Magnolia Tree

Sometimes you think you've already seen the best of whatever there is to see of a certain thing, and then wham! you're presented with one just a bit more awesome, more glorious, more stupendous... 

That's the feeling I had when I spotted this magnolia tree at the end of a side street on one of my recent walks. I had seen many magnolias before, but this was definitely the largest, fullest specimen of its kind I recall ever laying my eyes on. It was taller than the two-floor house behind it, branching well above the tall wall that enclosed it. My heart sang.

Bucharest, 2011

One of the fun parts of blogging for me is researching a little about what I photograph and post here. I've learned, for instance, that the magnolia is an ancient flowering plant that evolved millions of years ago before bees and were pollinated by beetles, hence their tough leaves and carpels. There are more than 200 species of the Magnoliaceae plant family and they are found abundantly in warm climates from Asia and the Americas to the West Indies.

Linking with Today's Flower, Mosaic Monday and Macro Monday. The montage will enlarge if you click on it once, then once again.

[MyWorld] An Evening of Macau

Macau, a small peninsula on the west side of the Pearl River bordering Guangdong Province, became a colony of Portugal sometime in the 16th century. In 1999 it was handed back to China and, like Hong Kong, it is now a Special Administrative Region, meaning it has substantially kept the pre-handover laws and systems. Its main source of income is gambling and this year it raked in four times as much as Las Vegas. 

It was a bit of a jolt to realize that I have not been back to Macau since the handover. My hubby no longer has family in his home village not far over the border, and not being gamblers, we've not given any thought to going back -- until two weeks ago when I went to a special Macau marketing event and rediscovered that, beyond gambling, it could be an enjoyable place to spend a few days.  I'll let you know when I do.

But this post is about a fun evening of being wined and dined while shown the attractions of Macau. The event - which was a plug for corporate convention spaces - was well-organized, from the warm welcome to the interesting presentation (seen in my photo through a mirror), the live classical music played during dinner and the singers after. And in the Philippines, no affair would be complete without a raffle, and this night, the luckiest winners won a fully paid trip for two in their choice of one of two of the best hotels in Macau.

 

 

 

 

 Manila, 2010

And that is how I am entertained in my world. So this post I link with MyWorld Tuesday, where others also share their stories.