Spring Break. An American cliché. Cancun, Palm Beach, sun exposure, non-stop drinking, and general debauchery. During college, spring break was usually spent rehearsing a play. One I spent in New York City, opening bank accounts. I never had the cliché experience during college, so last week I went to Brazil! Spring Break 2012!
APRIL FOOLS!
You didn’t believe me for a second (well maybe a second), did you? What gave me away? The obvious ceiling? The crowds in the periphery of each shot? That the mountains are painted on a wall? The signs among the plants? That the toucan is a crafted topiary? That I’m wearing a jacket and a scarf in a supposed tropical location? All of the above?
So I didn’t go to Brazil. Alas. I stayed in NYC and went to the Macy’s Flower Show! Every year, Macy’s puts on a grandiose show in the spring. It’s completely free and with out the insane line you find at their holiday Santa Land. This year the theme was “Brazil.” It was an absolutely beautiful day and it felt strange to go into a tent to see botanicals. The feeling is a bit of a flower zoo, you feel a little bad that the blossoms and greenery has been cooped up under a roof. I would recommend going on a rainy day.
The flowers were lovely to look at, the colors striking. The whole thing is essentially a photo-op, I was constantly dodging cameras. The stranger part were roped off areas, like in the above “courtyard” shot. These seemed like museum pieces, relics of the past. “Exhibit A: A 1990 Brazilian courtyard for simple rest and relaxation. This is from a time before Kindles: those visiting this courtyard would have been reading paper books or magazines. No cellphone rings punctured the warm Brazilian air and no one was texting. The only photos captured would be on film. Modern viewers can only imagine/dream of such a time, capturing the past in exhibits such as this. FOR VIEW ONLY, NO RELAXING ALLOWED.” Children’s imaginations are better than ours. They also have less clear social mores. Combine that with parents who are paying more attention to the flowers than their kid:
This little girl got to enter the Brazilian vacation untouchable behind velvet ropes. Lucky tyke. I was jealous. Maybe someday I’ll get the spring break of cliché, but New York is so glorious in the spring, I’m not sure why I’d ever want to leave.
[Part 2 of Talk is Cheap, Listening is Free coming later this week!]
Crack up, I was thinking, WOW, she really travels too! This girl goes places! But that toucan, when you tried to pull it off as real… well, I became suspicious. 🙂
hahaha I didn’t want to completely trick my lovely readers! Glad you saw through my silly ruse, the topiary toucan was too funny.
You had me fooled, but then I’m pretty gullible! I just stopped by from SITS to say hi; hope you will do the same.
I wish it was true! Thanks for stopping by!
when I read the short on facebook I was getting all excited but alas no, not brazil. Still really cool though!
Aw, sorry to get your hopes up! I WISH I didn’t disappoint and that I’d actually gone to Brazil! Maybe someday…According to facebook my 9th grade boyfriend lives there now…I should get back in touch!
I totally wish I had gone to that now…
Next year! It’s always around March/April! While you’re waiting, the Brooklyn Botanical garden is pretty awesome- I have a post in the works about that 🙂
What a great post! I’ve never heard of Macy’s flower show, but it looks like it’s beautiful! I love the “No relaxing allowed” bit!
It was just so funny to have comfy looking chairs displayed as exhibits! It was beautiful though, a real trip- no travel required! Thanks for reading!
Lol I was about to say omg I can’t believe you went to Brazil. I need to go there, it’s just one of those things.
Saying hi from Iblog4me
Thanks for stopping by! Hope we both make it to Brazil someday! Oh someday 🙂
I’m such a geography nerd that it wasn’t the ceiling that gave it away- it was the fact that the Andes aren’t in Brazil. 🙂