Going Downtown: Tips -n- Goals

Went downtown yesterday to get myself a little culture. I had read about an exhibit of a crusades era castle under seige, depicted in minature. It was at National Geographic. I almost hedged at the last minute and didn't go, but I am glad I did. It was a fascinating display: a tie between the history and the actual execution in tiny figures with incredible detail fo the castle and market scenes.

Two things pushed me to go down there. First, Paul and I went to the Rousseau exhibit at the National Gallery a few weeks ago, and that was such a nice day. I felt as if I was in a dream. It sounds cliche, but it was like looking at the paintings was looking through windows at another time. I particularly liked that Rousseau was untrained. He painted in his spare time, and his unorthodox style eventually drew praise because of his flaunting of convention. He was, in short, an angrycraftsman.

That day reminded me that there are many wonderful things to see, for free, and I don't get out much really, and ought to do so.

Second: When I was younger, my parents would frequently haul us down to various galleries after church on Sunday. I particularly remember going to the Portrait Gallery. We would check out some art, have a little lunch, it sits in my memory as a nice time.

So the goal would be to go somewhere artsy or otherwise edifying on Sundays. Once a month, I think. My next attempt will be in October, and I think I would like to go see the World War II Memorial and go up the Washington Monument.

Tip: If you drive downtown on Tuesday at about 11:30 there is lots of parking on Independence because they have just reopened for parking because of the street cleaning.