Caillebotte at the Kimbell - Fort Worth
Jan 28th, 2016 | 12:10 PM
#23
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,651
Likes: 3
As an update (since I started this thread nearly 4 months ago), we're headed to Fort Worth next week for a mini-weekend adventure! Everything booked. Very easy except for the car rental -- prices all over the place, and the reviews of the car rental places around Love Field went from bad to worse. Trying Enterprise for a change (best of the worst). We had a little incident with Enterprise years ago where the clerk stole our credit card number and started charging up the wazoo on the card. I've sworn off Hertz since last summer's charge nightmare at London Heathrow.
Back to the trip, looking forward to seeing the exhibit, and my husband now wants to see the Kennedy Assassination sights in Dallas before we head out. Take a tour or do it on our own? (We'll have a car, lol!).
Back to the trip, looking forward to seeing the exhibit, and my husband now wants to see the Kennedy Assassination sights in Dallas before we head out. Take a tour or do it on our own? (We'll have a car, lol!).
Jan 28th, 2016 | 05:15 PM
#24
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,761
Likes: 0
JFK sites - do it yourself.
Hope you have a great trip! Too bad you're not here this weekend as the temps will be in the 70s!!!
There is a lot of interstate highway construction near downtown, but take your time and you should be fine.
Hope you have a great trip! Too bad you're not here this weekend as the temps will be in the 70s!!!
There is a lot of interstate highway construction near downtown, but take your time and you should be fine.
Jan 30th, 2016 | 04:53 PM
#25
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,651
Likes: 3
Thanks. We'll have a map, a tom tom and an AAA book. I just need to figure out if there are any toll roads (which I want to avoid) between rental pick up and the Residence Inn in Fort Worth Cultural District. Best route? I'm guessing I-30 (see how I'm trying not to put the word "the" in front of the interstate?!?) but can't figure out how to get to I-30 from Dallas Love.
Jan 30th, 2016 | 05:39 PM
#26
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,761
Likes: 0
No toll roads required between Dallas and FW
From Mockingbird Lane (turn R out of the airport)
Take I-35E South (yes, that is correct I-35E -- 35W is in Fort Worth so don't get confused!)
Take I-30 West (it is a left exit) Be aware though that there is quite a bit of construction at the I-35 and I30 interchange. It's short-lived once you're on I-30. There is construction along I-30, but it's not invasive.
Take University Drive North (tight turn exit)
Also be aware, that the Fort Worth Stock Show is going on through next weekend. There will be quite a bit of traffic in the Cultural District area.
Have a great visit!!
From Mockingbird Lane (turn R out of the airport)
Take I-35E South (yes, that is correct I-35E -- 35W is in Fort Worth so don't get confused!)
Take I-30 West (it is a left exit) Be aware though that there is quite a bit of construction at the I-35 and I30 interchange. It's short-lived once you're on I-30. There is construction along I-30, but it's not invasive.
Take University Drive North (tight turn exit)
Also be aware, that the Fort Worth Stock Show is going on through next weekend. There will be quite a bit of traffic in the Cultural District area.
Have a great visit!!
Feb 9th, 2016 | 02:13 PM
#28
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,651
Likes: 3
Now for the mini-trip report!
First, everyone on this board was so helpful, so thanks again for all of your help. Our quick trip to Texas was great, and a nice checkmark off the 50 state bucket list!
LAX to Dallas Love Field on Southwest, nice 3 hour flight, a little bumpy in spots, but not horrible.
Enterprise Rent a Car: Easy to find the shuttle to the rental agency. No lines, and the people there didn't try (hard) to upsell us. Which, after the horrible experience we had with Hertz at Heathrow this summer, they wouldn't have wanted to push my buttons. So no to the extra insurance, no to the pre-sale tank of gas, and we were good to go.
A quick comment on petrol . . . they had pre-sale (fill up from empty) at $1.59/gallon, or top up if we don't at $2.56/gallon. Being from LA where petrol is currently at an annual low of about $2.69/gallon, we were stunned at how cheap gas is in Texas (comparatively speaking)! Seriously, we'd be ahead if we returned the car on fumes!
From Dallas/Love to Fort Worth at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday, there was no traffic (by LA standards, of course). It took us about 45 minutes to get to the hotel . . . there wasn't a lot of speed signs, so we drove about 65 miles per hour. Avoided the toll road, and steered clear of the express lanes.
Checked in to the Residence Inn/Cultural District in Fort Worth. Got a better deal at the senior rate than the AAA rate so took that, and got Marriott rewards. I love Residence Inns because they are pretty spacious, clean, have 2 rooms, 2 tvs, and a kitchen. Plus, this one had free parking, breakfast included, a gym and an outdoor pool & spa (way too cold to use). The only thing I thought odd about this hotel were the signs you put on the outside of the door handle. There was one for sleeping, one if you had a dog in the room, and one if you didn't want to be bothered by housekeeping. No "please clean up" sign. And we thought the sign for not cleaning up was the sign for cleaning up because we'd never seen a don't clean up sign before! Thus, when we left the room the next day, we put up the sign we thought said clean up and they did not. Fortunately, we got back to the room before housekeeping left, and they were nice enough to do a quick clean.
First meal: down the street at Chuy's, a Tex Mex place. Cheap and fabulous, with friendly and attentive wait staff. Being from LA, we generally avoid Mexican restaurants outside the So. Cal. area since they are, for the most part, just awful. I will say this: Texas Tex Mex beat LA Mexican food by a mile!
The Caillebotte exhibit: we did have to let all these security and police officers know that we were, in fact, going to the Kimbell, and not to the FW Stock Show which was there last weekend, so they would let us park. The museum parking had loads of officers standing guard for this. 52 paintings at this special exhibit from around the world . . . from museums to private collections. Perfectly laid out in groups, such as portraits, landscapes, food, etc. Two pieces were there from the Musee D'Orsay, including the brilliant, jaw dropping, makes me teary-eyed Floor Scrapers. In the middle of the exhibit was Chicago Art Institute's Paris Street; Rainy Day. Which I haven't seen since 1995 when it was exhibited at the LA County Art Museum. The audio that went with it, mostly in the words of the Kimbell's George Shackelford and DC National Gallery's Mary Morton, set out in detail the background and history of each of the works. Stunning!
DH, also a Caillebotte fan, allowed me to spend 4 hours there. He said afterwards that he'd look at a painting and how he felt like he was inside Caillebotte's head, because that's what he saw, and felt, and painted. Each painting preserved in time a moment, a thought, a feeling. And he was right. Looking through Caillebotte's eyes at the world. So cool.
The rest of the time in Fort Worth was spent walking around different areas of town, including Sundance Square, checking out interesting bars, and admiring the city. It really is worth a visit, museum or no museum. Very easy to navigate by car, and best of all, free parking everywhere!!!
I'd say the only potentially negative thing is that in bars that do not have kitchens attached to them, smoking is permitted in the bar. While I don't particularly mind a smoke filled room (although I don't smoke), DH, a former smoker, had a more difficult time, with his eyes tearing up a little.
More to come.
First, everyone on this board was so helpful, so thanks again for all of your help. Our quick trip to Texas was great, and a nice checkmark off the 50 state bucket list!
LAX to Dallas Love Field on Southwest, nice 3 hour flight, a little bumpy in spots, but not horrible.
Enterprise Rent a Car: Easy to find the shuttle to the rental agency. No lines, and the people there didn't try (hard) to upsell us. Which, after the horrible experience we had with Hertz at Heathrow this summer, they wouldn't have wanted to push my buttons. So no to the extra insurance, no to the pre-sale tank of gas, and we were good to go.
A quick comment on petrol . . . they had pre-sale (fill up from empty) at $1.59/gallon, or top up if we don't at $2.56/gallon. Being from LA where petrol is currently at an annual low of about $2.69/gallon, we were stunned at how cheap gas is in Texas (comparatively speaking)! Seriously, we'd be ahead if we returned the car on fumes!
From Dallas/Love to Fort Worth at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday, there was no traffic (by LA standards, of course). It took us about 45 minutes to get to the hotel . . . there wasn't a lot of speed signs, so we drove about 65 miles per hour. Avoided the toll road, and steered clear of the express lanes.
Checked in to the Residence Inn/Cultural District in Fort Worth. Got a better deal at the senior rate than the AAA rate so took that, and got Marriott rewards. I love Residence Inns because they are pretty spacious, clean, have 2 rooms, 2 tvs, and a kitchen. Plus, this one had free parking, breakfast included, a gym and an outdoor pool & spa (way too cold to use). The only thing I thought odd about this hotel were the signs you put on the outside of the door handle. There was one for sleeping, one if you had a dog in the room, and one if you didn't want to be bothered by housekeeping. No "please clean up" sign. And we thought the sign for not cleaning up was the sign for cleaning up because we'd never seen a don't clean up sign before! Thus, when we left the room the next day, we put up the sign we thought said clean up and they did not. Fortunately, we got back to the room before housekeeping left, and they were nice enough to do a quick clean.
First meal: down the street at Chuy's, a Tex Mex place. Cheap and fabulous, with friendly and attentive wait staff. Being from LA, we generally avoid Mexican restaurants outside the So. Cal. area since they are, for the most part, just awful. I will say this: Texas Tex Mex beat LA Mexican food by a mile!
The Caillebotte exhibit: we did have to let all these security and police officers know that we were, in fact, going to the Kimbell, and not to the FW Stock Show which was there last weekend, so they would let us park. The museum parking had loads of officers standing guard for this. 52 paintings at this special exhibit from around the world . . . from museums to private collections. Perfectly laid out in groups, such as portraits, landscapes, food, etc. Two pieces were there from the Musee D'Orsay, including the brilliant, jaw dropping, makes me teary-eyed Floor Scrapers. In the middle of the exhibit was Chicago Art Institute's Paris Street; Rainy Day. Which I haven't seen since 1995 when it was exhibited at the LA County Art Museum. The audio that went with it, mostly in the words of the Kimbell's George Shackelford and DC National Gallery's Mary Morton, set out in detail the background and history of each of the works. Stunning!
DH, also a Caillebotte fan, allowed me to spend 4 hours there. He said afterwards that he'd look at a painting and how he felt like he was inside Caillebotte's head, because that's what he saw, and felt, and painted. Each painting preserved in time a moment, a thought, a feeling. And he was right. Looking through Caillebotte's eyes at the world. So cool.
The rest of the time in Fort Worth was spent walking around different areas of town, including Sundance Square, checking out interesting bars, and admiring the city. It really is worth a visit, museum or no museum. Very easy to navigate by car, and best of all, free parking everywhere!!!
I'd say the only potentially negative thing is that in bars that do not have kitchens attached to them, smoking is permitted in the bar. While I don't particularly mind a smoke filled room (although I don't smoke), DH, a former smoker, had a more difficult time, with his eyes tearing up a little.
More to come.
