,
How does one narrowly miss an opportunity of a
lifetime? By sleeping in late, not
catching the 8:20am suburban train and by not reading the fine print, just to
name a few. And let’s not even get into
the fact that most museums in Montréal are closed on Mondays. So, guess which day I had randomly chosen for
my cultural art appreciation “to do” list? Yep, you guessed it, as that would be the
first day of the week, the one following Sunday. Yikes!!
Pulling and tugging at the locked down doors of the Museé des Beaux Arts
de Montréal, I was getting grumpier by the minute, irate that the entranceway
was stuck, inextricably jammed shut, denying me access to the treasures that
were housed within.
I was quite the frazzled sight indeed, a middle-aged ol’
Auntie, huffing and puffing; ready to blow that damned door down, when an
unsuspecting tap on the shoulder momentarily halted me in my tracks. “Excusez-moi,
madame, mais le museé et fermé aujourd’hui”. Say what? You’re kidding, right? Not. Open. Closed.
Locked. Bolted. Down.
Shut.
You’d think, seasoned globe-trotter that I am, that I would
have at least had a smidgen of sense to peek at the ever so helpful handy dandy
signage, which spelled out, in both French and English, the museum’s opening
and closing hours. So much for all of
the so-called wisdom I apparently hadn’t retained in my 35+ years of wandering
and exploring, neglecting to take notice of the most rudimentary of
observances. A tad red-faced that my door bashing antics had
garnered a small audience of onlookers, all doubled over in hysterics (thankfully,
only tourists, not locals), I could only hope and pray that there were no You
Tube videos posted of said highly entertaining event. LOL!! Laugh till you cry. Double yikes!!
So now what? Dejected
that my highly anticipated sojourn into the realm of abstract and Picasso was
now relegated to another day of the week, I was determined to forge on and seek
out art of an uniquely different kind. What
better place, therefore, than the rues and avenues of this bustling metropolis,
with every which corner a showpiece of creativity and ingenuity?
The blasted museum had actually done me a favour, for had it
not been for their stringent opening and closing hours, I would never have set
off in quest of the unknown, in appreciative wonder of street art at its
best. Thus, on I meandered, with camera
in one hand and quill and parchment in the other, on a mission to document a
day in the life of la ville de Montréal.
And, so, on I traipsed, eager to immerse myself in the pulse
and soul of the city and soak up the feel of this uniquely French Canadian
metropolis, on a digital sojourn to rival even the best that National
Geographic has to offer.
Looks like the Van Gogh’s and Rembrandts will have to wait,
as I had other fish to fry, mainly snapping the catch of the day, pics of local
art at its finest.
Come wander along with me on a photographic
journey along the rues and avenues of la belle ville de Montréal, in an art
appreciation course of the Pink Sneaker inspired kind.
Next week – Still on summertime posting
schedule, so next post will be on Wed Sept 24th. Stay tuned!!
Coming soon – The Kid’s Miss – adventures
in Lisbon, where luggage is lost, the weather is cold and cuckoo ol' Auntie Nora is
nowhere in sight.
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