Back to the cruise and I always take photos of fountains whenever I see them, although I have to admit that I don’t often have to reach for my camera when I’m in Scotland for that reason, as there is a paucity of fountains here. I have no idea why, maybe they’re seen as being more worry than they’re worth as they would have to be turned off and drained in bad winters. Below are some of the photos I took in Spain Portugal and France.
But there were quite a few around in various destinations on our cruise. The one above was in Porto and the one below is in Ferrol I believe.
They’re rich in fountains in Honfleur as they have at least three of them although the one below might be better described as a water feature as it is a very gentle movement, but quite mesmerising. They’re all very different.
There’s something joyous about a fountain and the only ones I can think of in Scotland are really old ones. There isn’t even one at the newish Scottish Parliament buildings, although there is water it is just standing water with no apparent reason for being there, a missed opportunity in my opinion.
What do you think, are fountains a frippery too far – or not?
I’m with you. I like fountains and waterfalls. Because I once lived in a house by a river and was flooded twice, I do not like the sound of running water anywhere near my house. But I find fountains and waterfalls soothing and exciting respectively. They’re lovely. More fountains, please!
Joan,
I think one of the attractions of fountains is that they are a controlled flow so there’s no danger of flooding!
Those are lovely. I like fountains when they are well done. there is a fountain in the courtyard of the university building where I work and it is horrible. It is basically like a fire hose shooting straight up in the air and when it is windy, which it frequently is, the thing blows all over the place. However there is a lovely delicate fountain in a reflecting pool at the local conservatory that I love sitting next to and listening to its music.
Stefanie,
That isn’t at all my idea of a fountain, and it sounds like it must be losing a lot of water too! The delicate fountain sounds like a delight though. I think you had a photo of a fountain years ago with turtles that had water coming from their mouths.
The Porto fountain is very beautiful I am on board with fountains! . The National World War II memorial in D.C. has a nice fountain display. In my area, there are a number of “play” fountains active during the summertime – parents bring their children in bathing suits who run around in them. This page has a picture of this kind of fountain – http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/things-do/play/
Christy,
Thanks for the info and link. That play fountain is the same sort of idea as the one in a London park that was built as a memorial to Princess Diana, but the water was drained from it after a very short time because a child slipped and fell in it! Health and safety gone mad.
I love fountains. We built a waterfall in our back yard. Running water is good feng shui.
Pearl,
We had a small water feature in our old garden, it looked and sounded lovely and the birds loved it but so far I haven’t got one in the new garden. I’ll take your word about the feng shui!
Ours came about from a random comment I made while visiting Yuyuan Gardens in Shanghai – “our back yard would be perfect for a waterfall like that…” (We live on a hillside.) About a week after we returned home, I came in from work to find a work crew digging and moving boulders around in the back yard and voila’ ! There it was.
Pearl,
That Bud of yours is definitely a keeper!
Amen!