My issues started at the front desk, I purchased the dual permanent and temporary exhibitions and copped some attitude straight away, moving to the security area, they just ignored me as I placed my bag on the x-ray machine, I pulled it off the conveyor and tried to walk through the metal detector - that got their attention.
Next, I tried to book my bay into the cloakroom as required, there is a service desk and a slightly lower section in the desk, the woman sneered at me and refused to take my bag until I placed the offending item on the bag section and not the jacket section. There was no one else in the room, the two desks were joined, she finally took my bag when I moved it and threw the return tag at me - unusual behaviour towards a paying customer.
Then I needed to navigate the ticket scanner, she gave me more attitude, I asked myself, what did I do wrong? Still, she scanned my ticket, gave me dagger looks and I made way way through to the first section.
I noticed I was the only person in the room without an electronic device explaining numbered artworks, this came as part of the package at the Picasso museum so I wandered back to pick up an earpiece, after all, the front desk was busy giving me attitude, no time to tell me about this.
I met the cloakroom woman's gaze as I picked up the device, she hissed "not free, not free" and although I had purchased the dual ticket and I suppose premium price, I placed the item back and returned to the gallery somewhat bemused.
The gallery started with the permanent exhibition, romantic landscape and costumbrism on the ground floor, the old masters with Precieux and naturalist landscape on the first floor and fin-de-siecle occupying the second floor.
The temporary exhibition on the third floor featured renowned Spanish impressionist painter Dario de Regoyos. Hanging with guys like Pissarro, Whistler, Seurat and Signac certainly enhances reputations. Although I know of these four, I am unfamiliar with Regoyos' work, this really means in my limited world of art knowledge, I had never heard of him. This is fine, this is why I visit art galleries, to see the artist's work as intended and not in a book.
I had to produce my ticket to the temporary exhibition, now I was having difficulties, I produced my Picasso ticket from earlier in the day, this one had a sense of humour, a through search of pockets saw me enter the room and view his work. All the staff were grumpy towards clients, there was no flash photography signs throughout the building, the staff hadn't objected to people using smart phones to take photographs, they watched them with intense interest when ever they looked like snapping, I suppose it is frowned upon.
She was not in the room as I was alone now, I decided to take my chances, I typed the password in to unlock the screen, I took aim and the old fashioned shutter click quickly reverberated around the room, I had a second chance as her rapid footsteps gave away her position, she was closing fast as the second shot rang out. Then, as she entered the room, a look that could turn men into stone was fired my way, a delicate smile failed to disarm her and I wandered around with retinas burning from her stare.
I decided to wait for Noriko outside, I noticed free WiFi was available and I logged on, I was in front of the window and then the WiFi symbol on my tablet disappeared, I'm sure those miserable bastards switched off the modem when the saw me browsing - a final indignity was fired my way.
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