Asheville Botanical Gardens

A visit to a city is not complete to me without checking out the Botanical Gardens.  While Bobby was busy working, I took the kids to explore the gardens.  They had various activities to do for kids while walking around:  scavenger hunt for specific things animals eat, scavenger hunt for insects, and creating a Venn diagram for 2 different trees.  Of course Liam is too young to really get into these activities, but Amelie was on a mission to do all three.  Since I knew we did not have the time to come back, we walked around the gardens twice to enable her to find the things on the scavenger hunt.  It was fun hiking after this experience because she would point out some of the things like mushrooms growing on trees that were difficult to find in the gardens.  This was one of the smaller gardens we have visited, but it was very pleasant.  The kids always like having the freedom to run and this certainly provided that.  I loved helping Amelie look for things that were similar and different about 2 different types of trees.  I think she is so smart! :)  She turned in her completed activities to the Park Ranger and received a stamp on her hand.  She even earned a stamp for Liam as well. :)

Comparing the two trees behind the bench:  a magnolia and an oak tree.

Botanical Gardens of the University of Valencia

As stated in a previous post, I love botanical gardens.  I thinking back, I guess I always have as I loved going to the botanical gardens frequently when I lived in Athens, GA too.  I love that in every city the botanical  gardens offer something new.  The botanical gardens in Valencia boast a collection with about three thousand species of trees and plants, specially the palm and the cactus. This botanical garden was founded in 1567 for the study of medicinal plants. The gardens have been restored since that time and contain a variety of greenhouses, a stunning shade garden, as well as different areas for aquatic plants, a rockery and an impressive grove of trees.  Currently, the gardens dedicate its investigation to the knowledge of the vegetal diversity, the conservation of the rare species, endemic or threatened Mediterranean flora and the conservation of the natural habitats.  We all learned a lot as we walked the grounds.

From the entrance to Botanical Gardens, you could see the Torres de Quart at the intersection.  The Torres de Quart were a part of the old wall that surrounded Valencia built in the 15th century. The exterior of the towers still shows signs of the bombardments suffered during France's siege of the city in 1808. The building has been used through the centuries for different purposes, from a woman's prison to a military prison.  You can climb this tower, but dusk was quickly approaching so we just viewed from the outside.  Seeing the pock marks on the outside was really crazy and cool.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we had to stop by the La Casa de los Gatos.  We enjoyed riding the bikes through the quiet dark streets as we took in the sounds of people gathering in the squares enjoying food and live music.  

Traveling on a bike at night without a light was challenging.  We traveled through the Turia Riverbed to our apartment so there were not any cars, but there were also times when there were not lit paths either.  I have never biked so fast in all my life trying to keep up with Bobby.  Surprisingly, the park was still bustling with activity as people exercised in the cool of the evening.  Although I would have preferred to have a light, it was really fun to be out at night and experience a little of the night culture.

Ajuda Botanical Garden

I love gardens.  Maybe in my future life, I will try my hand at gardening.  I am not sure what it is about botanical gardens that draw me to visit, but there is something about the beauty in variety and seeing new growth.

In order to get to the Botanical Gardens, we had to go on a quest.  The picture above was taken from our apartment building.  We had to travel past the abandoned building and then through the forest to the buildings seen in the distance.  Yes, this was the walking directions Google gave us to take.  I was expecting to come along a homeless compound at any moment while we were walking, but thankfully we never did.  I made Amelie not talk during our entire walk through the woods.  So although I had my super alert on for any persons lurking in the woods, it ended up being a quiet walk.  Although the walk was long and hot, we were glad to finally make it to the Ajuda area.

The Ajuda Botanical Garden is the oldest garden in Lisbon.   Around 10 years after the huge earthquake that devastated Lisbon in 1755, the king commissioned a naturalist to construct a garden near the royal residence.  He wanted to create a garden for his grandchildren, where they could play and learn about horticulture.   Over the years, they were able to collect around 5,000 different plant seeds from all over the world.

On Sunday (Aug 25th) we started off our visit observing (smelling, touching, looking) the herb plants from all over the world.  Although not all of the labels were in English, the map included allowed us to see at least where the plant originated.  Many times we could deduce the name of the herb, but other times we had fun guessing.

In the main portion of the gardens there again were plants from all over the world.  We were able to see some varieties of plants that were completely new to us.  We thought about Pop-pop during our visit because of his love for horticulture and his expertise with growing plants of his own.

These rose petal look-a-liks were similar to succulent leaves...almost cacti without any spikes.
It was really neat!

Me in an Amelie-and-Liam sandwich under a 400 year old Dragon Tree.

Liam has been very affectionate to all 3 members of his family.
He will randomly come up and hug or kiss and say, "Luv you," breath, "too."

Fountain of the 40 Spouts

Our walk through this area outside of Belem (Ajuda) was beautiful with steep slopes, color houses, and views of the Tagus River.

Clock Tower or Rooster Tower near Ajuda Palace which is now in the middle of a parking lot.

Ajuda Palace near the Botanical Gardens.  We did not tour the inside as the line was extremely long wrapping around the building.  We did walk in the open courtyard and there were 2 live small orchestras playing as people waited to enter.  We enjoyed the cool of the shade while listening before we continued our exploring of the area.

When you are hot and tired of walking, what is the cure?  ICE-CREAM!  :)

Not exactly sure what this building is, but it was really neat and we happened upon it on our walk towards the train.