(Leslie) On Thursday, Ann decided to take it easy for the day and I went up to the Metropolitan Museum. So many great special exhibits to check out . . . "Picasso at the Met", "American Women"--a retrospective of women's fashion from 1890-1940 with some amazingly beautiful dresses, and "Big Bambu"--an ongoing installation of a huge bamboo structure on the roof that will eventually be 100 feet long and 50 feet high. I wasn't able to walk the structure because I didn't have the right shoes on, but will do so another time before it leaves in October when it will be closer to completion. What I loved the most, however, was an exhibit featuring "The Mourners"--40 or so alabaster figures that were carved between 1442-1446 for the tomb of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife. Each of the statuettes is about sixteen inches high and completely distinct and lifelike. Together they form a funeral procession in two rows that is simply stunning. I spent a lot of time studying each individual figure and was quite blown away by the beauty and intricacy of each. 
Thursday night we went to see Ricky Gervais at Madison Square Garden. It was a blast--75 minutes of stand up from a very funny, very talented comedian. We had great seats, and it was really something to be in a theatre with 6,000 laughing people! Ann's son, Adam, met us for dinner afterwards and we finally called it a night around midnight. Another great day in the city!
