LaurieAnnie's photos with the keyword: cactus

Villa Bonanno is situated behind the Palazzo dei Normanni and is one of the most beautiful public gardens in Palermo. In 1905 the city planted palm trees in the garden, which has given it the look of a North African oasis. You can enter the gardens from the Piazza della Vittoria and as you walk around take note of the roof which covers the ruins of three ancient Roman houses; these are the only artifacts of its kind left in Palermo. This park joins the Piazza del Parlamento which has a huge statue of Philip V of the House of Bourbon. Text from: www.travel-library.com/shortbreaks/europe/italy/palermo/

This garden belongs to a house on "The Strand" in Manhattan Beach, California. Homes on "The Strand" have front-yard views of the beach, and are marvelous to behold. Each one is different, with its own character and charm. It's no wonder that Manhattan Beach boasts many sports stars and actors who have homes here, from Tiger Woods, Michelle Kwan, and Maria Sharapova to Owen Wilson and Pat Sajak.

The Huntington is a research and educational center set amidst 120 acres of breathtaking gardens. Three art galleries and a library showcase magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts, and decorative arts. The botanical collection features over 14,000 different species of plants. A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington was founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate developer Henry Edwards Huntington and opened to the public in 1928. Highlights of the collection include the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c.1410), a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455), Thomas Gainsborough's masterpiece The Blue Boy (c. 1770), Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie (1794), Edward Hopper's The Long Leg, Rogier van der Weyden's Madonna and Child (15th century), the spectacular 12-acre desert garden, the serenely beautiful Japanese garden, the camellia gardens, and much more. English tea in the Rose Garden Tea Room is a popular highlight to a day spent enjoying the cultural treasures of The Huntington. text from: www.huntington.org/Information/HEHGeneral.html For more information about the gardens of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California: www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/HEHBotanicalHome.html

The Huntington is a research and educational center set amidst 120 acres of breathtaking gardens. Three art galleries and a library showcase magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts, and decorative arts. The botanical collection features over 14,000 different species of plants. A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington was founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate developer Henry Edwards Huntington and opened to the public in 1928. Highlights of the collection include the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c.1410), a Gutenberg Bible (c.1455), Thomas Gainsborough's masterpiece The Blue Boy (c. 1770), Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie (1794), Edward Hopper's The Long Leg, Rogier van der Weyden's Madonna and Child (15th century), the spectacular 12-acre desert garden, the serenely beautiful Japanese garden, the camellia gardens, and much more. English tea in the Rose Garden Tea Room is a popular highlight to a day spent enjoying the cultural treasures of The Huntington. text from: www.huntington.org/Information/HEHGeneral.html For more information about the gardens of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California: www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/HEHBotanicalHome.html

Selinunte is an ancient Greek archaeological site in the south province of Trapani, in the island of Sicily. Selinunte is the modern Italian name for the ancient Selinus. The archaeological site contains five temples centered on an acropolis. Of the five temples, only temple E, the so-called "Temple of Hera" has been re-erected. According to the Athenian historian Thucydides, Selinus was founded by people from Megara Hyblaea, a city on the east coast of Sicily, in the 7th century BC. The city had a very short life (about 200 years). During this time its population grew to a total of about 25,000. A wealthy trade center, Selinus was envied by the Carthaginians. Selinus had an almost permanent conflict with Segesta, which allied itself with Athens. However, the Athenians were defeated by the Syracusans, and Segesta now asked help from Carthage. Diodorus Siculus tells that the Carthaginian commander Hannibal (not to be confused with his more famous namesake), in 409 BC destroyed Selinus after a war that counted about 16,000 deaths and 5,000 prisoners. The city was besieged for nine days by an army of 100,000 Carthaginians. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selinunte

Taormina is a town on the island of Sicily in Italy, and in ancient times was a Greek colony (Tauromenium), dating from about 400 BC, which submitted to Roman authority in 212 BC during the Second Punic War. Taormina is in the Province of Messina, together with the beautiful Aeolian Islands and the ancient city of Milazzo. It can be reached via highways (autostradas) from Messina to the North and Catania to the South. Taormina has been a very popular destination with tourists since the 19th century. It has beautiful beaches (accessible via a Funicular) by the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. Taormina is built on an extremely hilly coast, and is approximately a forty-five minute drive away from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taormina