Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Phoenix Vacation!

I had a wonderful time in Phoenix and thought I'd share a few photos with you. I could have taken so many more pictures but I restrained myself.

One evening we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens, the paths were edged with luminaries. They were so pretty! I didn't think to get a picture of the path edged with them. They didn't use paper sacks, they were in these plastic containers.

There was a glass sculpture display by renowned artist Dale Chihuly, these glass sculptures are displayed all over the world.

They also had a display inside a building. There were informational photos showing the artist blowing the glass and creating these sculptures.

This was my favorite of all of them, these red points just glowed! We went back to the garden later in the week but during the daytime, the sculptures are definitely at their finest  during dark.

I'm always intrigued by the sidewalks. This sidewalk is older than I am! You never see sidewalks this age in any of the northern states due to moisture, freezing and heaving. 

I wore sandals every day, of course the first thing we did was to get pedicures.

The Bougainvillea was in full bloom, aren't these flowers beautiful? I don't know if these bushes are available in any other colors, I have only ever seen them in red.

I tried to go for a long walk every day. Usually I walked down 3rd Avenue then walked along the canal. The houses along the canal have privacy fences, most of the fences have been painted. This parrot and butterfly were my favorites of all the paintings.


I didn't see the usual conifer Christmas trees on displays in public venues. They normally had a tree made of poinsettias. They were very elegant!

This is how they decorated the desert trees at the Botanical Garden. Blogger decided this picture needed to go at the end of my post even the photo was taken at the same time as the other pictures from the garden.

The Sunday I was in Phoenix, we attended a Christmas program at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church.  Later in the week we attended a Christmas Eve Service, there is a lot of talent in this church.

We also enjoyed a presentation of A Christmas Carol at a playhouse in Gilbert.

My two weeks in Arizona were fun, enjoyable and warm!

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, Stitch Sew & Show, Needle & Thread Thursday 

14 comments:

  1. Bougainvillea come in many colours..... The hardy old one is a bright mauve pink...... But there are while pinks Orange pink/white that's really pretty but not so vigorous growth....... Some are double flowers and some singles... .....

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  2. Love those lighted glass displays! I can't imagine how they travel!?! Fun wall paintings. Looks like it was a nice, warm getaway!

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  3. It is 13 degrees as I read this and see your sandals- I might be a little jealous. Bougainvillea comes in different colors. My mom used to have pinks and reds, which are my favorites. That poinsettia tree is gorgeous. ~Jeanne

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    1. The warm temp was in Phoenix. It's cold here in northern Indiana with wind chill below zero! The Bougainvillea is beautiful!

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  4. I was thinking we had been there and then remembered the gardens we saw were close to Tuscon. We will need to see the ones in Phoenix next time we are in that area. Always nice to get away from the northern winter for a little bit and relax and soak up the warmth.

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  5. Oh that looks amazing!! and pedicures first!! LOVE it!!!
    That pointsetta tree is really cool!!!

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  6. Beautiful pictures and so happy for you that you are traveling again and your daughter is happy and bright for 2022!

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  7. Oh those are such pretty photos! I love the glass sculptures, so unique. Looks like Phoenix was the place to be for the holidays. :)
    Thank you for sharing your vacation with everyone at To Do Tuesday!! :)

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  8. Love the Phoenix tour through your beautiful photos, Gretchen. Wonderful glass sculptures and the Macaw paiting .
    Here there are Bouganville in several colors: pink, purple, orange, yellow, white, and magenta. The poinsettias Christmas tree is cool.

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  9. Aren't the Chihuly installations wonderful? (I'd looked forward to seeing them at QuiltCon in February but it turns out I won't be able to go this time.) Glad you enjoyed time in the sunshine!

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  10. Phoenix is a great place to visit in the winter. The Desert Botanical Gardens are wonderful any time, but add Chihuly Glass sculptures! Wow! I love the bougainvillea too, but our son calls them “devil plant” . When he had a home there, he found them awful to maintain. So thorny!

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  11. What fun you had! Thanks for taking us on vacation with you. The photos are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss!

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  12. Thank you for sharing the photos of your visit to Arizona. I love Chihuly glass. I have never seen such beautiful glass sculptures like this in person. The poinsettia tree is so pretty! Our side walks break in the winter ice, too. We have snow on the ground and are in a deep freeze. It was nice to enjoy looking at these colors and warm places ... :) Pat

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