START SPREADING THE NEWS – NEW YORK CITY , NEW YORK – THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART – FIFTH AVENUE- PART ONE

The state  of  Texas  likes  to  brag  that  ”  everything  is  bigger  in Texas  ” ,  and they  just  might  have  a  point .

But  they don’t  have  a thing  on “The  Big  Apple  “.

Everything  isn’t  just  big  in the  “city  that  never  sleeps”, it’s  spread  out.

If things  look larger  than  life  when  you  make  that  30  Plus  Teams  Tour  of  New  York  City ,  you  aren’t  hallucinating .

Everything  is  HUMONGOUS  here.

The  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art ,  which  is  located  on  Fifth  Avenue  between  80th  and 82nd  Streets ,  is no ex exception .

It’s  the  largest art museum  in the  United  States  and it’s  located on Fifth  Avenue’s  famous  “Museum  Mile”.

To say that  one might  need a whole  day  to explore  this  place  isn’t  stretching  the truth .

You might  actually  need  more than  a  day  to see everything .

Even  if  you spend a whole  day in the museum ,  you still  might  not see see everything .

It’s  that  big .

Forget  walking  up the  stairs  to enter the building ,  which  looks  like  a  mansion  on steroids ,  just  standing  outside  on the David  H Koch  Plaza  right  by the two  fountains  on either side , you can’t  comprehend  how  big this  place  is .

You  notice  all the  people  making  themselves  at home  on on the  steps  of  the  museum .

Or maybe  all these  people  are  resting  their  tired feet after  spending  so much  time  looking  at almost  everything  in the museum .

The  suggested  admission  price  for  the  museum  is   $25, but  pay what  you  wish .

If you  happen  to  live in  one of  the  five  boroughs  and you have a New  York  City  ID card, you can  get  free  admission  for  a  year.

Trust  me  on this  one ,  it’s  worth  having  and the  Metropolitan  –  Fifth  Avenue  isn’t  the  only  museum  in the  five  boroughs  that  accepts  this  card .

As with  the  other  two  branches ,  the Cloisters  and  Met Breuer ,  hold  onto  your  ticket  for  same-day  admission .

Since  this  museum  is so  big ,  the  post  on the  Metropolitan  Museum  –  Fifth  Avenue  is going  to  be  in two  parts .

Like  the  Met  -Breuer ,  which  I  mentioned  in  an  earlier  post ,  (  sportsandtravelblog.wordpress.com  /  2017/08/26/Start/Spreading  -the  -news  -New – York  -City  -New – York  -The  –  Metropolitan  -Museum  -of  -Art –  Breuer  ), the  Met  –  Fifth  Avenue  is  open  daily ,  but  on Fridays  and  Saturdays ,  the  museum  is  open  until  9pm .

Also  on  Fridays  and  Saturdays ,  you  may  wish  to  check  out  the  Petrie  Court  Café ,  which  is  located  on  the  mezzanine  level  of  the  museum .

They also  have  live  music .

I’m  not  even  going  to  begin  to tell  you  where  to  start  looking  in this  museum .

They have  floor  plans  in several  different  languages  so that  you  can  see where you’re  going .

They  also  provide  audio  headsets  if you wish  to  do a self tour .

They  tell  you  all about  the  exhibits  in front  of  you  without  being  disturbed  by  all the  conversation  around  you .

The  brochure  of the  museum  states  that  the  museum  has “5,000 years  of Art from  everywhere  in  the  world . ”

That’s  no exaggeration .

You  will  have  to  come  back  and even  then  you  still  might  not  see  everything  in this  place .

On the  first  floor and mezzanine ,  there’s  art from  Egypt ,  Ancient  Greece  and  Rome ,  as well  as  art from  the  Americas ,  Africa  and  the  Pacific  Islands .

One  might  assume  that  the  museum  is not  only  overwhelming  for  adults ,  but  for  the  children  too.

Younger  children  might  enjoy  the  exhibits  on  Medieval  Knights  and Armor ,  but  on the  days  that  I  visited ,  every preteen ,  tweenager, and  teenager seemed  to  like  looking  at  the  mummies  and any and  everything  that  screamed Egypt .

You  can  take  pictures  in the  museum ,  but  be aware  that  some  of  the  exhibits  strictly  forbid  you  from  doing  this ,  not  to mention  the  security  guards  will  not  so gently  come  over  to  you  and  tell  you ,  ”  not  to  touch  the exhibits  and  no pictures  please . ”

If you  get too  overwhelmed  by the  museum ,  (  and trust  me  after  an hour  or  two ,  you  will . ), you  can  take  a break  at  one  of  the  many  cafés  and  restaurants  in the  museum  .

From  May until  October ,  you  can  unwind  at The  Roof Bar on the  fifth  floor .

If you  don’t  wish  to  do this ,  get  ready  to  take  that  long  walk  up the  stairs  to see  all  that  there  is  on the  second  and  third  floors .

Don’t  worry  if  you  can’t  walk up all those  flights  of  stairs ,  an elevator  will take you  up  there  as well .