Beautiful! Magnificent! I loved the paintings, sculptures, and modern art! The sculpture garden was also beautiful. I recommend to everyone who visits New Orleans. I absolutely loved it!

The bright Southern sun beaming down full force as we wait (and wait... and wait... this was low-season, after all) for a Canal Streetcar displaying "City Park" in its front window, not "Cemeteries," my enthusiasm for spending at least a half-hour in the brewing heat, wandering the Sculpture Garden of the New Orleans Museum of Art, was waning – quickly. Yet after the oh-so-wonderful air-conditioning within the Canal Streetcar gave me a brief respite from the cloudless skies and I discovered the garden almost totally ensconced by patches of shade, my confidence that it would be the highlight of my activities over the past 3 days was renewed.

Quite understandably, the garden was practically empty, save for a loitering young couple, a concentrating artist, and an older man relaxing on one of the welcoming benches scattered haphazardly around the surprisingly large expanse of statues, sculptures, and squirrels. Thinking the calm of the South was finally sinking into my tense New York bones, my ears almost becoming used to the tweeting of the exotic creatures called birds, I practically jump across the still pond in front of me upon hearing the whistle of a train. Turning back towards the entrance, I spot the source of the noise, the most darling thing I’ve ever seen: an extended miniature train carrying only one, maybe two families around City Park, the perfect breeze-inducing break for the parents of an energized 4-year-old or train aficionado.

"Arachnophobia" being my favorite movie as a scary-movie-loving child, I’m instantly drawn to the massive sculpture titled "Spider" by Louise Bourgeois, after my attention has been drawn back into the garden. This bronze sculpture of a winding, knotted body and outstretched, knobby legs is the most, for lack of a better word, awesome sculpture I have ever seen (sorry, "David"), and I spend 5 minutes walking around the mass and even, feeling a little childish, through its legs, stopping myself short of acting out a scene from the aforementioned film.

The man resting on the bench now giving me quizzical glances, I giddily move away from the spider and neighboring "Tree of Necklaces," an ode to Mardi Gras with overly large beads hanging from an actual tree, to explore the other mostly bronze pieces by artists from the world over, including Israel, France, and Columbia. Walking past "Tortoise," which might as well be the live animal crawling out from his plant surroundings, I feel a pang of guilt about that turtle soup at Commander’s before smiling at the lucky photo op in front of me – the artist reveling in a smoke while accompanying the realistic "Three Figures and Four Benches." Only briefly disturbing him, I start back through the shushed garden smelling almost of fragrant herbs and encounter "Monkeys," the second most awesome sculpture I have ever seen, one of human arms growing from a group of monkeys atop a granite surface. Hey, "David," maybe you’ll consider trading in the Galleria dell'Academia for some Southern hospitality?

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen." ~Leonardo da Vinci

NOMA is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Thursday is 12:30am to 8:30pm. The museum is closed all legal holidays and Mondays. Children (3-17) are $4, students (full-time) are $7, senior citizens (65+) are $7, and adults are $8.

There are three floors altogether. The first floor has Italian art from the 15th to 18th century and Dutch and Flemish art of the 17th century. The second floor has French art, decorative glass, photographs and prints and drawings, European art, American art, Louisiana art, contemporary art, and American furniture, and Faberge eggs! The third floor has Asian art, oceanic art, African art, and Native American art. The Courtyard Cafe has a great view, looking out at a lake near the museum. The day I went was May 15, which happened to be Japan Fest. A friend wanted to win a trip to Japan in a raffle that's only one dollar. Each month is always something different. May was the month for the Japan Fest and art by John T. Scott.

In front of the steps of the museum were the Kaminiari Taiko with small to huge drums for high-energy drumming. Mayor Ray Nagin said a few words after that. I saw anime in one corner, a Bonsai display, Ikebana (flower arrangements), and bought a bookmark with my name written in Japanese. I then sat through the Kozakura Japan (classical Japanese dancing). They were amateur dancers, because the pros work for money. Sadly, I didn't win that trip, but there's always next year.

The New Orleans Museum of Art is at the end of Esplanade Avenue in City Park. At 1200 acres, it's the fifth-largest municipal park in the United States. The Museum collection comprises nearly 40,000 pieces. They include European painting and sculpture from the 16th through 20th centuries, American painting and sculpture from the 18th and 19th centuries, European and American prints and drawings, photography, Asian art with an emphasis on Japanese painting of the Edo period, European and American decorative arts including one of the largest glass collections in the United States, and ethnographic art including African, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian, and Native American. Among the Museum’s special collections are the jeweled treasures by Peter Carl Fabergé, on extended loan from the Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation, and the Latin American Colonial Art collection.The Museum has 46 permanent collection galleries and three changing exhibition spaces. It's a very nice museum. See their web page: http://www.noma.org/nomamain.htm