Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens: The Narrative

A vacation should never end abruptly which means one must stay in the same mode for at least one more weekend.

Governor Cuomo had sent me an e-mail (yes, personally) promoting New York State’s own vacation spots. Indeed, in addition to the Big Apple, there are many lovely places worth a visit in New York, which I have been, slowly but surely, discovering over the years.

According to Mr.Cuomo, May 31-June 6 was Museum week and Brooklyn Botanical Garden in my own backyard so to speak was a participating institution. So, on Saturday, June 2, a bright and sunny day, we took the LIRR to the Garden, which I had been meaning to visit for a long time now. When we got off at the Eastern Parkway subway station I thought I was back in Europe. The three-dimensional bronze and terra-cotta art work against a mosaic background on the walls of the station evoked a gentler era from the past. In fact, come to think of it, the artwork at Pennsylvania Station also slows you down and evokes a less hurried time. Eastern Parkway station was also the stop for the Brooklyn Museum.

At the street level, the museum is literally in your face. I went up to the door and saw that admission was free after 5 p.m. on the first Saturdays of the month. So we decided first to cover the Garden a block away and then do the museum. In New York, even we residents behave like tourists and adopt elaborate itineraries.

The Garden was beautiful and relaxing though the roses had begun to wither. The weeping beech was like a huge tepee. Oh, there were so many giant trees. And then there were trees growing out of rocks in the rock garden and a small waterfall with a big personality. Another tranquil spot is the Japanese Garden where a family was feeding the huge colorful fish there the O cereal despite the instruction not to. A map came in handy. The Conservatory was another not-to-be-missed spot.

Around five, we hit the museum. Yet another tranquil but a demanding place nonetheless because there is so much to cover. While Islamic and Chinese sections were overflowing with objects dating back to way back, India was represented mostly by Buddhist and Islamic objects. I guess for the majority Hindu part of Indian culture that believes in cremation, and that this world is an illusion, material objects are not of much value.

We were back home around 10-ish after a quick satisfying slice of pizza and Coke at Sbarroa’s across from Penn Station. Photos to follow:

Ciao!