Yesterday we took the girls to the MFA with Adam's parents, Kirk and Cornie. We met them at the T station and took the train in. The museum is free for the whole weekend. Needless to say, we were not the only people who noticed and when we got there there was a line out the door on the Huntington Avenue side of the building and down the block. We got on the end of it. First we heard an MFA staffer explain that anyone who wished to sign up for a membership could skip the line and go straight in. Now that's an impressive bit of marketing. Hats off to the membership department. We didn't think we will make it out there often enough to make a membership worthwhile for a couple of more years though. So we declined that offer. A few minutes later another MFA staffer came along and told a small group of us that the entrance on the Fenway side of the building had a short line and a five minute wait. So ten minutes later we were headed into the building.
The MFA allows people to check strollers at the coat checks. I can not tell you how much I love that. It makes it so much easier to take my girls on adventures if I can check the stroller. I had the girls lunches and the diaper changing kit hanging off one of my shoulders, and I put Olivia on my other hip in the sling. Adam took Alessia, and we were off.
Alessia has a series of books that tell stories using the works of impressionist painters. So we headed straight to the impressionist gallery. She was mesmerized. We pointed to individual works by Monet and Van Gogh and recited lines from the books. From there we wandered through the European galleries, stopping whenever a painting depicted something Alessia could relate to, portraits, food, boats, and landscapes were particularly popular. Olivia is just starting to point, so she had a grand time occasionally thrusting out her little arm and pointy finger and cawing, eyes wide open. She also expressed a need to nurse halfway through the European galleries, so add that to the list of places where I have nursed Olivia.
We realized we only had so much time before the need to eat would take over everyone's mood, so we went to the Asian wing. Both girls were taken with the Buddhas, and we walked through the Chinese furniture exhibition, which is a series of "rooms" and feels very much like walking through someone's house. We pointed out the bed and couch, the tea pot, and the desk. Alessia loved them. It's interesting how certain categories of things are recognizable across time and space.
Lunch time came. We checked out the cafeteria, which was a mad house, and then decided to wait the twenty minutes for a table at the New American Cafe. It was perfect. Alessia sat in a big girl chair and Oliva had a high chair. We had adult conversation while the girls ate the food we brought for them. It took awhile for our food to come, but the girls were calm and the courtyard is beautiful. So we enjoyed ourselves all around.
Both girls fell asleep on the way home in the stroller. We parked them in the backyard and made a cup of tea. Overall a very successful adventure.
Postato con Blogsy
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