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No longer on the river and, again, an empty nester. Back to living on Fleming Island and making some more friends!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A Day at the Met

Our first full day in New York was spent at the wonderful Metropolitan Museum of Art, affectionately known as "the Met". Our last visit here was spent in the Egypt and Roman section of the museum with only cursory glances at the other galleries which make up the expansive Met. Justin could recite to me the things I was actually trying to read on the glass cases, as he knew what they were after studying that in school. We got our money's worth from St. Johns that year, that class, anyway.
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A brand-new exhibit opened featuring Greek and Italian architecture and art...right up our alley. It takes me a long time to get through a museum as I like to read about what I'm seeing, but Justin hurried me along from hall to hall, claiming we'd seen this stuff already in the "old" area...it was new to me, that's all I can say! My memory is short when it comes to this, but my appreciation is great. Finally we arrived at the new exhibit, greeted by an enormous column centered in the hallway.
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Justin and I simply marveled at what it took to transport and establish the enormous displays. There were many funeraries and frescoes, actual rooms reproduced from Italian villas, stories painted on their walls to enjoy while dining. Amazing, I can't even tell how much we enjoyed it. I can tell you that it certainly makes me want to book a trip to Italy and Greece post haste! For those not traveling overseas, this is a wonderful taste of the antiquity seen in those foreign lands.
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I was concerned earlier in the week that my tired back would be a problem for me but so far, so good. If there was a bench to rest on in a gallery, I took advantage of it, but didn't let it hold us up. I even climbed up and down staircases to get to the other galleries. My boy, on the other hand......his feet hurt, his back ached, he had sinus pressure, a real mess! If he was a horse, we'd have to shoot him!!! I had some cold tablets and ibuprofen in my purse to give him and we pressed on, after a cold drink in the cafeteria.
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We managed to last the day but ran out of gas about 5:30 or so. Our cabbie dropped us at the door and we were back upstairs by 6:oo pm, not quite ready to have dinner. I was prepared to go out for dinner somewhere but Justin was just as happy to dine in. We shared a Cowboy steak and mashed pototoes and he enjoyed a pizza for one. Since he wanted to make sure all the food was eaten, he tried to eat the zuccini squash that came with the steak, but just couldn't choke it down, even with Grey Poupon mustard on it! It was after 8:00 when we had dinner and I was ready for bed after finishing my posting. Oh, by the way, that steak was absolutely delicious, tender and flavorful, quite a delight.
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I read some e-mails last night before climbing under the covers. One was from Judy R., with whom I am reading a book, 1200 miles apart! The book, brought to my attention by Christine, is written by Francis Mayes, who also wrote "Under the Tuscan Sun". Judy said she's skipping around in it, "A Year in the World", telling me she tends to get hung up in the Greek Isles portion. A girl after my own heart! Judy paid me a very, very generous, heart-building compliment, however. She said that my writing is like Mayes, using 'bolding' words. My, oh my, the gauntlet has been dropped!

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