Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (September 6, 2015)

On September 6, took my girlfriend Bonnie to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. One of the best discoveries of coming to Richmond, and certainly if you have been following this blog you would know I have been there a few times. I really believe that there is something there for everyone. It is a fine museum which some years ago was greatly upgraded and I think it would be a fine museum in a lot of even larger cities than Richmond.
This statue is of Caligula, one of the most notorious of the Roman Emperiors. He was killed by his down bodyguard and the empire tried to destroy all record of him. Only two statues of him are known to exist. This is one of two.
All sorts of art can be found there from very old art (like this for instance and older) and up to modern times. They have a lot of special showings which often charge admission to see those, but for the very vast majority of the collection admission is free. This is also the same for the Virginia Historical Society Museum which is next door. I visited that a few weeks ago and have a post about that on this blog as well.  

This work is by Andy Warhol...one of the great modern artists. They have quite a collection of paintings and they cover a lot of periods. I am real impressed with their Renaissance collection which is pretty cool to see. If you like sculpture, or pottery, or metal work...heck as I am saying whatever you are looking for you can probably find there.
 

I love this furniture which is also part of the museum collection. You can really see a lot of remarkable things there.
The museum can be found on The Boulevard in Richmond, Virginia (which also has as I mentioned the Virginia History Museum next door). It is open virtually every day but check their web site for hours and information. I think you will find that a trip to this museum is time well spent.
You will find that The Boulevard is a very interestiung part of the city with nearby Carytown, Byrd Park and Maymont also in the area. Its a great area to spend a few days in the RVA.

Rides around Richmond (September 5-6,2015)

 Went on a few motorcycle rides, there are some interesting places in Richmond for sure (and outside of it too). This is Gaines Mill, which I have been to a few times before. Was a Civil War Battlefield of the "Seven Days Battles" in which was a part of America's Bloodiest Conflict. Much of it is as it looked back then..they have done a great job of keeping these places that way. Within walking distance was the much later battle of Cold Harbor which is also a remarkable place. Both are well worth a visit if you are in the area, of course there are a number of battlefields in the Richmond area and just outside of it.  

This is the Oldest House in Richmond, and plaque gives its history. It is the home of the Edgar Allen Poe museum, though the author never lived there.
There is a lot of very interesting places in the area of this house. Not far was the Confederate Navy Yard, also St. John's Church is not far, At St. Johns's Patrick Henry gave his Give me liberty or give me death" speech .

This is the house mentioned above, which is also the E A Poe museum. He lived in Richmond for quite a while, his mother is buried in St. John's Church Cemetery (the church is mentioned above) and a lot of items from his life are found in the museum.
Not a lot, cause the author died poor, but the museum is a nice tribute to him, and there are some amazing things to be found in there.
The building itself is also really something to see, and there are some really nice gardens on the grounds as well.

Finally this is Cary Street, at least a part of it. Cobblestone streets and some interesting sights to see as well. Lot of fun to be found in Richmond, VA/