In old Persian pairi daiza means closed garden, an early reference to the idea of paradise. In today’s entry I’m taking you on a photographic escape into Pairi Daiza, a private 140-acre zoo/botanical garden in the Hainaut province of Belgium. This place was once a sanctuary of a different kind, a Cistercian abbey–Abbaye de Cambron to be exact:

In Part One of our visit, it’s all about the feathers…

Is there anything more magnificent than an eagle’s wingspan?

And what about this guy with the killer legwear (reminds me of the ornate McQueen feathered gowns)?

The best part about this place is some interaction that’s allowed between visitors and residents. After a few hours of wandering through paradise, I’m thinking it’s really not so odd to walk a pelican…

More to come in the next post, but it’s going to be pretty hard to beat petting something this velvety soft: