Outside looking in
The Old City of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia is very old.
Dating back to the 7th century, it has been built and re-built over hundreds of years.
It has a wide variety of churches and other buildings —
Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque.
The restored roof tiles look good
Against the old stone.
The city walls were built in the 14th and 15th centuries
And encircle what is now the ‘modern’ city of Dubrovnik.
About 42,000 people live in those old houses and flats!
For more old perspectives, please go to: Our World.
Fairytale Palace
The small bus chugs up the winding roads of Sintra —
And then after a steep uphill climb on foot,
You gasp when you finally glimpse the fairytale outline
Of Pena Palace:
A beautiful example of 19th century
Portuguese Romanticism.
Gorgeous tiles and lemon walls
Are a breathtaking reminder
Of how amazing the human imagination
Coupled with architecture can be.
For more incredible sights, please visit: Our World.
Feast for the eyes
Walking through Lisbon is a delicious feast for the eyes.
Wherever you look, there are tiles and mosaics
And beautifully decorated shop fronts
Like this one – it’s the oldest cod cake shop in Lisbon.
And the colour — so warm and delicious
Like this lemon sorbet building;
Or deliciously purple
And happy.
Even the faded old grand buildings near the harbour
Glitter with the gold of the setting sun
And transform into beauty.
For more colourful sights, please visit: Our World.
Quintessentially thatched
There is something so
Quintessentially English about old thatched cottages.
Most of the buildings with thatch
Pre-date the 1800s and a good thatched roof
Can last up to fifty years.
Looks as if this cottage needs a new roof though!
The new Globe Theatre
(A modern reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe)
Is the only building in London with a thatched roof.
However, I prefer my thatched buildings
Slumbering among wildflowers, don’t you?
For more quaintness, please visit: Our World.
The walled town
Óbidos in Portugal is famous for being
A perfectly preserved walled settlement.
The castle and its walls date back
To Roman times
But as you walk the narrow and steep cobbled streets,
You meet all kinds of buildings ranging from Gothic
To Renaissance and Baroque standing shoulder to shoulder.
The city gate is a gorgeous
Blue tiled balcony.
The town was very much geared for tourism
So my favourite parts of it
Were the secret alleys,
The quirky old stone houses
And far-away glimpses
Of purple splashes against old tiled roofs.
For more historic sights, please visit: Our World.
Greeting the light
One of the things I love most about photography
Is trying to capture the light.
It’s much easier to do
When you visit a magnificent cathedral
Like Notre Dame in Paris.
You don’t have to be religious
To have your breath taken away by the interior
And the simple yet beautiful ceiling.
I love the way the stained glass windows
Create rainbows of light on an old wall in the cathedral.
The play of shadow makes the sculptures
Look like real people.
Back outside again, I’m surprised by a shadow
Of what appears to be an alien.
I have to look twice to see
That it’s the shadow of an eagle!
For more light-filled shots, please visit: Our World.
Inside look at Gothic Revival
Many of you wanted to see the inside of Lancing College Chapel (from my previous post) — so here goes!
The chapel is very tall and narrow
With a lovely vaulted roof.
At the centre of the soaring pillars
Is the famous Rose Window,
Made out of more than 30,000 pieces of stained glass.
The hallway as you enter the chapel
Has a colourful roof
And a more modern stained glass window
That was dedicated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2007
In honour of a Bishop, who was a former Lancing College pupil.
I can’t let you go without showing you
The beautiful warm stone of the chapel
In the lovely green setting of the South Downs.
For more interiors, please visit: Our World.
Gothic revival
Nestled in the green hills of the South Downs in England
Is a magnificent example of a Gothic Revival church: Lancing College Chapel.
Its spires soar up into the sky, giving me vertigo
And reminding me of Hogwarts College.
It is the largest school chapel in the world
And a well-known landmark in Sussex.
Even though it’s only 100 years old,
It’s due for a cleaning.
Can you see the mossy windows?
All in all, it’s a stunning piece of architecture.
For more great posts, please visit: Our World.
Iconic Venice
Whether it’s a lovely morning
And you’re a humble seagull —
Or whether the sun is setting
In purple shades of satin
And you’re a tourist —
We can all agree on one thing:
Venice is beautiful!
For more amazing skies, please visit: Skywatch.
The Fish Church
The Fish Church – or Feskekôrka –
Is one of the quirky sights you can visit in Gothenburg.
It’s actually a fish market (built in 1874)
That resembles a Gothic Church.
The reclining benches in front of the market
Are an excellent place
On which to rest
And drink in a summer sunset.
For more quirky sights, please visit: Our World.
Who says what?