Overnight, Faye had slipped effortlessly over the Florida coast and was pounding heavily against Atlanta in all of her tropical glory. Five-month-old Kai and I had done all we could within the confines of our house and finally surrendered to the call of something more daring, even if it meant braving the elements. We packed our belongings for the day and began our journey to The Lourve by way of Atlanta's High Museum of Fine Art. I was unsure about what our outcome would be regarding interest level but mommy, baby and sling were about to find out.
Externally, Meir's stark, white washed, cubicle compilation differs greatly from the more organically ornate Louvre but the difference melts upon entrance to the first installment of the museums' inter-collection loan exhibit. We were greeted, in the lobby, by Tiber, an enormous tribute to the birth of Rome's Romulus and Remus and beckoned up the hall's staircase by pieces from the Fertile Crescent dating back to nearly 3000 BCE. Several pieces into the exhibit, the question of interest, regardless of subjective understanding, was answered. I peaked down at my partner, snuggled closely to my body, to delightfully discover that my eyes were not the only pair taking in the sights. Kai, incidentally, a globally diverse name, was spellbound.
As we traveled through the exhibit, from modern day urban, Atlanta to Paris' age of excavation, resting in the very cradle of civilization and ultimately landing in Houdon's collection of Enlightenment inspired busts, my partner in crime readily welcomed my explanations of each offering. Not yet able to understand the subtleties in hieroglyphic relief, nor yet learned enough to truly comprehend the difference between the writings of Ben Franklin and Voltaire, my cohort seemed to enjoy his first glance into one of the world's most vast and renowned collections.
Five hours after our entrance, we emerged a happy and intellectually fulfilled pair to surprisingly clear skies. Over all, it was quite an auspicious, albeit domestic, beginning to a global citizenship.
