We adore green expanses of lawns, benches seated under the shade of old trees, fresh (and not-so-fresh) flower arrangements. We enjoy walking through cemeteries and always find a number of beautiful headstones or mausoleums (Pacific View Memorial Park is especially stunning). A simultaneous fascination with architecture, confrontation with death and intrigue in the stories of others leads us to look for plots elaborately decorated by family members—or to stop soberly in our tracks by a stone featuring a picture of a young person taken before his or her time. We're particularly fond of columbariums, those wall niches that resemble bookcases, housing urns full of ashes. Some have glass in front of them, behind which you can see poems, toys, watches and other small personal objects. An installation, if you will; a small snapshot of an entire life.
