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.All Trips / England / Europe
Rambling to the British Museum
After finishing our visit to the National Gallery in London, my brother and I still had about half the afternoon left so we decided to walk to the British Museum, less than a mile away.
It was a pleasant fall afternoon and we enjoyed the walk — so much so that we started exploring side roads so as to see more sights and extend our stroll. This was the kind of day where you avoid the Underground world of the Tube.
The famous Odeon Theater, London
The first part of our walk was through the theatre district, always a fun and colorful place to catch a play and always full of people. Many of these marquees are likely familiar to you. Street entertainers here are common …
Tagged British Museum, London, ramble, Theater District, walk
“Pic of the Week”, September 20, 2019: Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana
Dragons are an important historic symbol in Slovenia and, as such, one can see why Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana is so popular. It crosses the Ljubljana River and provides access to its famous Central Market.
The bridge contains four dragon statues, one at each of its four corners, which were beautifully crafted in Vienna. It was constructed between 1900 and 1901, a time of Art Nouveau, and was Ljubljana’s first reinforced concrete structure. It replaced an old wooden bridge, called Butchers’ Bridge, which had been on the site since 1819 and which was damaged by an earthquake in 1895.
The bridge is also decorated by lamps containing griffins at their base, which were originally powered by gas. When the bridge was completed, …
.All Trips / Europe / Italy
Doors of Milan’s Duomo
Construction of Milan’s great Cathedral (Duomo) began in the late 14th century and continued for half a millennium. One of the last details to be completed were the main central entry doors, which date to the late 1800s.
The church is lovely and its grand entry doors fit well with the overall opulence of the structure. They are often admired, but only rarely opened. These doors were crafted between 1894-1908 by Italian sculptor Ludovico Pogliaghi, themed on “stories from the life of Mary”. Here are some of the features and panels which caught my eye.
The doors are busy and it’s easy to overlook the many exquisitely detailed panels in it. including scenes of Jesus’ life and death, as well as those …
“Pic of the Week”, August 30, 2019: Milano Centrale Railway Station
Stazione Milano Centrale is the main station in Milan and has the most passenger traffic of any train station in Europe. It is large and very busy, connecting Milan with many of Italy and Europe’s great cities.
The station was officially inaugurated in 1931 to replace the older central station (built 1864). Its reconstruction coincided with Benito Mussolini becoming Prime Minister. Mussolini wanted the station to represent the might of Italy’s Fascist regime, so the architecture and details were tweeked to represent what’s now called “fascist architecture”. The architectural details are powerful but not very refined, and are present throughout the structure.
Although we used the station twice, I never managed to head outside (given the luggage we were totting), so I didn’t photograph the …
Aug 29, 2019
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.All Trips / Europe / Malta
The Palace State Rooms and Armoury, Valletta
One of Malta’s most popular tourist attractions is a combination ticket to the Presidential Palace’s State Rooms and its Armoury.
You enter the attraction through the palace’s courtyard, a lovely spot with typical Valletta balcony and lovely clock tower. After your stroll through the courtyard, you gain entry to the palace complex. Your initial stop is the:
State Rooms
The Presidential Palace in Valletta dates to 1566 and was built following the Great Siege of Malta. It has undergone subsequent remodeling and enlargement, but core elements of the original construction remain. During the country’s British period it served as the Governor’s Palace and was the seat of Malta’s first constitutional parliament in 1921. The Palace was significantly damaged during World War …
“Pic of the Week”, August 16, 2019: Fashion Week, Milan
Milan Fashion Week was founded in 1958 and is held twice a year– once in the spring, and once in fall. We were surprised to find ourselves in the middle of the fall show during our recent visit to the city, especially notable in the Brera and Duomo neighborhoods.
Fashion Week is a clothing trade show spread over multiple events and venues, including the stereotypical models on runways, models and their photographers on the streets, promotion of clothes and such. Fashion Week is run by a non-profit association which coordinates and promotes Italian Fashion, both male and female.
Milan’s is one of four important international Fashion Weeks, the others being held in Paris, London and New York.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right …
Aug 15, 2019
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.All Trips / Europe / Sl;ovenia / Slovenia
Signs of Slovenia
I like to share some of the signs I encounter during my travels. They are often entertaining, many being quite clever, and frequently reflect the local culture and customs in some way.
Here are some of the signs I saw in Slovenia. Many of the signs we encountered during our travels were in Slovenian and make little sense to me, so these aren’t included. But these photos are representative of what we saw, most originating in the capital of Ljubljana.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)
.All Trips / Car Culture / Europe / Italy
Great Cars along the Highway! Ferrari, near Venice
The Autostrada has excellent rest/food/gas stops placed at regular intervals, and it was at one of these stops close to Venice that we spotted this beautiful Ferrari. We were not the only ones to admire this lovely machine. A tour bus had pulled up beside it and seems like everyone was having their photo taken beside this car.
I don’t know enough about Ferraris to tell you with authority which model this is, although some research indicates it likely is a Ferrari F430 Challenge. Only 142 units were built between 2006 – 2010, so it is not only beautiful to look at but of rare vintage.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
Tagged Autostrada, Ferrari, Ferrari F430 Challenge
