NYC - Day 2 - Metropolitan Museum of Art

On Friday morning, David and Grandad went for bagels. Oh my heavens! New York bagels are to die for! Other bagels just don't compare.

After breakfast, Baylie ditched us to hang out with the choir. We were glad she was having so much fun with her friends. They went to the New York Public library.

April, Baylie, Summer, Taylor

April's daughter, Alexa, is one of Baylie's best friends. She's not in the choir. She and her dad joined the New York group on Friday.

Meanwhile, the rest of us walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We saw black squirrels. The only other time we saw black squirrels was in Niagara Falls.

We tracked down the Alice in Wonderland sculpture. (Don't know this girl, but she wasn't interested in moving so she's in the picture.)

It was fun just spending time together. 

Grandad served his mission in NYC over 60 years ago. I've grown up hearing stories of his mission. He had mentioned to us that his old mission office was across from Central Park so we decided to hunt it down. He was so excited to find it again.

It's a beautiful building. I'm so glad we were able to find it.

It was kitty corner from the museum. In front of the museum was a gentleman selling piles of jewelry from Turkey. It felt like a treasure chest. Jalen bought a ring for Baylie for her birthday and Grammy bought some things. Sadly, she can't find hers.

 The museum of course was amazing. Here are some of our favorite things.

Theseus Fighting the Centaur, Antoine-Louis Barye, 1867, from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Herakles the Archer, Antoine-Emile Bourdelle, 1909.

Les Bourgeois de Calais, Rodin, 1889 - depicts six prominent citizens of Calais who offered themselves as hostages to the English King Edward III in exchange for the lifting of the siege of their city. 

Sappho, Count Prosper d'Epinay, around 1895 - I was fascinated by her hand grasping the cloth.

Why Born Enslaved! by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1873 - "This bust is perhaps the most well-known nineteenth-century sculpture of an enslaved Black figure." 

Ugolino and His Sons from Dante's Inferno - considered by some to be one of the most important works at the museum. It shows Ugolino and his sons dying of starvation. The realistic detail in the faces, hands, and the back of the father are really powerful.

Paris, from the workshop of Antonio Canova, 1822-23 - judging which of the three goddesses, Juno, Minerva, or Venus, was the most beautiful.

Perseus With the Head of Medusa by Antonio Canova, 1804.

Roman marble sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus and the Seasons, dating back to 260–270 CE.

We were fascinated by the gallery of medieval armor.  

Armor of Henry VIII at the end of his life when he had gained a lot of weight.

Crossbows

The Egyptian gallery was fascinating. This laser light shows what the walls would have looked like in their day when they were painted.

You can see the detailed carving in the stone.

Look at all the detail!!

Fascinating

The mummy/sarcophagus section was incredible. 

A jackal

Grandad found his coffin.

Papyrus

Stone

So much history, it's overwhelming.

I thought it was amazing to see someone painting in the Met. How iconic!

We sought out Washington Crossing the Delaware. I had no idea how huge this painting is!

This angle gives an idea of how massive it is. Look at the people standing next to it.

Abraham Lincoln: The Man, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1911.

On to Liberty, Theodor Kaufmann, 1867

Grandad has long been a fan of Frederic Remington. He has a replica of this sculpture - The Broncho Buster - at home. It was originally cast in 1895.

Out front.

We went from the museum to Times Square to meet the choir for dinner. We didn't actually sit with them at these dinners, but at least we were in the same place.

We ate at Bubba Gump, from the movie/book Forrest Gump. This is the sign you show until you're ready to order. 

Once we were read to order, we flipped the sign.

I ordered Baja ceviche and it was delicious!

Dad got a stuffed crab sandwich.

David had shrimp fettuccini.

We did see Baylie and April for a few minutes.

Grammy found the perfect souvenir.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel through Time Square.

Baylie spent more time there than we did.

She's usually so early to bed that I don't know how she managed to stay up so late every night. But she had a great time.

My plan was to keep our itinerary simple with just one main activity each day. But we still ended up spending all day walking and on our feet. We were exhausted!