Barcelona days and night

Oh Spain, it's so good to be back in your arms, lost in your city of Barcelona without a purpose, except to absorb all of your beauty and sophistication. Your city wraps itself around me and I get disoriented by your flair. This love affair needs to stop...... Your filled with your rich history

and welcomed me with brick rainbows with your mountains smiling from beneath...

I was lost at first, in memories of times past, and didn't know which way to go, until you pointed me in new directionsand serenaded me with your secrets of the night.From the secrets that you hold in your plazasto mysterious sights. You lit my smile up and in turn you showed me new ways to see things..Like balconies lit from belowor presented me with this treasure created by Gaudi.

And then you showed me your version of Mediterranean gardens, while sheltering me from your hot sun
I took in the details.....But these were only the appetizer to my meal.The Barcelona Botanic Garden was the main course and I was in awe..

Teaching me the bizarre beauty of Xanthorrhoea glauca

or this arrangement with the intense orange blooms of

Aloe ferox,

and the yellow pom poms of an Acacia.

The Ceanothus arborescens hugged the city
just as much as the sky.

I learned to appreciate all of the different Mediterranean climates of the world, such as Australia, South Africa, Chile, California, North Africa and the Canary Islands.

But time doesn't stand still and my days are limited, so the city called me back.

The buildings are incredible

and you don't skimp on the intricate details or colors.

Leave it to you to make geraniums look so good.

You helped create and inspire good artists like Miro

Whose colors reflect your vibrancy.... And don't forget those street artists, who make me smile... My thoughts get fragmented and I don't know what to focus on when I am with you.
But Gaudi once again sets me straight

and shows me over and over

why he is amazing.

There is color and life everywhere, even if it is in the form of a statue

in the young

and the old, your people are like no other. Living life the way it should be lived.

And eating food the way it should be eaten, like your calcots, with which you have festivals to celebrate this delicacy.
The markets tease and tantalize my senses, my nose, my mouth,

and my eyes. You trip me out.and the inspiration and love for life pulses through my body,

and heart..

but sorry Barcelona, you shared this wonderful combination with me, but sad to say you have nothing on the tulip displays I am sure Holland is going to share with me...... Maybe it's time we took a break........ Until next time Spain......... xoxoxo

Israel, toda and shalom

Oh Israel, you have not been easy but I have come to respect and adore you. You didn't expose yourself immediatedly but waited to show me your treasures such as your wild tulips. 

Tulipa agenensisI was always in awe of your wonderful landscapes and with how breathtaking and different they were, the coast, the desert, the mountains and the Dead Sea.  How incredible they all are.

The tiny Adonis aestivalis, holding its own in the wild. Your plants are strong, just like your people.  I made some amazing friends there and appreciate and adore the bond we have created.

 Here is a native cactus in the Asclepidaceae family growing next to some rocks. I have had a hard time identifying you but you still try to keep your secrets.

 I adored these treasures that you keep hiding, like your little wild areas showing your white colored cliffs of limestone.

The desert landscape is something I have never encountered and am still in shock by how immense and incredible it can be.

And how you bathe yourself in sunlight, changing colors with each passing moment.

 The Dead Sea areas were fascinating and how plants have adaped to living in your wadis, with the view they constantly have of the Jordan mountains.  I am so jealous. 
The botanical name is Anastatica hierochuntica. Rose of Jericho.  This plant goes dormant for years if need be and once the rains come, it comes alive, slowly opening up all the way with hopes of blooming to set seed and continue on. 
Here you have an established plant community of them which was in decline for awhile but are starting to return.

I was able to see your desert broomrape in the desert come alive with it's yellow blooms.

Cistanche tubulosa, even though you are a parasite, your still wonderful to see.

The light shows you the subtle colors and tones of your plants, all surviving in such harsh conditions.  They make me feel so humble. 

I won't forget how tiny and humbled I was by your desert.
I'll miss your olive trees and your stunning natural landscapes with Chrysanthemum coronarium.

Alkanna tinctoria,  with your beautiful blue hues, waking up the countryside with your color.

Iris atropurpurea clump growing in the wild. Never did I think I would have this opportunity to see such amazing plants growing in their natural habitat.   Iris atropurpurea, dark and lovely.

Or to get the chance to see wild garlic,  such as Allium tel-avivense.

I was fortunate to see your spring wildflowers such as this field full of Chrysanthemum coronarium.

Thank you, Israel, for an amazing 6 months here, it wouldn't have been possible without the British Friends Scholarship at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.  I am very fortunate and happy to have received the scholarship.   It is sad to leave you but life and new experiences beckon me.  I leave you know to spend a week in England, a week in Spain, and then on to Holland. I'll miss you and the wonderful friends I have made there, but I promise you, I will be back......Now,  I will be studying on a private estate in Holland for the next few months...... I'll keep you posted....