King Tut

Last month we went to the King Tutankhamun Exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It was fascinating! It is hard to imagine that he lived more than 3000 years ago -- harder still to imagine that the treasures found in his tomb were undiscovered until this last century! To truly appreciate this fact, read the following passage from the exhibit site:


"On November 26, 1922, Lord Carnarvon, his daughter Evelyn Herbert, and architect Arthur Callendar, anxiously stood by as Howard Carter made an exploratory hole in the doorway. After letting the 3,000-year-old air vent from the chamber, Carter widened the hole and peered inside. As his eyes grew accustomed to the dark, he began to make out the treasures packed haphazardly into the room. He was, in his words, “Struck dumb with amazement. Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense, inquired 'Can you see anything?' to which Carter famously replied 'Yes, wonderful things'."

"Wonderful things" doesn't even begin to describe the exquisite detail of the items on display. We were unable to take photos inside the exhibit, but click here for a small taste of what we saw:
King Tut Exhibit Preview

After enjoying the exhibit, we had lunch in the museum cafe's pavilion, then stepped outside into a beautiful little park-within-the-park to take photos. The whimsical sculptures in this small garden were fun and impressive. We enjoyed the fall colors, as well.

The "sack race people" (my name for them) look 'soft' but are solid sculptures:

We thought this was a reflecting ball from a distance -- mirroring nearby monuments and buildings, until we got up close and realized the ball had actually been carved out:

I LOVE apples -- and loved these "Land of the Giant Apples" sculptures:

After exercising serious restraint in the gift shops, we stepped outside the museum to head back to the car. Our ears and eyes were met with the sounds and sites of a Sunday in a San Francisco Park -- music playing, people dancing and hula-hooping.


We passed by a few more park monuments we had photographed:


We had a gloriously fun day!