Garden D Lights- Bellevue Botanical Gardens

Seattle, more popularly known as the Emerald City for its greenery and precipitation, can be somewhat gloomy during the winter. Unlike summer, it would take a lot of hot coffee and several layers of clothing to budge outdoors for any kind of activity. Of course, there are plenty of options for skiing, snow tubing, ice skating and snowboarding.

Winter is the time for Christmas and New Year's Eve and lighting up the house for the festive joy. Watching Christmas lights in Seattle might be a huge effort, especially with the unpredictable weather. It is advisable to always be prepared for rain and mild snow.

The Garden d Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens is the perfect reason to get outdoors and keep a camera handy to click several photos. You would need to wear several layers of clothing to walk through the 53 acre lights display in the Botanical Gardens of Bellevue. There is no entrance fee but the visitors are welcome to donate one dollar to five dollars for the event as per their interest.

It is the best way to combat the gloomy winter and feel bright by looking at the amazing display of lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. This year, the lights display began from November 28^th 2009 and will continue to be displayed until January 2^nd, 2010. The Garden d Lights display is open to public from 5pm to 10pm every day, including weekends and holidays.

The Garden is charging $5 per person this year, children 10 and under are free. There are nine free nights. See www.gardendlights.org for details.

Paid parking is available inside the Bellevue Botanical gardens for around five dollars. Free parking spots can also be found just outside the garden entrance. Be prepared for crowds and busy traffic. It might be tough to find free parking unless you come over early or keep driving through to find an empty spot.

Pets are not allowed inside the garden for the event. Service pets however, are allowed. It might help to check if they require any permit for the same. Children ought to be supervised at all times in case they get out of sight. The lights display is outdoors and requires you to wear very warm clothes, gloves and caps at all times.

This year, Garden d Lights Bellevue Botanical gardens has a few more interesting displays. LEDs were used in order to reduce the power consumption. Several violet colored LEDs can be spotted in the garden. The well lit aquarium inside the café is another attraction at the Garden d Lights Bellevue Botanical gardens this year.

There are several critters in the lights display outdoors and the volunteers hand out pamphlets asking you to figure out the exact number you can spot. Interesting and colorful butterflies, peacocks, ducks, palm trees, vineyards, grapes can all be spotted at the Garden d Lights Bellevue Botanical gardens.

Those interested in photography can come fully equipped with their cameras, zoom lens, night shot settings. However, be prepared for the huge lines at each display as there are many people taking pictures to capture the memories.

On the whole, it is a nice experience and a good outdoor activity for the entire family, comprising of all age groups. The Garden d Lights Bellevue Botanical gardens seems to get bigger and better with each passing year. This year there are over half a million lights that one can enjoy, including a new Poinsettia Tree.