frumiousb

Who goes to NYC and visits the Botanical Garden? I don't know, but I do know that you should.

As it happens, an old friend of mine is an archivist at the gardens, so we took the chance to go out and visit her while we were in NY.



Absolutely worth doing!

( read on )

We were too late for the spring flowers, but there was still quite a bit of lovely stuff about.

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At least I'm letting people take pictures of me again.



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Monday.



Kirstenbosch. The most beautiful botanical gardens that I have ever seen. Blue sky, surrounded by mountains. Hot. One of the World Heritage Sites in SA. The diversity of the flowers in the fijnbos.

( general views )

The scent garden and the Erica gardens are particularly lovely. Also, Matthew's Rock Garden. Hummingbirds feeding in the flowers. One black and shining and the other with a sunflower crest.



30-50% of the water in SA is used for gardens. Frightening.

( many flower pictures )

Little blonde girl swinging in a tree, naked except for her hat. Her mother scowls fiercely at anyone who looks at her.

Omnipresent Asian tourists.

Bad and overpriced cafeteria. B. ordered everything. Young boy served us-- cinnamon skin and dreadlocks. He laughed at us. "I'm comfortable with being odd," I told him in what I hoped was a happy voice. He smiled enormously.

Squirrels in SA a pest-- introduced by Rhodes to make it seem more like England. (?!) Some of the flowers had to be comvered in a metal mesh to keep the squirrels from stealing all their seeds and wiping them out.

Extinct flowering species brought back by the botanical gardens.

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Butterflies everywhere!

We walked from the gardens to Constantia Neck. Little climb, not so bad. Down through a forest full of invaders-- gum trees and pine. Saw another klip dassie.

Countour path which ran along the side of the mountain. View of gardens from above, not spectacular. Looked like a golf course from a remove. B. and I had a good talk about Sophie and our future. Smell of pine trees reminded us of home?

Fritz picked us up. We waited for him in a picnic area next to a rotunda full of vendors selling fruit. Seemed friendly. One of the most difficult things in SA as a tourist is that everyone seems friendly, but with all the stories you do not know what there is to be afraid of.

Dinner at Pescados. Grilled kalimari & shrimp served over rice. Good & unpretentious.

I've been in Sweden for most of the week, and am now more or less about to leave for Brussels.

Thanks to bezigebij who recommended a great place for a walk on Monday. It helped. Flowers do my heart good.

I'm sorry for those of you who are still under the snow. We really have Spring here.