I wanted to pick out the highlights of my Monday’s Travel Photos posts in 2012 but rather than choose my own favourites, always a difficult task, I asked Relationnel to tell me which of my Monday’s travel photos he preferred month by month. These, of course, are not the places I went to in 2012, but taken from various holidays over the last few years. Which is your favourite? Or is there a photo you remember from another post that you prefer?
Lake Annecy, FranceTivoli Gardens, Italy
Burano Island, Italy
The Dancing House, Prague
Orvieto Cathedral, Italy
Hofkirche, Innsbruck, AustriaSaint PetersburgSaint Paul de Vence, FranceThe Sphinx and the Pyramid of Kheph, EgyptBrisbane, Australia
Fellow Australian Susan from Days in the Claise, who also lives in the Loire Valley, but in the southern part of Touraine, has done a series of posts on Chambord Castle recently. We cycled there several times this summer, you may remember, but didn’t visit the inside. I didn’t think there was much beside the famous double revolution staircase. Intrigued by Susan’s posts, however, I decided to visit as soon as possible. A visit from Australian friend Kathy Standford from Femmes Francophiles and her husband yesterday was the perfect excuse.
Château de Chambord after a summer downpour
All the photos below are all taken from the rooftops, which must be one of the most stunning examples of architecture I’ve ever seen. François I was only 25 when he commissioned the château in 1519. Unfortunately, despite the 2000 workmen, it wasn’t completed in his lifetime and he only stayed there for 72 days out of his 32 years on the throne! He used it as a hunting lodge of course and it was not furnished – he used to travel around with everything he could possible need – including the kitchen sink. But his son, Henri II, and Louis XIV, who also loved hunting, turned it into the château we know today.
Renaissance staircase seen from the rooftopsMiddle tower over the famous double Revolution staircaseThe downpipe is nearly identical to the ones in the Tuileries Gardens!The different roofs all fit together in the most intricate wayAnother elaborate detail
In the last two editions of my Monday’s travel photos, I’ve posted photos of Roman fountains and Roman ruins. But Rome is not just a tourist venue of course. These are just a few photos showing the life of the people who live there all the time – the Romans! Starting with the market …
Childen sheltering from the sun under the pasta stall at Piazza Campa de’ Fiori marketPreparing artichokes at Piazza Campa de’ Fiori marketMarcella, one of the best-known figures at Piazza Campa de’ Fiori marketTypical highly colourful Roman tramSwiss guards in front of the Vatican, deep in conversationOne of the amazing shops selling religious garbFrance is not the only place they have strikes!Here you can buy slices of the best pizza in Rome, we were told.The entrance to the apartment building we stayed inA typical private altar
The most striking thing about the ruins in Rome is that they are part of the city, sometimes incorporated into more modern buildings such as churches and restaurants. One lot of ruins has even become a cat sanctuary! I’ve visited most of the more well-known ones with the exception of the Colisseum because it closes at “sundown”, though the definition of what sundown really is isn’t clear, and each time I’ve been too late!
The elusive Colosseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, and the largest ever built in the Roman EmpireThe white marble triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman ForumAnother view of the ColosseumThe Arch of Constantine, next to the Colosseum built to honour Constantine’s defeat of the pagan Maxentius.The Roman Forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings right in the centre of RomeThe Circus Maximus which could hold 250,000 spectators and was famous for its chariot races.The Pantheon, the best preserved monument of ancient Rome and originally a temple dedicated to the seven planetary gods.Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Mattini built inside the frigidarium of the Baths of Diocletian in the Piazza della Repubblica.Torre Argentina where Julius Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March in 44 B.C., now a cat sanctuary!
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The last time we went to London, it was August, but the weather was not brilliant, as usual. We stayed in Greenwich overlooking the Thames so most of my photos are understandably related to the river. The first time I went to London, in 1975, on my way to France, I adored it. It was like being on a Monopoly board or reading a Victorian novel. But then I went to live in Paris and London somehow lost its attraction. It has changed considerably since then and, except for the irrisistible Big Big, these photos reflect those changes.
Big Ben in all its fineryOnce the London Eye, now the EDF Energy London Eye
The London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, was officially called the British Airways London Eye and then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye. Since 20 January 2011, its official name is the EDF Energy London Eye following a three-year sponsorship deal. I didn’t go up, even if it looks exciting!
The Tower Bridge
Olivers Wharf in Wapping
Oliver’s Wharf was built in 1869-70 in the Tudor gothic style to handle general cargo and, more especially, tea. Bought by developers in 1972, it was converted into twenty-three very expensive luxury flats.
On the banks of the Thames near Tower BridgeDucks and tricycles share the Thames
We went to Rome in August when all the Romans flee the city, of course, to places like the Tivoli Gardens, because it’s too hot. The only way to survive was to get up early then go back to our air-conditioned apartment for a long siesta before venturing out again in the late afternoon. Not surprisingly, one of the greatest attractions were the fountains. Below are my favourites, some of which I can locate, others not. Maybe someone can fill in the missing information.
Let’s start with the Trevi Fountain!Fontana del Moro in Piazza NavonaFountain of the Naiads, Piazza della RepubblicaIl Babuino “The Baboon” in via del Babuino depicting a reclining Silenus, a character from Roman mythology, half-man,half-goat.An ivy-covered fountain on the way to Alfreddo’s!The basin looks suspiciously like a coffin!You have to put your finger under the lower spout to make the water spurt up through a hole higher up.A fountain in a lovely shady spotFountain and Temple of Hercules Victor in the Forum BoariumAnd here we have the bathtub fountain, but that’s not it’s real name!
Naples is not a popular destination with tourists. True, we did have to hurriedly get off a bus when Jean Michel realised his pockets were being searched, but he had taken adequate precautions so nothing was stolen. But apart from that, I felt perfectly safe and I really loved Naples. I particularly liked the ceramics in the beautiful cloisters of Santa Chiara and the amazing Nativity cribs in the Certosa museum which overlooks Naples. We went by train from Vico Equense on the Bay of Naples where we were staying, which saved us the hassle of parking. Black Cat has been there since and she really enjoyed it too.
Santa Chiara CloistersGuglia Dell Immacolata Obelisk in the Piazza Del GesuA shady upper gallery in NaplesA typical Napolitan streetConvitto Nazionale European School in NaplesStreet stalls on 5th avenue
Just one of the beautiful creches (presepe) for which Naples is famous, in the Certosa museumGalleria Umberto built in 1887-1891 as part of the renovation programmeThe mediaeval Castel Nuovo
We chose Viterbo as the centre of Etruscan art which I knew absolutely nothing about. The Etruscans lived in central Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. Their specialities were life-size figurative terracottasculpture (on sarcophagi or temples) and cast-bronze wall paintings and metal work (particularly engraved bronze mirrors). We found a wonderful B&B in an 18th century villa called “Villa Farinella” which I can highly recommend, and fanned out. Viterbo itself is quite delightful and has a lovely old mediaeval quarter.
Mediaeval quarter of ViterboAnother house in the mediaeval quarterFountain in the mediaeval quarterPalazzo dei PrioriInside the Palazzo di PrioriSan SilvestroPalazzo FarneseVilla Farinella
Paestum, which is about 85 K southeast of Naples, is the home of three major Greek temples dating from the first half of the 6th century B.C., two dedicated to Hera and one to Athena. We were there in early June 2010 and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It’s also known for its painted tombs and the museum near the temples contains frescoes, statues and earthware taken from the tombs. We also had an unforgettable meal in a somewhat non-descript restaurant nearby.
Temple of HeraTemple of AthenaTemple of AthenaSecond Temple of HeraArena at Paestum
When I was growing up in Townsville, North Queensland, which has a current population of 200,000 (80,000 back in those days), Brisbane, the State capital and my mother’s birthplace, which now has over 2 million people (600,000 in my childhood), was the “big smoke”. I found it confusing more than anything as I followed my mother, always a keen shopper, through the busy streets. It was not until Black Cat spent a year at the University of Queensland in 2006 that I could say I really visited it.
Today, I think it is a lovely and very dynamic city, with its own special atmosphere. I particularly like the south bank area along the Brisbane River right in the centre of the city.
Kurilpa solar-powered bridge in BrisbaneA bird’s eye view of Brisbane buses from the overpass to South BankA bougainvillea walkway on South BankStreets Beach, a unique, man-made swimming beach overlooking the Brisbane RiverGoodwill Bridge for pedestrians, cyclists and inline skaters
