Metropolitan Museum of Art A cold snap welcomed my niece Corie and her husband Roque to New York for their third visit, but that did not stop us from soaking in the city’s best, art and food (not optional!). Our first stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we viewed the special exhibition of Pierre Bonnard’s work.
It was a rich collection of Bonnard's paintings; at first glance they looked like children's work, flat in texture but colorful and generous in his use of lemon-yellow and white. Of particular interest are the drawings and sketches in pencil, some in watercolors and gouache (opaque watercolors). Check this out – encased in a glass shelf were four daybooks or pocket diaries where he scribbled down his ideas and sketches; one of them was opened to the page dated November 22, Mardi 22 - St. Cecile, my feast day. How cool is that?
We listened to an ongoing lecture and learned more about Bonnard’s work - that was a treat for us. As an untrained viewer, it was enriching just listening to the sharp-eyed connoisseurs engage in the discussions. This definitely was not Art Appreciation for Dummies, I got lost between the sharp questions and the interpretations. My eyes were not in tune as these group were.
Must See....
We then proceeded to the musical instruments collection, on display includes the oldest “extant” piano, rare violins, indigenous instruments from all regions of the world. Gourd shakers, rattles and drums were among the ones that Corie and Roque didn’t recognize. They’re too young for that.
On the way out, we passed by the Arms and Armor collection, parade armors, jeweled weapons, the finest I imagine.
Must Snap.......
One can only take in so much of the arts at the Met, a little time is enough in one collection for the untrained art lover like me. Diverse in its collection, I'd say the Met can stack up against the great museums of the world that I've visited and one must never throw out this opportunity to enjoy its fine collection - awesome! For our next visit - the Costume Institute collection.
Tired feet ( these kids are not used to walking the 'New York walk'), and hungry for some real chow, we headed for the subways to the old standby - Chinatown. The Central Park scenery along the way was just too hard to pass up for a photo op; that was a perfect backdrop, wasn't it?
Central ParkMust Gorge......
Hearty bowl of soup and some dumplings were the quick filler-upper for the hungry tourists. And for drinks, I had bubble tea (boba tea) with tapioca pearls and for the first time. Quite popular in Chinatown, that was not bad at all, but trying to get those large pearls thru the fat straws can be a challenge! Black gelatinous tapioca pearls getting stuck in the throat doesn't look good, does it?
Imagine The Queen sipping boba tea and choking on those pearls! How gross!
Now watch Roque struggle with those chopsticks! He's lucky I didn't order a bowl of rice instead!
As usual, our eyes were larger than our tummies, we ended up with doggie bags for Lola, plus an order of sesame seed ball (butsi). All in all, it was great day, a bit cold for the young couple but surely preferable than the sand storms in Qatar.
You think this is cold, eh? Wait till you're in Calgary, Canada next week, "when that wind blows you just wanna die".
We'll keep you posted of their stay, family.
