I haven't been through the European collection in more than passing since I came back to Texas (I think last week was the second time we've been there and we spent most of our time on the rotating exhibits), but I remember going through the European collection on a trip down from NYC and thinking how nice and quiet it was compared to the Met. I love the Met, don't get me wrong, but there are some lovely pieces in the MFAH collection, and it's nice to go in and not have 9 million people looking at something. The only places you'd ever get that in the Met, IME, was the ass-end of the Asian arts on the top floor.