Vienna, Austria

This photo personifies Vienna for me.  Extravagant rose gardens.  Stunning fountains.  Ornate buildings.  Clean.  It was everything I expected.  This garden was something I stumbled upon on my way to the nearby Palace.  And even though the day was warm and sunny, the park was filled with people taking in the sights.  It's funny to say that given the photo has only two people in it.  (Well, two people and two ducks.) But the park was large and there were many people behind me on the benches and walkways. 

Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai

Yuyuan Garden is a beautiful garden in the middle of the Old City of Shanghai.  The garden was built in the mid 1500s and finally declared a national monument in the 1980s.  The garden is filled with traditional buildings that I've wanted to see ever since I was a kid.

The details of the buildings are amazing.  I love the tile roofs.  I noticed that some hadn't been cleaned in awhile.  So little green plants were growing between the tiles.  I loved how the light highlighted some of the plants.

I loved my time in this garden.  If I ever return to Shanghai, this is one place I will visit again in a heartbeat.

Botanical Garden, Melbourne

One time I was sent down to Melbourne, Australia for work. Always the adventurer, I looked forward to my free time to see the sights. One day I wandered over to the Botanical Gardens. The garden was large (I passed it every day going into work) and there were many activities within the park, so I knew it was well visited by tourists and locals alike.

There was a section called Grey Gardens, named because the plants all have a grey or silver tone to them. After the vivid green in other ares of the garden, this section was decidedly 'grey'.

I had to check it out because I recently watched this movie, and I wanted to see if there were any similarities. But alas, there wasn't a raccoon or cat to be found. Not even a dancing Edie.

Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain

In 1929, the World's Fair was held in Seville, Spain.  The fair was held in Maria Louisa Park and the majority of the exhibits were built to be permanent, functioning buildings after the event was over.  For example, this is Plaza de Espana which showed the Spanish exhibit and is now government offices.

This was the largest exhibit during the fair.  In the middle of the plaza is a large fountain (to the left, out of frame).  You might be able to see that there are bridges going over a canal in front of the building.  

One of my favorite parts is those bridges.  Spain is known for their ceramic work.  The handrail and spindles are hand painted ceramic pieces.  While some bridges need repair today, this one was in perfect shape forming another one of my favorite Spanish photos.