until a handsome security guard needed to escort me out of the visual storage section and then stumbled to the subway through central park, eyes glazed over in an unmistakable painting coma. It was delicious.
Sounds like a great day at the Met - despite your not frequenting the museum that often, you've got the perfect recipe for how to do it. Great photos too!
ReplyDeleteI love getting lost in thought there, or any place for that matter.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a perfect day to me!
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what a huge blog crush on your site. great post about the Met. wonderful images and photos as usual. thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteJg. for FatScribe
Lovely post! I've grown to like solo museum wandering so much, I can hardly imagine dragging anyone with me ever again! And asking handsome security guards for directions is a lot easier without a giggly girlfriend in tow.
ReplyDeleteYou have a way with words and this post showcases it best. I've been to the MET and spent a good day there. I was in a painting coma after as well. I can't wait to go back :)
ReplyDeleteLoved the outfit, especially the hat!
Have a great Sunday!
...That sounds lovely. I so wished we lived somewhere closer to sites such as that or as I always say to my husband just to live near a historic country town filled with boutiques, charming eateries and such would fill my heart's desire. Instead we live in a podunk little town that offers none of that and a long drive is in order if one seeks any sort of culture in the least... *sigh*
ReplyDelete...Lovely post and might I add that you look lovely as well. :o)
...Blessings...
It's been 9 years since I left NY, and one of the places I miss most is the Met. I'd love to return this spring & visit their rooftop garden. Thanks for the vicarious trip to one of my favorite museums!
ReplyDeletesounds amazing. the outfit is great too!
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of your delicious day! I haven't been to NYC since 2001. I need to go back someday soon :-)
ReplyDeletethat sounds like a great day. museums are one of those things that i find i actually appreciate MORE when i'm solo. i like the idea of getting a little gussied up for the trip!
ReplyDeleteso so so jealous.
ReplyDeleteSounds like bliss. I'll have to dust off my cloche and my very best velvet slippers when I finally make it over to NYC :)
ReplyDeleteThose photographs are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMy love affair with the Met began as a kid, not after a first visit, but after reading "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," about the kids who run away from home and move into the Met, taking baths in the fountain and hiding from security guards. Later, when I moved to NY myself, my love affair with the Met was sealed, not least because of that "suggested" admission price. Hooray for this post- I can only go to the Met via memory lane or brief trips back to NY these days.
ReplyDeleteIt's nearly autumn here, and the bulb catalogues are out, so I've got a spot of tulip-mania happening. I'm all over parrot tulips. Along with the striped rosebushes I plan to get for the front of our terrace house, we're going to have to the most obnoxious/ ostentatious garden in the street! The still life with tulips is all where I'm at right now.
ReplyDeleteWow, a delicious day indeed!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to the Met, but I could get lost in your pictures. They are simply gorgeous!
If you don't mind me asking, what camera did you use to take these pictures?
Oh my! What a lovely outfit..i love, love, love the dress you are wearing and I love taking autoportraits in mirror too :)
ReplyDeleteI've recently discovered the joy of going to museums solo and it is delicious indeed!
love it! I love a good trip to look at art solo. i secretly disappear in the national gallery in london for a similar experience. x
ReplyDeleteI loved visiting the Met during the height of NY's sweltering summer but also regret not doing it frequently enough while I lived there. Solo museum visits are my favorite. Great dress and hat!
ReplyDeleteoh god, now I'm filled with longing. The Met was an annual trip for me from 1994 to 2006, and then I had to grow up and get a job and couldn't go gallivanting up to NYC to visit my grandparents anymore. You've inspired me to go art-glancing solo, though.
ReplyDeleteyour dress is beautiful and reminiscent of your mother's in that great video you posted a bit ago.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Met. it made me very happy. very slap happy actually at first.. and then peacefully happy in the end. Sounds like you got a little crazy happy which is a good kind too lol
ReplyDeleteArt at the Met always makes you want to step it up! Did you see the Balenciaga exhibit?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! You inspire me to put on a pretty dress and a fancy hat & visit the art museum in my own city again.
ReplyDeleteYou are inspiring me stop putting off going to the Met myself... perhaps I shall go this week.
ReplyDeleteAmy, you look beautiful in mama's dress and those little lilies of the valley are so darling.
ReplyDeletestunning post.
ReplyDeleteLovely, visually delicious post!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, are those folks really painting in the museum? That chick at the top looks like she did a better job than the original artist - wow!!!
ReplyDeletegorgeous!!! i miss the nyc museums and i'm glad you're taking advantage of them- AND that there are places you can actually take pictures. atlanta ain't so generous with their shutterbugs :)
ReplyDeleteI have fallen in love with oil paintings over the last year. I wonder if it's a fad or if I'll still feel this way a decade from now.
ReplyDeleteI adore that museum coma! One of the best feelings. I can also induce it by reading a very good book in a very nice cafe. It's like aesthetic experience on steroids.
ReplyDeletea solo trip to an art museum sounds about perfect.
ReplyDeleteHello. You may already know about this, but I was just listening to a wonderful talk by Maira Kalman (on this site: http://www.ted.com/talks/maira_kalman_the_illustrated_woman.html) and she speaks about the general dreadfulness of NYC in February and I thought of you. She is one of my favorites, and I think has the ability to brighten even the darkest of days. Hope you like it.
ReplyDeletesuch beautiful paintings!
ReplyDeletewoow very nice painting thanks for sharing it I love to see it
ReplyDeletehi there,
ReplyDeletei found your blog the other day and have enjoyed reading through some of it. You have given me a lot inspiration, so thank you for that.
My old 400d has started to die slightly so I'm looking to get something new. I was wondering what camera you are using?
I can't wait to return to NY soon and visit the galleries again, I saw Jeff Wall at MOMA a few years ago, that was fantastic. But I need to check out all the ones here in London again. So much to do....
Thank you in advance if you take the time to tell me what camera you are using,
Richard
Oh thank god you mentioned your outfit - I was thinking "OF COURSE she wears that outfit to go wandering around the Metropolitan Museum in NYC by herself, what ELSE would she wear?" (with a smiley face) and then I see you did it on purpose and I love it even a little more. I'm surprised Scott Schuman didn't find you in Central Park and take your picture ;)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lovely afternoon to yourself.
You never cease to inspire! I hope you never go back to the 9 to 5!
ReplyDeleteCheers!!
You're so pretty. The paintings are really lovely too. I didn't spend near enough time in the Met while I lived there. And I still mourn never making it to the Guggenheim. But I practically lived at P.S. 1, so somehow I feel like it all balances out. Smooches.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard- My camera is a canon rebel xti and I frequently shoot with a 60mm macro lens. Hope this helps in your search for something new!
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I like that panting thanks for sharing this post
ReplyDeleteduring search of footwear blogs I found this blog but I like it
Loving the Met, your pictures and your dress!!
ReplyDeletesounds like an amazing afternoon. going to a museum alone and getting lost in the little nooks and crannies is the best.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read the Jean Stafford story, "Children Are Bored on Sunday?" If not, I'd recommend it! The main character is a young woman visiting the Met.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great post, as usual...thanks!
You look dazzling in your purple dress. I love getting dressed up, even for the store. You've just go to do that for yourself. It makes my day better. I'm loving your blog.
ReplyDeletePS- I'm hosting my first GIVEAWAY on my blog! Please come and see!
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You certainly do look as pretty as any of those oil paintings Miss Amy!
ReplyDeleteNothings better than a solitary walk through The Met, with no time limit and no agenda. I've been going once a week since September and still keep finding rooms and things I haven't seen yet. It changes through the day - going when it first opens and no one else is there is a magic of one kind, but going on a Friday night when it's dark outside and the galleries go chiascuro is pretty magical, too. And there is floral inspiration in spades.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos.
Gorgeous photographs - including that beautiful self-portrait! Did you find out if those people copying the paintings are art students or if they work at the Met? They are really good, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI also like how you noticed the details in the paintings. I just visited the Chrysler Art Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. It's so interesting to see what other art galleries and museums have on display. I saw paintings there that I would never have seen in my life if I hadn't spent a couple hours there. Anyhoo...
You are beautiful. You have a nostalgic, sentimental heart that preserves the cherish-able in everyday life. I've been following you for quite a while, and drink in your posts. I can't help but feel like we'd have a lovely time over tea, or coffee, and ever since your post about your eager search for a vintage emerson sweatshirt, I've found myself on the watch for one during my thrift store wanderings. You just might get one, one day, from an unknown admirer. Keep living lavishly, darling.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You look fantastic! I really enjoy reading your blog!!
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