Monday, June 29, 2015

Tuesday Afternoon: New Orleans City Park

City Park is huge, and contains a lake and large expanses of green and an train park and amusement park for kids and I'm not sure what all.  But we came especially to see the Botanical Garden and the Sculpture Park.


 This was the scene of the wedding we attended on Saturday evening.


 We had been to the botanical garden before, in November 2004, before Katrina.  At that time it was kind of tired looking.  Now it has been renewed after the damage caused by that storm, and it is better than ever. 


 Portable shade for the gardeners.  Later it might have been protection from rain. 



 I don't know what this plant is, but the blooms were wonderful.



 I am still worshiping those mighty live oaks. 
 There is a conservatory here, but most of the tropical plants just live outside. 
 What amazing color here on these ginger plants. 






 Tom is quite envious of this display of stag horn ferns.  He tried to grow one and did manage to keep it going for a couple of years, but it was never going to look like these!




















 In the conservatory.






 As the afternoon progressed, the sky grew darker and darker.  We were very aware of the possibility of thunderstorms. 
 Behind the conservatory there are display planters. We were just venturing into this area when a boom of thunder and the first splats of very large rain drops sent us scrambling under an event tent near by. 
 The gardeners collected there too and we waited out the deluge, with booming and flashing going off right over our heads. 


 And then it moved on, leaving dense humidity in its wake. We puddle hopped over to the sculpture garden. 
 Modeled after a driftwood horse sculpture, this one was cast in bronze. 





 I didn't even try to remember who made what or what it was called, but I do know this is a Rodin. 




 And this is a Henry Moore. 
 And by then we were stickier and drippier than we had ever been yet, and that's saying something.  So we paid our way into the art museum, just to cool down and dry off.  It was frigid in there!
 We looked at some of the galleries, and of course I gravitated to the Impressionists, and two of my favorites, Monet and Renoir. 


After our cool down we managed to make our way back to the streetcar and to the hotel.  We went back out for some seafood, and Tom finally got his oyster po-boy.  

We spent the rest of the evening packing up and reading.  We were done, and ready to come home. 

14 comments:

  1. Awesome place. I like the water plants. The hedges are unbelievable and are put to good use to divide the different areas.

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  2. Oh, all those wonderful tropicals! My little heart is going pitterpat. Some of those sculptures are pretty strange. And an oyster po-boy...yum!

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  3. What a beautiful city park! Even in the rain it is lovely:)

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  4. What a beautiful setting for a wedding, stunning.

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  5. What beautiful gardens! The perfect spot for a wedding! Looks like you had the whole place to yourselves.

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  6. That is quite the garden. Isn't it interesting how each garden has its own personality?
    You and Tom certainly take full advantage of every minute of your travels to whatever location you happen to be in.

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  7. what a gorgeous park. hope tom's po boy was good!

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  8. Those amazing oaks! Your captures of these might trees has been very enjoyable to me. And the flowers you show here are stunning. I almost expect to see one of these gravitate to your header one of these days. :-)

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  9. amazing how different plants are in other areas of USA. Thanks for an educational tour!

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  10. I especially like the art -- sculptures and paintings.

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  11. Those sculptures were amazing.
    That middle stag horn made me homesick. I had such a huge one that I had to leave in Florida. I just hope the new owners remembered to feed it banana peels.

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  12. Aunt Linda I love this post! City Park is so beautiful. Your pics are incredible! Thanks for sharing. So glad you guys got to do so much exploring in New Orleans :)

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  13. This is so amazing! Thank you for sharing your trip, Linda. I'm in awe of the recovery in the south after Katrina.

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  14. What a beautiful park! I know you both must have enjoyed all the beautiful flowers. I love the picture of the rain through the open doors!

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