As promised by the weatherman it rained all day Saturday in Williamstown. It started out as snowy sleet Friday night, slippery to navigate in my clogs on the footbridge that led back to our room from the pub, and turned into rain sometime during the night.
After breakfast, Bill and I drove through town for a quick look around before turning onto South Street to The Clark Art Museum. We moseyed from one room to the next looking at sculptors and art from Monet, Degas, Homer, Renoir and other American, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists.
The building was deceptively large, most of the collections located on one floor; we passed the late morning and afternoon hours wandering from one painting to the next, one room to the next. I read the plate next to each painting explaining a little about the artist, his work, his inspiration. Whenever I go to a museum I think about taking an art appreciation class or, at least, a lecture or discussion and mentioned it, again, to Bill.
Claude Monet – Tulip Fields at Sassenheim. The Clark website
Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Self Portrait. The Clark website
Winslow Homer – Saco Bay. The Clark website
When my stomach started growling I suggested we head Downtown for a late lunch. Bill was hungry too and we had seen just about everything. As much as I like visiting museums I start to fade after a few hours; 3 1/2 hours later I was ready to leave.
Spring Street, the main artery of Downtown Williamstown, was closed to traffic for some holiday event. Parking proved challenging, we drove the streets running parallel and perpendicular to Spring before finding a lot a few blocks away. Walking back to the festivities we turned onto Spring Street and noticed a lot of dogs in various costumes. Apparently we had just missed a Rein Dog Parade. We saw dogs wearing deer antlers on their heads, some with felt costumes draped over their backs and one even wore elf booties to complete his/her costume.
“I feel bad for the dogs,” I said, “they must be humiliated.”
“They’re probably thinking ‘great, it’s that time of year again,'” Bill said. Despite feeling bad for the dogs I still asked several owners if I could take pictures of their pets. It was tough getting my models to pose but I did the best I could.
“Look at me and don’t move, please.”
We took a sweep of the street, surveyed our lunch options and settled on Mediterranean cuisine. The rain continued and the air was raw; I was happy to eat hot food starting with a bowl of soup. From our window seat we saw Santa and four or five young girls outfitted as his elves walk by, dogs on leashes, parents pushing kids in strollers. Everyone wore hats, had scarves wrapped around their necks.
After dinner we walked to a cafe for chai tea lattes and biscotti. There were a few of us old folks but the clientele consisted of mostly young, college age kids. Most of them had laptops on the table in front of them, earphones in, cellphones out. Some read books, some actually talked to each other. One women seemed to be ordering several scarves from the J Crew website. Walking back to the car, we squeezed close together under the umbrella while the rain continued to fall.
where my feet are 
A bowl of soup on a cold rainy day would have been my choice too! I love the dog parade…so cute!
The dogs were adorable! Wish I had seen them ‘marching’ in the parade. When I took photos the owners of the dogs that weren’t wearing their antlers or other head gear apologized to me. Funny! 🙂 The soup hit the spot for sure. Thanks for reading and commenting.
The pictures from the museum are great Ger. Tom will enjoy seeing them. Sounds like a most enjoyable staycation with lots of variety. Glad you and Bill had a chance to get away and enjoy some down time. xo
Tom would love the Clark, so would you! We had a great weekend despite a day of rain.