YAY!!! I'm going for the Tesselaar Tulip Festival 2011 later this month!! Checked the dates for the festival and it apparently starts on 15th September. According to the organisers, the tulips are blooming earlier than usual because August seemed warmer than usual. Do check it out - http://www.tulipfestival.com.au/.
Here are some of my favourite snapshots from last year's Tulip Festival.
Right...let's move back to the city. The other day, I decided to head to St Patrick's Cathedral (just because I felt like doing so), and on the way, I went to visit Aggie! And guess what she was up to? She decided to climb into the garden bed. Or maybe she was fascinated by the plants.
Early spring flowers were also starting to bloom in the kitchen garden.
On my way to St Patrick's, I headed to the neighbouring St Peter's Church (because the flowers were in full bloom and were really prominent), and spotted a bunch of mushrooms growing in the grass.
And not to mention - spring flowers! These are everywhere.
I'm actually glad I went to St Patrick's - the other times I went, the fountains were turned off and were totally dry. But the water was flowing ever so freely on the day I went. And there were 2 weddings held in the cathedral itself! Unfortunately I couldn't stalk the wedding procession because they didn't allow us to take pictures during the weddings. So I waited till the ceremonies were over before taking my fair share of pictures.
The fountains do bring life to the cathedral. When it was dry - it seemed as if everything was dead and unmoving. But with the fountains, everything seems to be more cheerful and active.
The natural lighting within the main cathedral hall is always gorgeous, and supplemented by various smaller lights around the windows and pillars.
And maybe that was what attracted me to the cathedral once again - the lighting.
The main entrance of the cathedral. It's usually closed, unless there's a wedding or something going on. We usually entered by the side doors.
And this is how the main hall looks from the entrance. Pretty impressive, but the distance isn't as bad as it seems. It is, no doubt, a massive hall, but it's definitely worth to walk around!
The main entrance which everyone uses to enter the main hall. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the massive window is actually the colourful stained-glass window seen in the previous pictures.
Went outside for a bit of fresh air...and the flowers around the cathedral were also pretty much in bloom! I didn't stay long though, and decided to go back in as it was starting to get chilly.
So I went back in for some warmth. People were lighting candles then, and offering prayers.
And it was starting to get dark by then, so there wasn't much natural lighting - just the small lights around the windows and the pillars.
And I had to rush off after that for dinner. It was a good trip nevertheless!