    Hello people of the internet! Thanks for stopping by. I think San Francisco is one dirty city, but I love it here. I'm a 9-5er with a mission to eat, drink, and travel as often as my resources allow. Documenting it is part of the fun. |
Posts Tagged ‘museum’
Happy new year! Hope the first few days of 2012 have been treating you well. My mood’s been in the dumps over the last week, but I’ve finally resurfaced. Ryan and Sasha have helped keep my mind above ground. How can I not smile when I’ve got this face looking back at me?
As members of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, we don’t visit them nearly enough. I decided to start the new year with a museum hop, hitting up both the de Young and Legion of Honor museums in one day. While I invited friends to join us [to take advantage of our guest passes], it ended up being a New Year’s Day date instead. Guess it’s hard to get up and out after a night of partying!
At the de Young, we checked out the Masters of Venice exhibit, featuring Venetian painters such as Titian, Giorgione, Veronese, Tintoretto, and Mantegna. No photography was allowed, so you’ll have to check the museum website for the artwork.
There’s also an exhibit of Anatolian Kilim, which are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs.
After checking out the artwork, we headed up to the observation tower for views of the city. It was still early and uncrowded – a great photo op which will be featured in tomorrow’s Wordless Wednesday.
When our stomachs cried out for food, we grabbed a shrimp po boy and ginger ale from Sam’s Chowdermobile and sat down to enjoy the botanical garden. When did the food trucks start hanging out by the museums?!
After lunch, we headed over to the Legion of Honor. We caught The Mourners on their last day at the museum. Absolutely fascinating. However, again, no photos allowed. What I did take photos of – a Sutro Baths color lithograph poster mounted to linen circa 1896 as part of the Artistic San Francisco exhibit and Bernini’s Medusa, which will be on display until the middle of February.
I didn’t take photos of the exterior, but I love the Legion of Honor and its surrounding areas. It was a clear day with perfect views of the sailboats right outside the Bay.
After the museum hop, it was back to being responsible dog owners, so we took Sasha out for some hiking in Glen Canyon Park. It’s a great escape within the city limits.
Not too shabby for the first day of the year, right?
PS – Ryan posted our crab cake recipe – check it out!
Exploring DC without a car is not difficult at all. The Metro makes everything easy. However, when you’re going about it all alone and wanting to try restaurants in areas you’d never been to, it is a little unnerving. I’m sure DC is safe, but you just don’t know where you should/shouldn’t go if you don’t live in a place.
So I started my second day with a ride to Pentagon City. My first stop was the DEA Museum. It was nothing too fancy, just a few rooms on the ground floor of the building, documenting the history of the war against drugs. Random photos and paraphernalia. I probably spent less than half an hour in there.
From there, I was in search of a delicious meal. A quick poking around on the iPhone found me walking down the road, under a freeway [only a little creepy because it was during the day], and up a hill. Beyond the Air Force Memorial was a fantastic Ethiopian meal waiting. I probably spent more time at the Air Force Memorial taking photos [see below] than at the DEA Museum!
The food was delicious, and there was enough food to feed another person. I ordered the dullet dish, which is chopped red meat, tripe, and liver seasoned with herbed purified butter, spiced chili powder (mitmita). It can be served raw, medium, or well done. It comes on injera with injera on the side. Very tasty! There’s also a little salad on the side, which is fantastic too. Balances all that meat on a platter.
Afterwards, I found myself wandering into DC and around the free museums. The Hirshhorn was fantastic and deserves an entry all to itself! The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which I never ended up actually getting to [Saw a special on the plane about it afterwards, so all is good!], was closed at the time, so I visited the Holocaust Museum down the street. Very graphic, very moving. I would have spent more time in there if I hadn’t wandered in just an hour before closing time.
In the evening, I enjoyed a meal with Leslie and Mike in Crystal City, as well as checked out their old place. They’ve since moved, so I’ll have to stop by again.
I was riding up, down and around on the Metro with little regard for how far things actually were. If it was here in the Bay Area, it would be the equivalent of me constantly taking BART to the East Bay! I refilled my Metro card several times, so it wasn’t cheap, but you do what you have to to get around!
Arriving in DC on an evening flight, there wasn’t much to see/do aside from transporting myself to Matt’s apartment. I figured out which bus to take to Rosslyn for the cheapest and met up with Matt at the corresponding metro station. We then grabbed a quick bite since I hadn’t eaten during the flight. Nothing too exciting, just settling in.
Adventuring began the following day with a visit to the Capitol Building, a stroll through some seedy streets of the area to the American Society of Landscape Architects for a tour of their green roof [first in the nation, probably!], a quick run-through of the National Archive [see below for a few shots], meeting up with an AYCJer at the National Museum of American History [last photo below], and then later enjoying a scenic view atop the belltower at the Old Post Office.
I realize that this update is months too late. Time to catch up!
