I must say, I have an awesome boyfriend. He is game to letting our dates be items on my list so that I can complete my list by next year. That means, whether he really wants to or not, he lets me drag him along to my choice of places. A week ago Sunday, the place of choice was the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland. I had heard good things about this place (although a few people have told me that the Japanese Garden is better- someday I will have to see and make my own decision). Aaron and I were pleasantly surprised by how much they are able to get into one city block, and yet it feels so spacious within the walls of the garden. There is something to be said for the thoughtfulness that goes into the planning of these types of things, especially the way that the Chinese view space and look at creating spaces that create a sense of peace, tranquility and order. I loved all of the water and rock formations with plants tastefully situated within each space. It doesn't seem to matter how many waterfalls I see or how impressive they are, I still love watching water flow. We also had a blast watching the gigantic Koi swim around in the pond. My mother told us that if we were to take a tour we needed to be the smarty pants of the group and told us that if they asked what camellia sinensis was we were supposed to know.
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| Mom, we found the tea plant! |
Well, we didn't take a tour, but we did find the camellia sinensis plant and we were both able to look at each other and state..."there is the tea plant!" After enjoying the garden and different buildings with art (we did watch a man doing traditional Chinese brush painting) we took some afternoon tea at the tea house, listening to traditional live Chinese music. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon- nice and relaxing with no worries or need to hurry. I must say, I love summer time when life is so much more stress-free.
Not much more to say, but a few pictures to express the beauty and tranquility of this Portland gem.
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I love the fact that this tranquil garden is settled
among the skyscrapers of Portland (as seen above)
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| Watching the Koi from the bridge. |
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