Every last Sunday of May is free admission to most museums in Montreal.
There are about 30 participating museums; it is impossible to visit them all in one day.
Tito Phil suggested we visit at least one or two different museums each year, which we think is a good idea… there’s always something to look forward to each year.
This year we went to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montreal (Museum of Fine Arts) in Downtown.The museum has an annex across the street. The two buildings are connected underground.I enjoyed the European Arts section.It has a rich collection of paintings and sculptures by European masters.by Claude Monetby Fantin Latourby Pablo Picassoby Pierre-Auguste RenoirI like this painting “Woman on the Sofa” by Kees Van Dongen.
Then it was my turn to ask the boys: What did you like in the museum? Unanimously, they answered: Ummm… the chairs! Because we can rest while you and Daddy look around.
“Wheeeee!”They were all over the place.They know how to entertain themselves.
Maybe they’re still too young to appreciate fine arts. And that they are boys. Next year we’ll go to a different museum, probably a Science museum for their sake.
Then we looked at the Decorative Arts CollectionHey, I found Mac’s ancestor, the Macintosh 128K Computer, 1984.In the Mediterranean Archeology Section…. the Egyptian mummy was a hit with the boys. (Egyptian coffin of Isis-weret, the Sistrum Player, 664-525 B.C.)
Some of the sculptures from the classical antiquity collection. In the center is the Chigi Apollo. (2nd Quarter of 2nd c A.D., Marble of Paros) Surrounding it are portrait heads from the Archaic, Hellinic, and Roman periods.
Then we wandered to the Ancient Cultures Section…I was looking at every statue and Riel saw me reading each reference label.He asked me why I was so interested… I told him that I was looking for the African fertility statues. Maybe my answer scared him……because he rushed to the exit, whisking the boys with him!The boys were happy to be outside the museum. We promised them a Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream.But first, we have to walk to the ice-cream shop. We passed along Crescent Street.It was also the week before the F1 race in Montreal.We passed by a Bixi Station. Bixi (Bicycle Taxi) is a public bike system here in Montreal, an alternative means to urban transport.You put your card in, take a bike, bike around the city, and return the bike in any of the more than 300 stations in Montreal.Downtown on a Sunday afternoon.Whoa! Summer’s really here!We had a fun day at the museum.Definitely something to look forward to each year.Way home.
KQOTD. Grampy overheard Gabby: Yay! It’s vacation time! We can stay up late and we don’t have to take a bath till September!
