Grand Rapids is a great city becoming grander all the time. With major support from wealthy families such as the Meijers and the De Vos, the city has become a major medical center for western Michigan as well as a remarkable number of tourist attractions, including the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Meijer Gardens which we took in on our free day in GR.

The Discovery of King Tut Exhibit was showing at the art museum, an exhibit focused on the story of how the tomb was found, and how the treasures were excavated. It was funded by Lord Carnarvon, who gave much if his fortune and, some would argue, his life to the project. When his canary was eaten by a cobra when the tomb was opened, the Egyptians believed there was a curse on the project and many refused to continue. Lord C wasn’t a believer, but he died from an infected mosquito bite at the age of 57. (No, I am not making this up; truth is always stranger than fiction.)

We saw GOLD. In statues, jewelry, funeral temples, caskets, caskets within caskets; if they could build it, they covered it with gold. The artisan’s craftsmanship was exquisite and imaginative, and sometimes very contemporary in appearance. And if you’re interested in how a body is mummified, there’s a video you can watch too. Though the majority of artifacts were reproductions, this exhibit still brings to life an era thousands of years old. If I lived in GR I’d visit at least once more to catch more of the details.

The Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park is a 132 acre park that has been named one of the top “30 Must-See Museums.” In 1995, Frederik and Lena Meijers donated the land and their entire outdoor sculpture collection to establish a botanical garden and conservatory.

Trams drive throughout the park which contains waterfalls, seasonal plantings, and many unusual trees and shrubs, all peppered with unique bigger than life sculptures. The most notable is Leonardo Da Vinci American Horse, built from the plans of Leonardo Da Vinci by Nina Akuma. Everyone has to have their photograph taken at least once standing beneath it. But our destination this time was the newest addition to Meijer Gardens, the Japanese Gardens. Just opened a few months ago, it is a huge installation of winding paths centered around a lake, replete with koi and lily pads fed by a lovely waterfall. Though crowded, it still had an aura of tranquility that was hard to leave behind.

Our other stop was the Downtown Market, a fabulous indoor market with dozens of merchants selling baked goods, candies, meats and seafood, cheeses, sushi and anything else edible. We gravitated to The Spice Merchant where I picked up some favorites, some “designer” olive oils (coconut and cherry flavored balsamic oil), and of course some fresh seeded baquettes (still warm.)