Tuesday Metropolitan Museum of Art

This morning I wanted to look at only the  paintings of particular artists that I have been reading a bit about  and knew I would be there for only about 1 ½ hours – about all I can take in at one go.  The entry prices have always been only suggested, but last year the fine print was very small.  There has been a bit in the media about this. This year it was far clearer on the sign that the price was only a suggested amount $25 adult , $17 senior ( 65 and over) . I stood at the window and said in a confident voice ‘ Good morning, I am not quite a senior but feel like one this morning so would like to pay $17’  . 'Certainly madam" was the reply. When I return I will pay them only a few $.  I was disappointed that my favourite Chagall painting is not on display. I had looked everything up the previous night to find what rooms to go to. I pottered around , enjoying myself.  Then it was lunch time and I went to the nice place that looks onto Central Park.  It is a long rectangular room, with the long side parallel to the  floor to high ceiling windows. The first row of tables are small ones for 2 people and the 2 rows  behind are tables for 4  (or put together for more). I went early and got a 2 table so I had an uninterrupted view of several large cherry trees in beautiful flower, several  still bare deciduous trees and joggers and cyclists. I was amused by the waiter. He said ‘good morning’ politely, but then got off on the wrong foot with me. He said ‘Would you like a drink to start, perhaps a chardonnay?’  I am afraid that I could not stop myself and said, politely I thought, ’ What makes you think I like chardonnay?”  I donot like being put into a box.  He stammered and stuttered and backed away.  Maybe I was not quite as polite as I meant to be.  I was undecided  about whether to have a glass of wine. It is becoming a habit. But after his remark I thought I would have a red( which I enjoyed) . And a hamburger ( which was delicious) . And I asked for a second breadroll. I did not have a dainty ladylike salad!

There is an offshoot of the Met in the far north of Manhattan called the Cloisters. Quoting from the pamphlet it “is devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe’ . The building is ‘designed in a style evocative of medieval architecture’ . The collection includes ‘sculpture, stained glass, tapestries, painting, manuscript illuminationand metalwork. There were a couple of recreated cloisters.   I had taken the bus from the Met thinking it would be a good opportunity to see Harlem. The bus trip took 1 ½ hours and I had seen enough of Harlem after about ¾ of an hour. I did, however, enjoy talking to a large black gentleman . He encouraged me to go to the Abyssinian Baptist Church which I had  recently downgraded from a 1 ( must see) to a 2( would like to see but won’t be heartbroken if I don’t) on my ‘To Do’ list. I said to him that I had looked on their website and I thought there would be too many tourists and I would find somewhere smaller. He went to that church and he did not know any where else. He did say that while there were a lot of tourists, there were still far more regulars.  Hmm.

Back to the Cloisters. Some of the things were interesting, But I was tired and unimpressed with the setting. I have been fortunate enough to see lots of similar things in churches in Italy and Spain, in their original locations, so I caught the bus but only to the nearest subway stop and came home.