| 3:36p |
Museum overload
We visited El Museo de America today, which I walk past every day on my way to Suffolk University. It was completely restored over a 12-year period and was reopened in 1994. This was the first time that I'd had the opportunity to see it. It's an amazing collection, and the building alone is worth the trip. The items made of feathers from the Amazon were my favorites. Spectacular colors woven into hats and head pieces. You can really see how the artisans were influenced by the beauty of the birds. The gold jewelry and masks from Peru and Colombia are also pretty hard to beat. Our guide was Pilar, and she said that it "pained" her to rush through the exhibit. We got there at noon, and the museum closed at 3 p.m. She said you'd need at least six or seven hours to do it justice, and I believe her. At least we got a taste, and the students may return later if they'd like. One part that I think they missed that Blair, Aedan and I saw was the Edward S. Curtis photo exhibit of "Los Indios de America del Norte" (The Indians of North America). Curtis took this pictures in the early 1900s, and they are a wonderful glimpse into the Native Americans of that time. My favorite photo was entitled "An Oasis in the Badlands" taken in 1909, and it is of an Indian chief in full headdress on a white horse that is taking a drink of water. The photos of Santa Fe are also noteworthy.
Yesterday we spent not three, but FOUR, hours in the Thyssen Museum . The Baroness Thyssen, a former Miss Spain, married the Baron, whose family had gathered a tremendous art collection over many generations. Talk about an embarrasment of riches. I can't imagine owning one of the works, let alone hundreds! The museum is arranged chronologically, which is really nice, because you see the progression of art over the centuries. My favorite works, as usual, were the Impressionists. They have gorgeous Degases, Monets, Van Goghs, and on and on. One of my favorites was a Kandinsky. This museum was also a first for me. It opened only recently.
I forgot to write about our visit to the Atocha Train Station to pay our respects to those who lost their lives on March 11. We went there before our visit to the Botanical Gardens, and it was powerful. They've set up an interactive display where an image of the palm of your hand is taken and you may type in a message. The messages are then displayed for everyone to see with photos of those who lost their lives. There were lots of people there who were crying. Like I said, powerful.
Tomorrow, we're (me and my students are) going to visit "La Gaceta de Los Negocios," the newspaper where Beatriz's husband, Manolo, works as a journalist. I'm looking forward to it. Afterward, Blair, Aedan and I are off to see HP3. Can't wait! Saturday, we head for Toledo as a group. We're going to take the bus there and back.
FYI: My e-mail is working again, thank goodness. Raul, the computer wizard for Suffolk, figured out what was wrong. I hadn't deleted the mail in my delete folder, which was clogging everything up. Who knew?! Since I don't use ePortal as my primary e-mail, I'm not familiar with all the ins and outs. |