A Mid-Week Break

A few weeks back, I was getting what I call "the itch." For me, it's when I'm feeling uninspired and a bit desperate to switch up my routine. If I was a rich person, I'd solve that problem by spontaneously jetting off somewhere for a weekend, but since I haven't won the lottery recently (and don't see it in my near future), I just took a day to mix things up. 

Both Chris and I were fortunate enough to be able to book a Tuesday off work and spend the day together. Sure, we could do this on a Saturday, but somehow taking a day when most people are at work makes it that much more delightful. It's the sly satisfaction of playing hooky - minus the guilt - because you're an adult and you can do what you please, as long as you clear it with your boss :)

So I slept in a bit and then caught a bus downtown to sip cappuccino at Parlour while ploughing through some marking (because, see above, the whole being an adult thing). After I finished with that, Chris joined me at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

The WAG is currently wrapping up the celebration of its one hundredth year in Winnipeg, and as the final hurrah, they've put on the exhibit 100 Masters: Only in Canada. The show features 100 pieces from various artists (including Picasso, Warhol, Rembrandt and a slew of amazing Canadian artists) curated from thirty North American galleries. 

After we arrived, we picked up our complimentary audio-guides, strolled, gazed and listened. Among my favourite pieces were Portrait No. 1 (above) of Francis Bacon's study on the original portrait of Pope Innocent X, and a photograph by Jeff Wall titled Outburst. Originally, we had planned to cap off the afternoon with a late lunch on the rooftop, but the rain forced us to change our plans. Instead, we opted to eat in and watch the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix - also a great option.

All in all, it was a great day. We shook up our routine by doing something out of the ordinary on an unusual day, and had a chance to spend some uninterrupted quality time together. Just the change of pace I needed.

And if you find in yourself in Winnipeg before August 18th, I'd highly recommend the Masters exhibit.