Henry and I generally take field trips on Fridays to a variety of fun places around the Tampa Bay Area. Today, however, we took a family field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts (www.fine-arts.org) in Saint Petersburg for two reasons (besides it being a beautiful museum): (1) it only costs $5 a person on Thursdays after 5pm and (2) its special exhibit, Monet to Matisse On the French Coast, closes on Sunday.  

It was a small, yet lovely exhibition focusing on Impressionist and Modernist art on the Southern and Northern coasts of France. Several of the paintings usually reside in private collections, and those turned out to be my favorites (especially the obscure Picassos). Henry loved seeing paintings of sailboats and animals, and commented on his favorites quite loudly. He had the best time in its children’s art room, where he built towers, played dress up with beach gear, and colored boats – all in the vein of coastal France. It was pretty cool. We made it through part of the permanent collection when Henry decided it was time to leave to walk along the bay. 

I love Saint Petersburg, especially the way its residents simply enjoy being outside on a Thursday evening, whether strolling, running or biking along the water, playing trucks in the park, or reclining under the magnificent banyan trees. If Henry hadn’t had a major meltdown as we were leaving, I would say it was a perfect evening. Oh, toddler dictators, you are the worst sometimes.