take my word for it!

We had a true Pittsburgh Day the other day. Its nice when people come to visit because you can use it as an excuse to do the touristy things you havent had a chance to do yet as a recent transplant. Once a certain amount of time goes by, the momentum you have to visit things like that diminishes, in a way. Plus, I like to save the museums for when its so hot in the summer and you need to go some place with air conditioning and stay a few hours. You know what I mean?  Im not sure what the nearest approximation is of The City Museum is here in Pittsburgh, because theres no better setting for that. Anyway, the other day with Ben, after giant sandwiches at Primanti Bros (I had the pastrami) we headed across the river to the Andy Warhol Museum. It was really cool! 

It was really cool, but. Heres a little piece of advice I learned first hand just the other day: do not take a toddler to the Andy Warhol museum unless you really trust them. Especially if they skipped out on their nap earlier. I cant emphasize that last part enough. In theory, it seemed like a particularly appealing gallery for a toddler, what with all the bright colors and familiar subjects (like these cows felix remembered from one of his favorite baby books). But if you think about it, thats exactly the trouble with it; the entire museum is a living nightmare for the parent of one so sticky-fingered--literally and metaphorically. The very first thing Felix did upon walking into the museum was nearly topple an entire pyramid of Brillo Boxes. What a nightmare. After that, naturally, I couldnt relax. It didnt get any better on the seventh floor, where thre were more brillo boxes, giant cigarettes, and one installation consisting entirely of a pile of rainbow-colored sweeties spilling out of a corner of the room...

While we both (and I think Ben as well, though he would never say it) found the experience a little frustrating, it was also generally enjoyable. We liked the portraits of the Queen, and the giant stuffed dog, and the one of all the green bottles. I really liked Nine Jackies. But our favorite, by far, were the Silver Clouds! Imagine a dark room, lit only by the projection of a looped video of floating Super Mario Clouds, with a breezy circle of fans sending giant silver balloons lazily around it. It was so relaxing to be in there, and not just because it was the one place where you were actually supposed to touch things--gently, of course. We could have stayed there all afternoon! I hope Felix dreamed about it that night. I wish it was my bedroom! Maybe theyd let me sleep in there, like Tilda Swindon. 

nine jackies; silver clouds; mario clouds