Yesterday I went to see a Monet exhibition at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum. I drove there and I hunted for a parking place for about half an hour. I’ve never seen so many people headed for an exhibition. San Franciscans must really love art. There were simply no parking spaces and meanwhile there were 30 cars, mine included, circling the parking lots. After half an hour I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown when I finally managed to find a space to park. And then I noticed that I forgot my wallet home 🙁 No money to pay the entrance fee. Looks like I’m taking up after Cris. One in three times we go out he can’t find his wallet. I returned home very upset. Then I decided to wake up early today and be there at the opening time. Art demands sacrifices. I got there around 9.35 AM and surprise… There were no places to park. Some people must have camped there overnight. I left my car out in the woods and headed for the museum. Twenty minutes walk, $15 entrance fee, $6 audio guide and here I am, ready to enjoy “Monet in Normandy”.
The halls were already packet with people. Really packed. It was difficult to move about the room. But I liked the exhibition. Monet seemed to have painted Normandy all his life and there were paintings from 1865 going to the famous water lilies of late 1800 and early 1900s.
He moved with his family to Le Havre in Normandy in 1845 when he was only five and after going to Paris he returned to the shores many times until finally settling in Giverny, on the other side of Normandy. Some of the early paintings were in realist style – I would not have guessed they were Monet’s. I liked one painting in particular, the Rouen cathedral at sunrise. Many pictures were in series, Monet liked painting the same subject at different hours and in different seasons. The exhibition is closing on the 17th and since we’re leaving for Yellowstone tomorrow morning and coming back on the 16th, there wasn’t too much time left to see it. I’m glad I got the chance.
“Art demands sacrifices.” Well put!
You guys never stay in one place for very long. Enjoy Yellowstone!
Thank you for this wonderful and true verbal picture of San Francisco, my home town. How I miss it, horrible parking and all. The Legion of Honor itself is best on a foggy day in winter when there’s no major exhibition and you have the haunted place pretty much to yourself. All of Western history starts coming out of the walls.
BTW, I borrowed one of your photos of Yosemite Falls to illustrate a post on my blog about Psalm 42. Hope it’s okay- I gave you a credit and a link to your site.
I’ve been to Legion of Honor many times and most of the times is like you described it. A few times I even went and registered for a free tour and ended up having the docent for myself. The place did looked haunted and it was great walking the almost empty halls and talking with someone with so much knowledge of art.
I’m happy when people borrow my pictures – and even happier when they give me credit 🙂 I created those pages as a hobby because I like traveling and I like researching about places beforehand. My thought was to help some other people do the research.
Well, keep going! I like reading your perspective on America and anywhere else you choose to visit.
Well, keep going! I like reading your perspective on America and anywhere else you choose to visit.