Another day of keeping things short; it was a one-trick-pony sort of day, and that’s okay.
I got up later than expected, though the TV went off at 7 as it’s done since I’ve been here. As if it has an alarm — if only mine at home had that, I’d use it as an alarm. But Jyoti substantiated that it does so … so I’m not crazy for *thinking* I’m awaking at that hour and seeing PBS kids’ shows.
Jyoti left for the library before I got ready — I was i no rush. My appointment was for noon at the Met with Merryl. I decided to take the M4 bus, which would drop me off more or less at the museum, and there happens to be a stop more or less at the corner of 112th and Broadway, so I show up, having probably missed the last bus by a few minutes, but no worry — they come ever 10-11 minutes, right? The schedule says so.
Which is why much longer than 10 minutes later one finally arrives. I do get a seat, it’s not too full, and I take some notes in a book of mine until someone sits next to me. But the bus slows and slow, and leaving out the details, I needed to get to 81st by noon, and it was 11:50 and I had 27 blocks to go. Not good news, so at 89th or 90th, when wheelchair was getting on and slowing the bus down even more, I just got off and walked, and once I got to the Met at about 12:07, the bus still hadn’t passed me.
I showed up, and then Merryl did; evidently the timing was perfect, even if for me I was uncomfortably late — I hate it when others are late, it’s a rare pet peeve of mine, and so I hate to be a hypocrite and thus hate being late — but we hugged, went inside, got our little buttons after making suggested “donations” and started looking at “art.”
Merryl wasn’t too interested in the Greek and Roman sculpture and wanted to see — we sort of agreed — the Barcelona exhibit, the Venice and Islam exhibit, and the roof. The idea: go to the top, work our way down. So we followed the map and decided to walk through the Green and Roman antiquities, but, alas, the elevator at that end did not go all the way up, only to the next — rather half — level, which we also checked out. We ended up returning to the entrance, going up the main stairs, and seeing the Impressionists and related late 19th-century works before finding the Barcelona exhibit, which was extensive and amazing.
Paintings and drawings and post-inspired art, plus architecture and design and more. Lots of Picasso, but also Dali and Miro, Gaudi and more.
We walked around some more to get to the Venice and Islam show, and our feet were tiring by then, but it was still great, though less about “famous works” or “famous artists” than it was about a sort of artistic cultural history. We saw this one book for the 15th or 16th century, try the latter, with amazing illustrations — more illuminations I suppose — and Trompe L’oiel pages within pages (that is, the text appeared to be on a page pasted over but separating from the page underneath which house the pictures/art) … after this book, all other books to be found there seemed like cheap knock-offs.
We made it to the roof for a great view of the skyline and some models by an artist/professor. It was 4:30 or later by now, and we’d also gone through more antiquities as well as 19th-century European art and some American art, as well as “Neo Rauch,” but we decided to hit the Dendur Temple and the Tiffany glass before going as well, which meant a walk through the Egyptian section as well. Even better, though — and the temple was nice — was the Frank Lloyd Wright room they’d placed after the Tiffany glass section, to Merryl’s annoyance, since it meant that some of the glass was not on display.
In the ancient Greek sculpture area we found one statue, quite partial, to which the caption will have to be added, “Early Prosthetics.”
We left the museum and moseyed to Madison avenue and down to a not-too-expensive corner diner of sorts. BLT for me, chicken salad sandwich for her, and thereafter we parted, for she had a trip back on the LIRR ahead of her. I eventually — after 20 minutes of waiting? — caught of M4 north, and luckily a “Limited Stops” one at that, and half an hour later I arrived “home.” Jyoti called it an early evening. Thursday will be the Empire State Building perhaps. Perhaps lunch with Ana, and I should do laundry at some point in the day so I have clean clothes for Boston.
I also got a small segment written for the collective story with Richard, Helen, and Gabriel.
