This weekend, I took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I have to admit I was blown away by it, so it is getting a blog post of its own – something other New York sights can only aspire to. I did get slightly distracted en-route to the museum, making a couple of stop offs at Banana Republic and Bloomingdales on the Upper East Side (a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do- I couldn’t not go in…)

Slightly more laden down with shopping bags, I walked through Central Park up to the Met, passing by Conservatory Pond where people sail model motor boats and the famous Alice in Wonderland statue, which had about 10 kids balanced on it at the time.

I eventually made it to the museum and decided to start off with what was, in my mind, the reason I went- the roof garden. It has great views over Central Park and of the New York skyline and even has a bar- what more do you need?! Little did I know at this point how much more the Met had to offer…

I eventually decided it was time to actually go and see the art and headed back down. What took me by surprise was the sheer variety of exhibitions the museum has. The first section I went to had recreations of rooms from countries around the world at different times in history- similar to what you would find if you went to Versailles or any European palace. I was getting all sorts of interior design ideas for my future house, like the pale green walks with gold in the picture below- although I can see that this might not be to everyone’s taste in a modern day home …

My favourite bit by far (of the small section I managed to cover) was the courtyard of the American Wing. It’s a huge open space with a glass roof and is overlooked by the façade from No 3 Wall Street which dates back to the 1800s and was saved by the museum when the Bank it housed was torn down in 1915.

They also have a section of items which aren’t on display but are just in glass cases- testament to just how many items it has. I love homeware and antique shopping so I was in heaven wondering through these- it even topped a trip to Zara Home, which, as lame as it is, is one of my favourite places to wander round and always lifts my mood.

In the 3 hours or so I was there, I barely touched the surface of what the Met has to offer, so I’ll definitely be coming back here. Who knows, I might even look at some paintings next time!