Let's talk about T-Rex, baby

Dinosaurs! Yes, the American Museum of Natural History has many other delights but let's face it, most visitors are there for one thing only - the huge dinosaurs. And huge they are. A cast of the 122 feet Titanosaur (honestly, it sounds like they are getting children to make up these names now), the biggest dinosaur ever found, is so large that its head and neck don't fit in its hall. It could have flattened me with a stamp of one foot, or sent me flying 50 metres with a flick of its tail. You know, if it was alive. Actually, I think even the re-animated skeleton would probably kill me.

Let's go back to the beginning. The American Museum of Natural History, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, is one of the largest in the world. It is arranged into 'halls' - the hall of African mammals, the hall of fossils, the hall of human origins etc. It even has a space centre which features a planetarium.

Repeating the pattern from our visit to the Met, my friend and I split up to tackle the museum and I headed straight to the third floor to see the dinosaurs. I wasn't one of those dinosaur kids. I watched Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time and all that but I never really cared to find out the proper names or learn the history. Even now I describe dinosaurs like, "the one with the long neck," or "the one with the spikes on its back," or "the one with the tiny hands". I'd like to say I learned a lot more about dinosaurs in this museum trip and I am now full of interesting dinosaur facts. I did learn a lot but it unfortunately all left my head as soon as I stepped out of the museum doors. What can I say, I'm just not meant to be a dino girl.

The David H. Koch Dinosaur Wing consists of two huge halls and a whole lot of, you guessed it, dinosaur fossils. According to their website, 85% of the models you see are the real fossils, rather than casts and the halls are separated into Saurischian and Ornithischian specimans. I'm going to pretend I remember the difference between them or, indeed, what they even are. But even for clueless me, the halls are fantastic. The fossils and casts are large, numerous and impressive and though the halls were crowded, I didn't feel squashed or rushed. There was plenty to look at and while the exhibits were informative, they were not overwhelming.

After the dinosaurs it was time for a show. Our ticket allowed us into either the Hayden Planetarium show or a 3D Amazon movie and we chose the planetarium because space is cool. We were led into a circular room with reclined seats and settled ourselves down as Neil deGrasse Tyson explained the mysteries of dark matter. It was a good show, very interesting and visually pretty but I did find myself closing my eyes and beginning to drift off to Neil's dulcet tones. What can I say, it had been a very busy few days and I had a cold.

We split up again and I tried to power-walk my way through as much as the museum as I could before it closed. I spent a good amount of time in the halls of mammals, which were quite cool but it turns out there are so many stuffed animals you can see before you get bored of them. There was a very interesting exhibit about Native American culture and origins, which led onto South Pacific peoples and eventually an Easter Island head which I (shamefully) remembered was also in the Night at the Museum movie.

Because time was running out, I didn't get to see the Hall of Human Origins or many of the other space things which is a bit of a shame. Like almost everything in NYC, the museum is massive and there is so much to see - too much for one afternoon. Did I like the museum? Very much. Was it my favourite museum in New York? No, that currently still belongs to the Met. Do I prefer it to the London Natural History Museum? Well, given that I haven't been to the London one in years, it is yet to be decided. But the NYC one might inch ahead if I'm honest. If only because of the dinosaurs.

Happy to have Met you

New York City is famous for many things. Broadway, Central Park, The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Macy's...the list goes on. One thing it boasts is a plethora of excellent museums. I was on holiday in NYC recently and, being a bit of a history nerd, was excited to check out a few of its world-famous museums. Luckily my travel buddy Rowena was on exactly the same page.

I'd been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the 'Met' if you want to be casual) once before, ten years ago, and only for about an hour before it closed so I was looking forward to spending a whole afternoon there. Because we took our museum trip seriously - as one should - Rowena and I decided to go our separate ways and spend our time at the Met exploring solo. Armed with a map, a backpack and an intrepid spirit of cultural exploration, I knew at once where I wanted to head first - the Impressionists.

The Met is huge. Massive. If you have ever tried navigating to a particular era in the National Gallery, but actually ended up finding yourself in a room of fat cherub paintings when you really wanted Picasso, then think of that. But on steroids. There was a map. I followed the map. It didn't help much. That being said, there is something freeing about getting lost and discovering new and intriguing art that you might not have bothered about otherwise.

One of the first exhibitions I came across on my way to my chosen destination was one based on the theme of this year's Met Gala. Every year the Met hosts a famous ball which is presided over by the icon and titan that is Anna Wintour and attended by the most famous celebrities dressed in bizarre outfits. There is always a slightly pretentious theme and, for designers and celebrities alike, it is a chance to stretch the imagination and come up with something really creative and outlandish. This year's theme was entitled 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.' Quite. On display were outfits that have been inspired or influenced by Catholicism in some way. Clothes from fashion houses such as Dolce and Gabbana, Versace and Alexander McQueen, to name a few, were featured and ranged from the beautiful to the odd. Accompanying the designs were items from the Vatican. The exhibition was held in the cloisters, aptly making it feel like we were in a Catholic church. To add to the overall effect, it opened out into a large room dressed a bit like a cathedral with 16th century choral music playing over loudspeakers. It was overkill but also somehow that made it even more excellent.

After visiting a number of other art eras I hadn't intended on seeing, but ended up mostly enjoying anyway, I finally made it to the Manets and the Degas. It may be a bit cliche but the Impressionists are some of my favourite artists. The Met hosts an impressive array, with some of the more well-known Monets on display, such as the Water Lilly Pond, and a whole room of Degas ballerinas. The Met also is home to many other non-Impressionist paintings like Van Gogh's self portrait and The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio. To tell you all the paintings I saw would take all day. And frankly, I don't remember them all. But I did end up discovering some artists that I'd never seen before and really liked, like Pierre Auguste Cot.

The Met doesn't just include paintings but also sculptures, furniture, costumes, Egyptian mummies and even a temple. I didn't make it around everything I wanted to see - museums are surprisingly tiring - but I felt like I got to see the majority of its delights. I now consider the Met one of my favourite museums ever and one of my highlights of NYC.