Ok, I just had to blog about this before I forgot about it because it was hilarious.
Amongst many places we visited today, we went to Museu de Belas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts). It was a very bizarre experience. The building was beautiful, architecture was impressive & the collection was very good. BUT... each room was manned by what appeared to be either a military or civil policeman, which is a first for me.
In other public art galleries that I have visited (in several countries), you can take any route around the gallery that you want. Not so at the Museu de Belas Artes. Each time we looked like we were starting to wander, a guard would come up to us and very emphatically send us in the 'right' direction, adding further instructions as to how we were to proceed. I've never been bossed around an art gallery in such a way in all my life. I've been told to take off my bag, not to use my phone, not to take pictures - but never told which way around I was supposed to go.
We were redirected no less than seven times by five different guards. By the third time, I had resorted to replying 'obrigada' and making a bad attempt at muffling my laughter. My mother, on the other hand, was getting quite irritable: "I thought I was visiting an art gallery, not a military institution!"
No comments:
Post a Comment