High on a hill...

Salzburg, famous as Mozart's birthplace and setting for The Sound of Music.

The first picture is of the church of Sankt Sebastien on Linzer Gasse, a pleasant shopping street in the city.

Next is a view of Festung Hohensalzburg and views of the surrounding area taken from the castle.

The final shot  is of  Unterach am Attersee and the mountains along the eastern shore of the lake.

Walking around the city it was funny to see signs and t-shirts with the slogan "No Kangaroos", apparently because of the number of visitors who confuse Austria with Australia and think they will see kangaroos. Almost to silly to believe but it's true...

Evening on the Neckar

Today I have selected a few pictures from Heidelberg with views of the River Neckar, as you can see it was a beautiful evening and as the sun went down the lights in the city give it a magical quality.  It was ideal for an evening cruise or a pleasant walk along the  river banks. My evening ended in a small country inn with delicious rustic cooking... very nice!

Around Florence

So today will be the last from Florence for now, I have picked a couple of shots of the surrounding area to show how beautiful the countryside overlooking the city is.  I like the colours of the buildings and the tree lined slopes.

The other pictures are of the buildings around the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata in the heart of the old city. 

The courtyard in pictures 5 and 7 was inside La S.S. Annunziata di Firenze and was a real treasure. From the outside there was no indication of the beauty within.

In the far corner of the courtyard there was a small dark corridor and the 6th picture is of the ceiling. It was actually so dark inside that it wasn't possible to see any detail of the painting, thankfully my camera was able to pick it out, even handheld and without flash I was able to capture a really sharp image.

Looking at these pictures and others from my short stay I realise that there was so much more to see and of all the places I got to visit during my trip Florence is top of my list for places I would return to. I need to spend much more time exploring the city with its narrow streets, hidden courtyards, palaces, squares and gardens.  

Florence by Night

Following on from yesterday's post I have picked a number of images of Florence at night.

The first of today's pictures is of the Ponte Vecchio from the right bank of the Arno.  One of the things Italy is famous for is Gelato, I lost count of the number of times we heard "You gotta try the gelato!".  To be fair it was really good and it was while I was taking the shots of the bridge that we were eating probably the most expensive ice cream cone we've ever had.  Yummy!

Picture two shows the Cathedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore, the Campanile di Giotto and Basilica di Santa Maria Novella.

The third picture is of the Synagogue 

The next two pictures are again of the Cathedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (il Duomo) and the Campanile.

Apart from the bridge all of the pictures were taken from Piazzale Michaelangelo which overlooks the city on the opposite side of the river.  I hadn't intended to post the statue but it is a bronze replica of Michaelangelo's David and so I thought it fitting to share. 

Classical Florence

Florence is a really beautiful city with some classical architecture and today's pictures show some of the more recognisable sites.  Over the next few days I think I will post some shots of less well known spots and some images of the city at night, but for today you have il Duomo and Ponte Vecchio.  I think today  the fourth picture is my favourite as I like the narrow streets and the glimpse of the dome is quite special.

The Ponte Vecchio seemed to draw lots of visitors to the gold merchants and jewellers and it really is worth visiting.  My son and I re-enacted a scene from Assassin's Creed with me throwing a stone at him, and striking him on the face to enhance the experience.

Did you know that there is a "hidden" tunnel along the top of the bridge? It allowed the Medici access from one side of the river to the other without having to encounter the people of the city.  Originally the shops on the bridge housed butchers and other groceries but the Duke of Medici didn't like the smell so had them all evicted and insisted that the gold merchants move in and that is who is there today.

Attersee

The reflections in yesterday's blog seemed to go down well so I have picked some more lakes and mountains pictures for today. (If you didn't see yesterdays click on the link to have a look, you won't be disappointed).

These were taken in the evening light around the shores of Attersee in Upper Austria, north of Salzburg.  There were a number of lakes in this region, Attersee being the largest, and it was huge. It was beautifully calm though so provided some lovely reflections.

We also stopped off to skim stones and make a splash as you can see in pictures 3 and 4.

Schonwald im Schwarzwald

A few pictures today from the Black Forest.  These shots were taken on the shore of a small lake near Schonwald im Schwarzwald up in the mountains.  We had stopped to get something to eat but as it was out of season all the shops and cafes were closed for lunch. We tried to get some Black Forest Cake but there was none to be had but the alternatives were really good!

Unknown Model

While visiting Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice we stumbled across a professional photo shoot and so camera at the ready I joined in and snapped a few shots myself.

Although the sun was shining brightly there was a bit of a chill in the air so I felt sorry for the model who had to wrap up in a heavy overcoat between shots.  I hope you will agree that these are quite lovely images.

Gondolas

As you can see I have chosen a selection of pictures from Venice, mostly of gondola on the lagoon and the Grand canal, there are also a couple of shots of St Georges an island across the lagoon.  From the belfry on St Georges there are fantastic views of the city.

The last two pictures were taken from the Rialto bridge which was absolutely heaving, so after taking them I headed off to find some of the less busy areas and in the future I will share some pictures of the quieter backstreets and canals which are also really beautiful.

The eye of the beholder...

No this post is not about beauty or about great photos its an exercise in subjectivity.

The four pictures above were taken within a second or two using the continuous shooting mode on my camera.

I can see a different shape in each picture and I would like to see if other people see what I see.  So I am inviting comments below just put the number 1 to 4 and next to each say what you see, go on its a bit of fun...

Not the Hanging Gardens...

Another large helping of photos for today, these are from Powis Castle and gardens.  One of the main notable features of the gardens are the well manicured topiary. As you can see they are sculpted into fairly random shapes and they are impressive in scale and size.

At this time of year there is a good display of Magnolia and as can be seen in the last picture lots of grape hyacinth.  The cottage in the final picture can be rented as a holiday home, it looks like a lovely place but if you were staying there you would have to put up with the castle visitors during the day.  Of course in the evening after the visitors have gone you would have uninterrupted access to the gardens.

I really like the sixth picture looking out from the orangery, it was a cool place to rest for a while and I like the view.  I also like the shot of the arch and its' shadow, I can imagine how beautiful it will look later in the summer when it is in full bloom, perhaps I will go back to get some pictures then.