The short of it:
Great tour, perfect length, keen insights into both museum art and operations. Patrick was prompt, had our tickets, and took us through an alternative entrance for an effortless start to a great tour.
The long of it:
If you haven’t been to the Met before, this tour is perfect. There is no way for you to discerningly take in the vast amounts of art in this place. The tour covers most areas of the museum but hones in on specific pieces such that you never feel overwhelmed and yet leave feeling like you know the place.
If you have been to the Met before, this tour is perfect. I guarantee that the pieces you learn about won’t be ones that you have closely examined before. And if for some reason you have, you will not know the story behind them the way Patrick does.
I was a little apprehensive when I first booked this tour. It said it was by a former guard who was about to have a book published. Did this mean Amazon self-published? Was this some security guard who passively clicked patrons through daily? No and no. Patrick is the real deal. After a great tour, we got home and read his book flyer and learned that he is a former writer for the New Yorker and his book publisher, yeah, Simon and Schuster. So he has the credentials and is incredibly humble.