Light in the Garden

The Frog and the Handsome Prince

Fall Break wasn't just fun for the girls. We dropped them off at Grandma's house for a sleepover so Matt and I could have our own date night. We decided on the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the Bruce Munro light exhibition - so fun! We got there right at 6 p.m. on an overcast evening. Fortunately, the rain held off for us, and the gloomy weather just added to the ambiance. 

An orchid of light.

The Gardens are beautiful anyway, but add in the colorful light exhibitions popping up randomly throughout the scenery and it made for an enchanting combination. We had enough daylight to tour the place, and then got to watch the effect of the gathering darkness on the mysterious lights as they strengthened in intensity.

Forest of Light

By far the most amazing part was the Forest of Light. 30,000 glass "flowers" were planted throughout the darkest part of the gardens, accessed only by the fairy-like sky bridge. As you walked above, a see of lights appeared below, like you were walking straight into Tolkien's Lothlorien. Indeed, had Galadriel herself appeared, I wouldn't have been surprised. The lights slowly flickered through a changing sea of colors, and in some places the "roots" had been left exposed, revealing the network of glowing wires that connected the flowers to each other. The darker it got, the more amazing the scene became. The artist called it a "symbol for the good things in life" and I have to agree, it was magical.

Beacon

Made with 2,730 bottles.

The Water-Towers.

The Water-Towers was another amazing display of shifting light and sound, this one set to a soothing pulse of music and drew you in and lulled you into a hypnotic state of watching as the lights slowly ebbed and flowed into each other. Seeing the reflection in the water and glimpsing the Atlanta skyline in the distance just added to the effect. It was one of those moments that I kept taking pictures, knowing as I did so that they would never do justice to the act of standing in the moment. Still, you can't blame me for trying to capture it!

We ended our date night with dinner at Empire State South. May I recommend the Farm Egg and Seafood Stew? Seriously though, the Farm Egg... I've never put anything quite like it in my mouth... imagine deep fried rice, all crunchy and snappy, with a soft-boiled egg on top. At the table, you gently break the egg yolk and stir it into the rice... yeah, you'll just have to take my word for it. So. Good. We went to bed full and happy that night!