Interior Details

 I recently visited Raby Castle with my mum, which was really nice. It is a wonderful medieval castle with a fascinating history. It was built in the 14th century (although the original battlements date back to the 11th Century), it was the scene of the plotting of the Rising in the North and a parliamentary stronghold during the Civil War. 

The castle was originally built by the Neville family however in 1569 it was forfeited to the Crown following the failure of the Rising in the North and since 1569 the castle has been owned by the Vane family the current owner being the 12th Lord Barnard.

While I am not great fan of the aristocracy it is nice to see such historic building preserved as they provide a fascinating insight to the past.

I have included a few shots from the interior of the castle.

Stark Contrast: Palace and Prison

 One of the genuine benefits of visiting a city like Venice in early spring is the relative absence of other tourists. It is a beautiful city with a fantastic heritage and it is no wonder that millions of people flock to see it. It is also no wonder that the locals, despite a dependency on the revenue from tourism find the hordes of people that swarm over the city during the summer months quite hard to bear.

By going in March it was possible to avoid the crowds and the queues and visiting the Doges Palace was so much more enjoyable as I was able to walk in without having to queue at all. I could also get lots of photos without having to wait ages for people to move out of the shot.

The interior of the palace was as grand as you would expect, it being the hub of the wealthiest and most powerful business and political centre in renaissance times. Rich wood panelling on the walls, marble floors, elaborate frescos, ornate staircases, archways and windows, and sculptures depicting opulence and plenty everywhere you look.

The palace was not so much a residence but a council chamber where the affairs of state were administered and justice meted out to those who would destabilise the empire. Locals were encouraged to denounce anyone who might pose a threat to stability (see the "letter box" in my last post).

After a court hearing in extravagant surroundings convicted prisoners were then taken across the Bridge of Sighs to the prison on the opposite side of the small canal. Conditions within the prison were dire and convicts would likely never see the light of day again.

The selection of images above highlight the stark contrast between palace and prison.

Palace Gardens

 In February 2020 I visited Vienna, it was my second time in the city and despite the cold it was still great to be there.

One place that I visited was Schonbrunn Palace and spent some time exploring the extensive grounds which are a public park and there is even a zoo.

The building itself is a rich warm yellow which obviously doesn't come across in the picture above but perhaps I will find some more images to share that will bring to colours to life. For this image however I have made a slight adjustment to the exposure and a given it a very slight tweak in curves (very much an experiment for me as I rarely go beyond the simplest of edits) to create what I think is a nice overall effect.

I was impressed by the long pergola and I would love to see it when the flowers are in full bloom but in the middle of the winter I think the beauty in the image comes from the structure itself and the perspective towards the archway at the end of the path. I did a creative edit of this image in 2020 and posted it under the title four square so if you felt inclined you could take a look at that too.

Florentine Sunset

 As I looked out of my window this evening there was a beautiful glow in the sky as the sun was setting out over the Irish Sea. I am so very lucky living on the west coast because I am treated to the most wonderful sunsets and today, after a week of grey cloudy skies it was  great to see the rich colours that I enjoy so much.

As I was thinking about that I recalled the sunset over Florence while I was there with my youngest son in 2018, it was so spectacular viewed from the Piazzale Michelangelo. There are millions of photos of the city from this spot given it is a favourite tourist destination and it is the perfect vantage point to view the city with the famous duomo of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Campanile di Giotto and of course the Ponte Vecchio spanning the River Arno. I have even shared some of these, or similar images in 2018 but today I was inspired to review them and edit them to really bring out the colours of the sunset.

I have also included a shot of a hillside with the old city walls enclosed by trees which have grown up as the wall has decayed.

I have wanted to return to the city because although I have been lucky enough to visit on two occasions I have never really spent enough time there to see everything I want to see. It is possible that I will go back in a few weeks as I will be traveling to Venice again and a day trip to Florence by train is definitely doable however nothing is certain at this stage. Wish me luck.

So Practical

 So a change of location today; here we are in Florence although you could only really tell that from the first image. It really is a beautiful city. Historically, so I am told, to become an architect it was necessary to go to Florence to study the architecture there. I guess I can claim to have added to the education of both of my sons who have gone on to pursue careers in architecture because I took each of them to Florence as part of our road trips in 2015 and 2018.

These pictures were captured on the second visit in 2018.

I really liked to ornamental scroll work of the bars on the windows. Not only are they very practical in that they provide security for the home, but they are very decorative  and also functional because the way they are shaped allows the windows to be opened and for blinds to be drawn out during the hottest part of the day to provide shade. 

In the first image there is a view along a small street with a glimpse of the famous Duomo in the heart of the old city.

The next three images are of the same corner bar, they each offer a different composition and I shared all three because I simply couldn't decide on just one. 

A Classical Interlude

 So this will be the last selection of images from Venice for a while, although I will be going back there in a few weeks time so no doubt I will have lots more from my next trip that I will eventually want to share with you. But before I move onto a different location I hope you  will enjoy this selection.

The first image is of a statue of the renaissance composer Balassandre Galuppi who was born on the island of Burano in 1706 and this statue stands in a Piazza named for him. He died in Venice in 1785 aged 78. If you click here you can listen to some of his piano sonatas while you read through the rest of this post and maybe have it on in the background while you do some work or surfing etc.

While Burano is famous for lace making its neighbouring island is famous for the production of glass. The second image shows one of the  any craftsmen who work in the workshops creating beautiful ornaments and glassware. An interesting fact is the sand used in glass production in Murano is imported from the region of France near to Fontainebleau as it has the right mineral qualities.

The other images are of scenes around Venice, including the Grand Canal as well as some of the smaller canals. These were all shot during the evening and the effect of the setting sun on the stonework is quite magical. As this light is reflected on the surface of the smaller canals, where there is less traffic and therefore it is calmer, lots of interesting patterns emerge.

I have been lucky enough to visit this city several times now (in Summer and Winter) and I am very excited to be returning, this time in spring when I hope that I will discover something new.

Colditz

 Colditz, a beautiful town in Saxony was a stop off point on the drive to Dresden on our 2018 road trip. Following a visit to the famous castle which stands above the town it was nice to relax and explore a little before setting off.

In the main square there was a fabulous bakery and café where we bought some delicious cakes and then we ate them sat by the fountain. It was just as well that we did because on the next stage of our trip which should have taken about an hour, allowing us plenty of time to find our hotel, explore Dresden and find a nice restaurant, actually took us almost 7 hours. There was a terrific storm but this unfortunately caused a landslide which blocked the motorway leaving us stuck for 6 hours. This was certainly an unexpected adventure and by the time we reached our hotel in Dresden everything was closed and we went to bed hungry but grateful for the delicious cake we had eaten earlier in the day.

Copenhagen - Art and Architecture

 I think I have shared the first of todays images before but the other two, I don't think so.

These are from Copenhagen in the summer of 2018 when I was on a road trip with my youngest son. We didn't really have too much time in Copenhagen and it is a city that I would love to go back to and explore some more. There is some fantastic modern architecture, like the Opera House which sits opposite the Amalienborg (Royal Residence) and Amaliehaven which is a small park on the waterfront. This is a lovely restful spot along the waterfront, in each corner of the garden is a bronze statue created by the Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. I thought they were really impressive as you can see from the two columns in the images above. 

Kings Dock, Port of Liverpool

 There is a nice contrast in these images of the historic architecture of the Albert Dock Warehouses (now the Merseyside Maritime Museum) and the modern architecture of the newer developments on the Strand showing how investment in Liverpool over recent years has helped improve the city centre and make it an attractive place to live, work or visit.

Even on a cold day this is a popular place for families to visit and explore Liverpool's rich history, to reflect on the positives and negatives and also to enjoy the sights and sounds of the waterfront.

Museum

 

As promised in my previous post here are some shots of the exterior of the Museum of Liverpool which is situated on Liverpool's waterfront alongside the 3 Graces (Port of Liverpool Building, Cunard Building and Liver Building) near the Pier Head which as well as the terminal for the famous Mersey ferries is also a thriving cruise terminal.

I know that not everyone loves this style of architecture and it certainly is a stark contrast to the classical styles of the old waterfront icons. However it is in my opinion quite a stunning building and from every angle it provides some great views. 

I love the way the old Port of Liverpool Building is reflected in the windows in the first image which also shows some of the other fine modern architecture at Mann Island which houses the offices of RIBA and the Open Eye Gallery. I have cropped the final image to highlight the angles of the buildings to show the way they interact with each other, as you move around the building the angles and your line of sight changes so you are always presented with a dramatic view.

Although the exterior of the building is very angular, on the water side of the museum there is a gentle curve to the exterior wall and this is reflected to some extent on the interior where the central stairway is a beautiful spiral. (I will likely share some images of that in one of my next blogs).