The drive into the city was mostly uneventful -- contrary to rumor, NYC drivers are relatively nice, and will make opening in the traffic and allow one to merge. When the NYC skyline came into view, an orangey haze smudged it. So many new buildings that are taller than the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building have gone up that it's difficult to see them.
We parked at the MET. I wasn't expecting the checkpoint into the lot: there was a little hut for the security guards, and a plate in the road angled up to prevent cars from moving forward (at least it didn't have little spikes on it). A Very Cute and Ripped Guard came out with his Very Cute Golden Retriever and asked Mark to pop the trunk. I was too distracted by the sheen of sweat across the top of his pectorals to read the text tattooed across them. As the guard and dog circled around our car, he was telling the dog to look for things -- my window was closed so I didn't catch what he said, I think it was something like "Seek, Rusty, seek." The dog looked like it was having fun. 
Since we didn't have any contraband, we got waved through. V, Mark, and I all said something about how the Very Cute and Ripped Guard could search our car anytime, and The Child was mildly mortified. 
If I had the means, I would take a year to research, locate, and photograph architectural details on New York City buildings. While staying in a secret garret room in the MET.
We made it to the Eighteenth Century Decorative Arts wing, and managed to stay together as a group until the Faberge Eggs, at which point Mark went off to look at portraits. Portraits are Mark's Thing (and Madonna and Child -- he could look at Madonna and Child after Madonna and Child all morning), and he enjoys them more on his own.
After an early lunch (The Child was hungry) in the cafe, we went to the Egyptian Wing. The Middle Kingdom "Hetep di wesir" offering formula was everywhere, and I could read snatches of other inscriptions. It was like going into a kindergarten room and being able to read "cat" and "dog," and I took a five-year-old's delight in being able to read. 
As I was pointing out bits of inscriptions to V, and stumbling a bit, this Very Tall, Handsom Black Man sidled up and began pointing out signs and sounds. V insists that he was batting his eyes and leaning in toward me in a very flirtatious manner -- which I was totally oblivious to. When he shared a printout of book information he was recommending (Papyrus Ebers, Die groBte Schriftrolle zur altagyptischen Heilkunst; by Popko, Lutz; Schneider, Ulrich Johannes; and Scholl, Reinhold), she almost thought he was giving me his phone number. While I did sense there was some subtext I was missing, I mostly thought that it was a case of one exited student of Ancient Egyptian Writing meeting another. Mark, who wasn't there, reminded me later that the flirting of my Canadian Boyfriend at Ocean City was probably overblown by his family (and that I get very focused on geometry or hieroglyphs or whatever and completely tune out social cues).
The three of us re-connected with Mark while on a quest to find George Washington Crossing the Delaware for The Child. He regaled us with the Tale Of Blood in the Medici Exhibit (a woman tripped over the Very Low Art Barier Wire -- I think she was okay in the end, but the fall precipitated a nose bleed of titanic proportions).
We walked through more galleries, saw Edwin Church landscapes, Madame X, hookers, and Monets. We also had to stop for a moment to visit with Mark's Lover, Captain George K. H. Coussmaker. Mark has known Captain Coussmaker since 1985, long before he met me. I am familiar with the captain, as a miniature of this portrait floats between various places in our home. As we were paying our respects to the captain, we noticed Aoife's likeness in a nearby portrait.
The hope while in the gift shop is that one will stumble across The Perfect Gift (on sale!), one that will encapsulate the experience of viewing Or at least a Really Cool Book. The trick with books is to find one that's not too introductory, not too specialized, not too secondary/trashy/sensationalist, and not too expensive.
There was a book on Egyptian Magic that I was tempted by, but it looked too secondary. There was a survey of a Egyptian archeological site that looked too specialized. I wound up buying a gift book for our cat sitter, a gift book for my folks, and a bunch of other general survey books on stain glass, mechanical wonders, and The Cloisters.
The Child purchased some Egyptian cat figures for his friends; V purchased gifts and practical things like Persian rug coasters, a sweater, and fancy thank you notes. 
Then it was off to meet Lime Green Larry for a light snack outside the Hemsley Building, and afterward Mexican cuisine with Dwyer Family Friend, D (from Ireland).
We were early, so there was a side-trip around a block to find a coffee. I took a few shots of the architecture, which amused V. Eugene is so frumpy and post-modern brutalist / farm shack that visiting New York City's Art Deco / Art Nouveau is like Dorothy Gale and Company stepping out of the dark forrest and seeing the Emerald City.
Getting into the MET was hassle free. We were all set to have to show proof of vaccination, get zapped by a heat gun, and everything. But we simply showed our tickets and waltzed in. Now that I think of it, I don't recall a bag check the way that we've had to go through in the past (although none of us had a backpack).
In the 18C French gallery, I found a huge malachite vase with over-the-top angel handles that made me squeal loudly enough to be heard two galleries over. V said it was fun going through the MET with someone who enjoyed it as much as -- if not more -- than she did. Apparently I was adorable as I went from exhibit to exhibit pointing and squealing, and occasionally channeling my inner History Chanel host. The Child was a good sport, and tolerated going along with us on our scavenger hunt fairly well. There was a teen-level of disinterest, but every now and then he would snap a photo with his mobile.
We took a detour through the music rooms to see The Cow, the Lamasu, and a quick browsing of the Mesopotamian Wing, and then it was time to go to the Gift Shop!
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