Finally I get to a museum alone.

Today I was luckily enough to be able to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The New Yorkers affectionately call it “The Met”. I woke up this morning with such a sense of anticipation as it has been many years since I have seen such masterpieces. I dropped Isabel off at school and then raced to Annika’s preschool. After a quick chat with the parents of a new child I raced over for my morning ritual Starbucks. There were no seats available which is a common thing here in New York so instead I decided to head over to the bus stop and wait for the next cross town M79. The way the buses work her is just so logical and very efficient. I was going to catch a bus that basically was going to cross over Central Park and get me to the Upper East Side. The Met is on 5^th Avenue on the Upper East Side. I arrived smack bang on opening time of 9.30am. I was just about to burst with excitement as I ran up the majestic stairs into the public entrance. As much as I love being around my kids I was ecstatic that I was going to do something that was totally for me. I have always loved Art and that goes back to high School. I had a wonderful teacher called Mrs Ninni who opened up the world of Michelangelo, Van Gogh and Monet to me. I have always loved the French Impressionists especially Claude Monet. I was hoping to see some of his work.

I paid my admission of twenty dollars and then I proceeded to the Cloak room. A wonderful “rule” here in New York is that all these Museums full of amazing culture and education should be accessible to all. They have set prices which they always ask if you can pay. If you cannot they will accept whatever you can. I just love this about New York everyone can experience what in other countries is for the more fortunate and wealthy.

I started my wander through this amazing building and what seemed only a few minutes had turned into four hours of sheer delight. I ventured through an amazing collection of Roman and Greek artifacts that then lead me through to ultimately my beloved works by the Impressionists. I walked through the interconnecting rooms where the walls were adorned with works by Renoir, Cezanne, Manet and many many more. As I walked into a room filled with Degas’s Ballerinas I saw in the corner of my eyes one of Monet’s “Waterlilies”.

I stood there and I felt this overwhelming feeling of gratitude to Hugo for having made this all possible. I never in my wildest dreams thought at 43 I would ever be able to be in the presence of these idols of mine. I again felt that incredible feeling of being alive and being given this second chance of experiencing something incredible.

I then realized I had run out of time and that I need to get cross-town again to collect Annika from Preschool. I stood at the bus stop and started chatting to this lovely lady. She has been living here in New York for 29 years. She originally was from Malta and also told me she had a lot of family in Melbourne. She boasted to me her eldest had just graduated from Harvard and had studied Law. I congratulated her as that is an amazing achievement. He son will go very far here in New York with those credentials as Harvard is definitely and Ivy League education which opens many doors!

I find I am always meeting new people. I don’t know if it’s that I just love to chat and people sense that. Or if it’s just that this city seems to welcome all that come to experience its magic.

I picked up the kids and started planning next week’s adventure which I hope will be the Guggenheim.