Ringling Museum of Art

The Dwarf Garden

Walkway out side of the Museum of Art

Art

more Art

The mansion "Ca`d`Zan
you must see it in person, the architecture is fantastic

The Secret Garden
(not very secret, it's on the map)

one of the many very cool Banyan trees

Mable's Rose Garden

Mondays are free at the Ringling Museum of Art. They also have tours for the mansion- Ca`d`Zan and a Circus Museum but those are not free. One day I would love to take a tour of everything on the property but for now free is good for me! The kids and I were able to tour Mable’s Rose Garden, The Secret Garden, The Dwarf Garden, the huge Banyan trees and pretty much anything else outdoors. By the time we were nice and hot we decided to tour the Museum of Art. Besides the wonderful air conditioning, it really was amazing to see all the fantastic pieces of art the Ringling family had collected. They offer a free guided tour of the museum and I highly recommend it. The wealth of information they share with you about the Ringling family, their home, and the art; is fantastic. Did you know Mr. Ringling was making over a million dollars a month (tax free)??? That is equivalent to over 20 million today. He was one of the top 10 richest people in the world.
I won’t bore you with all the details of our little excursion, but I definitely recommend a trip there. You won’t be disappointed. Bring your camera, you’re going to want to take lots of pictures. I brought my camera but, my 14 yr old son used it the entire time. He is quite the shutter bug!

Oh, I have to share with you a few "feelings" that were expressed to me by my kids.

My 7 year old thought the paintings were creepy because the eyes follow you. My 12 and 14 yr old thought that was cool.

My 12yr old didn't like all the nudity, he thought is was gross. And my 14 yr old took great pleasure pointing it all out to him.... brotherly love.

For more information about the Ringling Mueseum go to http://www.ringling.org/