As unlikely as it may seem, I actually have a bachelors degree in Art. That being said, if you ever found yourself wandering around a prestigious art museum with me and you were hoping to pick my brain about what we were seeing, you would be woefully disappointed in my ability to regurgitate any knowledge from any of my art history classes – of which there were many.

Still, when I travel, I like to poke my head in to a few art museums here and there to check out the local art scene or maybe catch a peak at some famous works – if any happen to be on site. And that’s how we happened upon the Museo Botero in Bogotá. Not only did I want to pop in to see a few Picassos, Renoirs, Degas and a Monet but also because the guide book described the gallery’s main attraction as “…dedicated to all things chubby.”

Say what?

As it turned out, Lonely Planet did not lie. The majority of the art on display is from the museum’s namesake, Fernando Botero. Botero is a Colombian artist with a very distinct point of view, which to my very expertly expensively trained art degree eye, seems to be to celebrate plumpness.

Case in point:

First we saw some chubby people…

Then we saw some chubby people who were famous…

And some chubby people that made us blush…

Then we saw some chubby fruit…

And some chubby food that would make you chubby if you ate too much of it…

Then we saw some things that shouldn’t be chubby but were…

And finally we got to our very favorite piece: the chubby caballo.

Lots and lots of cute, chubby things abound within those walls. The museum wasn’t all about chubby stuff though. Like I mentioned before, there was some European art on display as well as some cool sculptures like the one below. I was trying to emulate the pose in this photo and I was trying to do so before anyone came into this particular gallery space and caught me acting so silly. In the end, I think I just look extremely awkward… but then again, so does she.

We wandered around the various galleries for about an hour and took advantage of the beautiful courtyard when we wanted to sit down. If you should find yourself in Bogotá, here are some details that will come in handy:

When: Monday to Sunday from 9 AM – 7 PM. Sundays and holidays from 10 AM to 5 PM. Closed on Tuesdays.
Where: Calle 11 #4-41, Bogotá, Colombia.
Who: Anyone and everyone. Also, as far as art museums are concerned, kids would probably get a bigger kick out of this one than others.
Cost: Free!
Why: Because it’s always fun to check out some local art.
Other good things to know: There are free public restrooms inside the museum.

I hope you all have a great weekend!