Over spring break, the Monmouth Women’s Lacrosse team traveled to New York City for the day to go to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The MET.
This was a very special experience for some of the women on the team as we had never been there before. We took the ferry after practice on Tuesday, March 19. The idea of taking the ferry was, in itself, interesting because usually you hear about people taking trains, cars and buses into the city, but not the ferry. This was a first for me, I had never been on a ferry before.
It was a beautiful sight; I stayed outside with a few other brave souls the whole way there and back. I just could not get over the view. I mean, seeing the buildings from a distance set the scene for me right away.
When we got off the boat, we then walked a few blocks to the subway. Taking the subway was a new experience in which we were introduced to a whole new type of person who resides in the city. Most of the people in New York walk with purpose, they have somewhere to be, but these people, they are on a whole other mission.
We almost all didn’t make it on in time, because there were so many of us trying to scan and hustle to the rail as it pulled up. Luckily, we all got on in one piece. When we got off the subway about four stops later, we walked a couple blocks to the MET. The walk, which was roughly six blocks, was not at all bad. It had given me a good chance to see the style and culture of people, who call NYC their home. Granted, it was only my second time visiting New York City so I wouldn’t consider myself a local to the area whatsoever, but yet it was an eye-opening experience to the society there.
So, as 29 girls venture around New York City, sight-seeing, and enjoying their break in a new area, we didn’t get lost, right? Luckily, we had our three amazing coaches there to guide us as they seemed to be professionals on the streets of NYC. The area had so many different sounds; construction, cars backing up, sirens, horns honking, and pedestrian lights beeping, telling you not to cross. I wondered that if I lived there, if I would ever be able to get any shut eye, in the city that never sleeps.
While en route to the MET, we walked along Central Park. In such a big city where buildings are seen for miles, it was nice to see such a beautiful landscape for people to bring their pets and get away from city life for a while (even if they are still right in the middle of it).
When we arrived at the MET, we all took a picture out front. It was a beautiful place and I was astonished at the amount of people there. My mouth literally dropped, one because it was beautiful and two, because there were about 10 food trucks lined up right outside the building for tourists like myself to salivate over.
The building itself was amazing as the team split up to go view different parts for the two hours we had to explore, I knew I wanted to see as much as possible. I first went with my group to the Egyptian part of the museum. I think it is so cool to think about how the carvings and engravings were done so long ago, and how they ended up right there in front of me centuries later. I nearly got to see all the parts I wanted, Monet paintings, Van Gogh, etc. My favorite part was probably the Ancient Greek Art sculptures. The chiseling done to perfection, is mesmerizing to me, some of the Greek heads get a little too much for me, but the whole-body figures of the gods are remarkable, especially in person.
There were many moments that we shared that I won’t forget but a highlight of the entire trip was when we were walking down 5th Ave. we saw Amy Schumer walking down the street toward us. We were shocked and stoked to see a celebrity in the flesh just walking casually down the street.
In a place with millions of people, on a single street in New York City, walking just like us. It was a memorable moment for us as a group we will all remember forever.
