A few weeks ago, our class met outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and waited for everybody to arrive. While we were waiting, I took the time to admire the details of the architecture, decorations, and water fountain displays outside the property.

Once we were all inside, we with Roberto, the director of food and beverage operations at the Met.  He explained to us that the 10 different cafes and restaurants were independently owned and lacked structured, but he now oversees them as part of one group, Restaurant Association.  We got to see what was formerly a members-only restaurant, that is now open to the public. Some perks for members now include a 10% discount on the bill and reserved seating overlooking Central Park. From there, Roberto took us to the rooftop, which had a bar with refreshments, some artwork, and amazing views of Central Park and skyscrapers in the distance.  I would have stayed out there all day if I had the time. 

From there, we moved on to a guided tour. We had a very large group, including our class and others, so at times it was hard to hear the tour guide and see the artwork. We saw examples of both Greek and Romanc sculptures, as well as some very interesting sculptures from the Pacific Islands, one was a 14-foot-tall freestanding musical instrument, the largest known in the world. My favorite part was the Thomas Hart Benton exhibition; part of his mural is pictured below. Before our tour wrapped up, I enjoyed seeing works of Van Gogh, also pictured below, as well as artwork from the Baroque period. I found it very interesting that Van Gogh would paint on each side of a canvas, as supply and funds were low.

I would like to go back to the Met to spend more time in other exhibits and on the rooftop, as well as visit the Met Cloisters sometime this summer. 

Emily cracking up in front of the MET. We where excited

My urban tourism class and I took a trip to the New York Metropolitan Museum on the most beautiful day. We choose this museum because the Met is a huge tourist attraction. I learned of the Met museum before my urban tourism class.  finally visited with my sports and recreation class last semester. The admission price for me was heavenly, free, just how i like it. However, because most of the people that visit are tourist and not residence of New York, according to the Met website they may have to pay; $25 dollars for adults $17 dollars for seniors; $12 for students; and free for Members, Patrons, and children under 12 and the good thing is you can spend the whole day there if you wanted. The museum fee, I agree it may be too much money but I believe that it is worth it and it is crucial for the survival of this beautiful museum. I feel that everyone has the right to see art and experience the feelings that it brings but to other residents I’m sorry, but the people that can’t afford it in New York can still come in for free. When I went to the museum I took the 5 train from Flatbush Avenue and got off on 86 street and walked about 12 minutes from the train. You can also take the 4 train if thats a better route, but eventually you’ll be doing some walking. If not take an uber, or a yellow cab.

sitting On the sides of the fountain

On June 19th, we took a tour with one of our own Robert who is the food and beverage manager of all of the restaurants at the Met. One of the most important things he said was how he actually had a life working at the Met and his life wasn’t all about work. I love that, because I’n the Hospitality world you can always expect to work over time and there’s almost never a time of relaxation. I got the idea that his work can be stressful sometimes with unexpected events happening all around him. Like If some of his team calls out and he as to figure out how to manage the extra work, and wether he should pull someone from other places in the Met. He briefly talked about the retraining of his staff and it sounded stressful, although he did sound very happy. overall I enjoyed the tour because it gave another eye opening to another side of the hospitality industry, which I never thought about as a career option. I loved that we got to tour the rooftop bar because when I first visited the Met I only discovered the cafe downstairs in the basement. I never knew there where so options, no wonder people can spend all day there.

upstairs at the rooftop bar

The annual visitors according to metmuseum.org is seven million people. While we where there I seen many different diversity of people. There where a lot of tours going on, and a lot of people. I felt very at home, I was engaging with our tour guide Susan and the rest of my class seemed to be very comfortable. We where all asking questions, taking pictures and where very engaged.
The focuses of the collection inside the Met is a mix of contemporary, realism, sculptures, Impressionism and so much more. The highlight to me was the heavenly bodies fashion and the catholic expression exhibition because that was the first thing I seen from the front before walking in. The exhibition was low in light, and I loved it because it bought out the diamonds on the dresses better. I loved the Victorian style dresses and wish I spent more time there.

The museums website, is very accessible. I can find everything I need.theres a visit section where you can plan your visit to the museum. The events button where we can find current events and programs at the Met. The learning button where very different age group can explore and see what people in there age group will be most interested in. The store button where we can find clothes, jewelry, books, mugs etc. if I wanted to join and give, oh there’s a button for that. We can see all past and present and future exhibitions from the exhibitions button. It was definitely user friendly, they provide a lot of information.

I really loved the Vincent Van Gogh Wheat field with caresses oil canvas. Susan told us that this painting could never be done the same, and was the last painting he did before going into  a crazy home. i loved that i could see movement in the clouds and the fields. After learning a bit more about Van Gogn i love the painting even more. I believe that the tour helped me to appreciate art more because now i feel like i understand the artist. Everything as a back story and i admire that about the sculptures that we saw and the many paintings and some of which the artist completed within months or years.

Thomas Hart Benton – America Today. This painting is the city activities and dancehall

velazquez-oil on canvas. this is valasquez slave painted in rome. I love that this painting shows strength and status even though he was a slave. shows that you didn’t need to be rich or of high status to show elegance and power.

            On June 19^th, 2018 our Urban Tourism class visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had a wonderful experience, as we were lucky to have two of the MET’s employees gave us a guide: Robert from Citytech and Susan Jordan. Firstly, with Robert informing and guiding us through his job experience as a manager of the MET food and beverage department, gave me a lot of insight of how overwhelming his job might seem. However, he mentions that time management is something that will help him through his job and being quick with decisions was a plus. It was very interesting and eye opening after he informed us about his career experiences and how he attained his position in the MET. Susan Jordan our tour guide, was very informative and professional in explaining about different piece of art, such as: history, artists story, and what is was for. I feel like it was better to have a guide to give us information rather than looking it and interpreting about art ourselves because we may not be an expert in this field. And I noticed that Susan took a route that was following the map, the red line giving us the best way to walk through the museum.

Since the MET is a very huge tourist attract, as we all know, I learned about this museum by word of mouth. Word of mouth as such from our industry and from my sibling. I have been to this museum about four times, the last time I went was for a class where I had to pick an art piece from the Asian Art section to write a paper about. While we were in the museum, I saw many different groups of visitors, such as: group of families, school groups, kids, a wide diversity of people (I think most were tourists). I felt very welcomed as we were in a group setting and the two employees were very engaging and informing us and asking us questions. The annual visitors for the MET in 2017 was seven million people, according to https://www.metmuseum.org. As for the admission, it was free because the Professor paid for our trip? There is a suggested fee is up to you, if you are a student in New York City, Connecticut, and New Jersey. However, the general admission is $12 if the visitor is from outside of New York.

As for the travel to the MET, it was not too bad I took the 4 or 5 train route to 86^th Street and walked 3-4 blocks toward Central Park. The museum was not hard to fine, due to its visibility from two blocks away and from the change in atmosphere. In the front of the stairs there are a bunch of steps, but for visitors with disabilities there are wheel chair accessibility in the entrances on 81^st Street and 80^th Street where the parking garage is. Within the museums there are also elevators, a lot of walking though (they might need a guide). The MET’s museums is user friendly and mobile friendly because it is easy to use. There is a lot of information on the art piece, if you would like to do an art paper. The website offers visitors many different types of activities happening in the museum and even future events. I think it would have been nice if we could change it to different languages, it will be easier for tourists outside of United States of America.

            I learned many new insights while I was in the MET.  I learned that there were more than one food and beverage options in the MET, especially the Dining Room overlooking the Central Park(on the fourth floor). The members of the museum get to eat next to the windows. There are actually seven food and beverage options within the museum. Another thing I learned is that I never knew there was more that three floors because I haven’t had time to explore the whole MET museum. I never acknowledged about the rooftop outdoor scenery either (the Roof Garden Bar on the fifth floor). Third thing I learned is that the MET has a booklet of the upcoming events through certain seasons. This summer 2018, they featured The Roof Garden Commission: Huma Bhabha, We Come in Peace, which our class were able to witness. This sculpture is scheduled to be there from April 17- October 28, 2018. The art up there rotates throughout seasons and events. Lastly, I learned that the MET held show casings, as we were able to witness the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”