Memoir # 8: The Other Met
>After a weekend of kinda boring garage sales, I needed a break from the monotony of suburban life - watching TV and waiting for re-runs of Naturally Sadie & Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. I know - they're both kinda juvenile, but I love the chemistry between Sadie and the new kid, Ben (who, by the way, is adorable!), and I'm in love with Ned... Nothing much came from the garage sale, but we did manage to sell off lola's couch and ancient sewing machine for $150. It was good that Jill lent me her portable DVD player; I was able to watch La mala educacion, a fabulous movie with the fabulous Gael Garcia Bernal - naked... and in drag! Hihihi! ^_^
Moving on... Yesterday I went into Manhattan again (read: spent wayyyy too much commuting there) to go to some museums. My first stop was The Cloisters. The guidebook that I had picked up (literally) from a park bench in Bowling Green told me that the Cloisters were south of the 125th st subway station - it was, of course, wrong. Several blocks wrong! (Or I had read it wrong... I don't really know! hihi!) I asked the nice subway guy at the station how to get there, and he called me 'honey'... awww, shucks!
After getting off the subway on 190th, I walked for like 20 minutes to get to the actual Cloisters. It's a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that specializes in medieval achitecture. On the walk towards the museum, it was so serene and peaceful, I wasn't sure if I were still in New York!
The Cloisters is an old Medieval style castle-ish building, complete with a turret and a fabulous view of the Hudson River. Entrance is normally $15, but I told the guy (cute, gay - gaydar hasn't failed me yet) I was a student, so I only paid $10. It was sooooo beautiful and serene inside - except for all the people there. I could have gotten on one of the tours, but I was afraid it would take up too much of the time - so I decided to explore the relatively tiny Cloisters on my own.
It was a great place, and the architecture is exquisite! They also had a lot of statues of the Madonna and Child, and several Unicorn Tapestries depicting rennaisance people killing the mythical beast - I have no idea why. Naturally, I took lots of pictures. I also tried to get to the Cabrini Shrine where mother Cabrini's relics are on display, but the chapel was closed, so I decided to go directly to the Met near Central Park.
After getting off on 86th street, I walked through the Bridle Path to get to the Met. BIG MISTAKE! I'd gotten a pretzel for lunch at a stand, and while I was walking through the path, I realized that it was the same path that horses and carriages take - translation: while I was eating my yummy pizza pretzel, there was horse doodie all around the path... ewww...
When I got to the Met, I was weirded-out by the sheer number of people there - even outside, on this cloudy/windy day, people were sitting on the great steps - there was even a monk in full get-up reciting chants near stairs.
My first stop inside the Met was the Egyptian exhibit; great big place with lots of coffins and coochi-coochies of the old Egyptian dynasties - no mummy though. I also got to see the great Temple of Dendur, but it was closed off the public for renovation.
I kept walking all around the gallery, eventually ending up in an atrium with a small garden and statues around it. That lead me to the Medieval Art gallery (Great! More gothic stuff! ^_^). I also found the European statues gallery, and took pictures of The Elements, Perseus, and his cute litle bubble-butt. Hihi!
Eventually, I found my way to the Hatshepsut exhibit on the second floor; fabulous, but no pictures allowed (just like the Evolution of British Fashion exhibit, which I regret going into). I then went into the European Paintings - full of great works of the greatest artists. I especially loved the Monet and Manet galleries - a little confusing, but very elegant; and Renoir and Matisse also... But my favorite was the Van Gogh exhibit... they just look so... indescribable. I guess you had to be there... I was looking for Starry Night though, but I couldn't find it. I think it's in London, or the Louvre. But above all other works of art, I'm completely in love with the Demidoff table. It's a marble sculpture with three boys on top - two sleeping, and one telling people 'Shhh!' I think they're supposed to represent either phases of love or three geniuses.
My last stop for the day was - surprise! - Tower Records in Lincoln Center. I just found out that they're having a sale on their classical Cds... WEEE!!! I can buy Callas' 1952 live London recording of Norma now! It has a great cast - Mirto Picchi (Pollione; I have him as Giasone in Medea), Ebe Stigniani (Adalgisa, again), and Dame Joan Sutherland as Clotilde - a minor role; this is one of only two times Callas shared the stage with her bel canto heiress, the other time was in Verdi's Aida, where Sutherland sang the short, but elegant role of the Priestess. ^_^
Moving on... Yesterday I went into Manhattan again (read: spent wayyyy too much commuting there) to go to some museums. My first stop was The Cloisters. The guidebook that I had picked up (literally) from a park bench in Bowling Green told me that the Cloisters were south of the 125th st subway station - it was, of course, wrong. Several blocks wrong! (Or I had read it wrong... I don't really know! hihi!) I asked the nice subway guy at the station how to get there, and he called me 'honey'... awww, shucks!
After getting off the subway on 190th, I walked for like 20 minutes to get to the actual Cloisters. It's a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that specializes in medieval achitecture. On the walk towards the museum, it was so serene and peaceful, I wasn't sure if I were still in New York!
The Cloisters is an old Medieval style castle-ish building, complete with a turret and a fabulous view of the Hudson River. Entrance is normally $15, but I told the guy (cute, gay - gaydar hasn't failed me yet) I was a student, so I only paid $10. It was sooooo beautiful and serene inside - except for all the people there. I could have gotten on one of the tours, but I was afraid it would take up too much of the time - so I decided to explore the relatively tiny Cloisters on my own.
It was a great place, and the architecture is exquisite! They also had a lot of statues of the Madonna and Child, and several Unicorn Tapestries depicting rennaisance people killing the mythical beast - I have no idea why. Naturally, I took lots of pictures. I also tried to get to the Cabrini Shrine where mother Cabrini's relics are on display, but the chapel was closed, so I decided to go directly to the Met near Central Park.
After getting off on 86th street, I walked through the Bridle Path to get to the Met. BIG MISTAKE! I'd gotten a pretzel for lunch at a stand, and while I was walking through the path, I realized that it was the same path that horses and carriages take - translation: while I was eating my yummy pizza pretzel, there was horse doodie all around the path... ewww...
When I got to the Met, I was weirded-out by the sheer number of people there - even outside, on this cloudy/windy day, people were sitting on the great steps - there was even a monk in full get-up reciting chants near stairs.
My first stop inside the Met was the Egyptian exhibit; great big place with lots of coffins and coochi-coochies of the old Egyptian dynasties - no mummy though. I also got to see the great Temple of Dendur, but it was closed off the public for renovation.
I kept walking all around the gallery, eventually ending up in an atrium with a small garden and statues around it. That lead me to the Medieval Art gallery (Great! More gothic stuff! ^_^). I also found the European statues gallery, and took pictures of The Elements, Perseus, and his cute litle bubble-butt. Hihi!
Eventually, I found my way to the Hatshepsut exhibit on the second floor; fabulous, but no pictures allowed (just like the Evolution of British Fashion exhibit, which I regret going into). I then went into the European Paintings - full of great works of the greatest artists. I especially loved the Monet and Manet galleries - a little confusing, but very elegant; and Renoir and Matisse also... But my favorite was the Van Gogh exhibit... they just look so... indescribable. I guess you had to be there... I was looking for Starry Night though, but I couldn't find it. I think it's in London, or the Louvre. But above all other works of art, I'm completely in love with the Demidoff table. It's a marble sculpture with three boys on top - two sleeping, and one telling people 'Shhh!' I think they're supposed to represent either phases of love or three geniuses.
My last stop for the day was - surprise! - Tower Records in Lincoln Center. I just found out that they're having a sale on their classical Cds... WEEE!!! I can buy Callas' 1952 live London recording of Norma now! It has a great cast - Mirto Picchi (Pollione; I have him as Giasone in Medea), Ebe Stigniani (Adalgisa, again), and Dame Joan Sutherland as Clotilde - a minor role; this is one of only two times Callas shared the stage with her bel canto heiress, the other time was in Verdi's Aida, where Sutherland sang the short, but elegant role of the Priestess. ^_^
posted by Mikee @ 11:40 PM
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