Metropolitan Museum of Art goes Camino

[Deleted member 3000]

http://www.metmuseum.org/events/travel-with-the-met/santiago-de-compostela

There is not much walking for $8,500!!!

 

[Ian Afloat]

Average daily walk: 3miles. One wonders what the point is of getting a credential; it's not like they're going to get a Compostella!

 

[mspath]

For that price even the Met has to give you something; the Credential would be the token souvenir!

 

[NualaOC]

Wow, just imagine how many Caminos a pilgrim could fund for $8,500! Seriously though, I hope that a decent proportion of that money helps the places that they visit. Surely there should be some sort of a surcharge on 'souvenir' credencials?

 

[naplesdon]

Average daily walk: 3km. One wonders what the point is of getting a credential; it's not like they're going to get a Compostella!

I am not a Camino elitist, really and for sure! But let's not underestimate what $8500 could buy in the terms of tithes for some sort of personalized Commemorative Compostela. HUH?

 

[William Marques]

That price does not include flights and there is a single supplement!

 

[Ian Afloat]

That price does not include flights and there is a single supplement!

Presumably the more money than sense numpty supplement is already included!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I hope that a decent proportion of that money helps the places that they visit.

Like the Paradors?

 

[naplesdon]

Like the Paradors?

What no "real pilgrim" experiences included?

 

[Dutch]

Singles supplement? Do these still exist? This is the stupidest thing ever.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

What no "real pilgrim" experiences included?

It does not get more real than a Parador.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I wonder what might be involved in "an exclusive botafumeiro ritual." Have I been going to the wrong one all along?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

"an exclusive botafumeiro ritual."

The MMA pays for a swinging; we all get to go if we know about it!

 

[s. brown]

http://www.metmuseum.org/events/travel-with-the-met/santiago-de-compostela

There is not much walking for $8,500!!!

If I had the money I'd love to take this trip! I'm certain the guides, the accommodations, the luggage transport, and the meals are excellent. May not be a pilgrimage or pilgrimage experience but it does sound like fun. And you get a taste of walking!

 

[jmcarp]

A new word to add to the Camino dictionary: "Luxuro-pilgrims".

 

[Kathy F.]

OK, people, let's try not to be too harsh.

1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the great museums of the world. As a kid growing up in the projects in Queens, it was my home town museum. It is where I first saw the Mona Lisa when I was in elementary school. It is where I saw the mummies, medieval art, Rembrandts, and, of course, those knights valiantly riding on their armored horses through the Hall, surrounded by their colorful pennants. So, you "diss" my museum, you gotta answer to me!!
2. The itinerary shows me where some of the most important sights are on the Camino. There are places mentioned that I simply passed by the first time, or didn't realize were as important as they are. Now, I have a better idea of what to look out for and I can appreciate sites along the CF in a new way.
3. I recently looked over a print out of the "Manifesto of Villafranca del Bierzo," in which a collection of many interested parties including pilgrims, hospitaleros, historians, and association members gathered in Dec. 2014 to address problems on the Camino. In section 2, item 1, the manifesto supports including the CF on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. I believe that, if the Met brings a bunch of monied art and history aficionados to even parts of the CF, their support may help achieve this goal.
4. I'm delighted to see that some of the photos I had taken were of the same things pictured in the brochure. See, I know good stuff when I see it!
5. Yes, they're not walking. Yes, they're not staying in albergues. Yes, they aren't going into a tienda, buying three slices of ham, a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, and calling it dinner. But if they stop in a town and drop lots of euros into the local economy, maybe that's not such a bad thing.
6. Their encounters with pilgrims along the way will be eye opening to them, I'm sure. Remember, they're doing this because they're interested, not because they have to. Just like us. So let's not be snobs, either.
   
7. I can show my husband the brochure and exclaim, "Look , honey, aren't you proud! I went on a Metropolitan Museum of Art trip and saved you $8,900!!"

 

[oursonpolaire]

FooteK has a point about how these excursions help the local economy (I don't expect that many of those euros escape the tour organizers into the pueblos, but some will) and also open the eyes of some participants to other aspects of the Camino. Spain outside Madrid and Barcelona features stunning receptacles of art and history-- I have discovered along the Aragonese the incredible diocesan museum in Jaca, as well as San Juan de la Pena, and on the del Norte, the diocesan museum at Santillana del Mar. Perhaps some of the limousine pilgrims will download Gitlitz and Davidson, and try out boots for a Camino the next spring.

 

[Jo Jo]

Santiago at Met

• Jo Jo
• Apr 10, 2015
• 1

Ironically, look who we saw at the Met last month.