Through the Lattice Window

A recent discussion with a friend made me realise that in addition to Gargoyles and Grotesques, there is another thing I have a tendency to take photos of when touring old cities and old buildings. That of a landscape through a window, but with elements of the window incorporated into the shot. Sometimes it's unavoidable as the lattice is so small it's difficult to capture the whole view without getting some of the window into the shot. On other occasions though it adds a reminder of the location of the photo, making it more than just a landscape shot from a higher viewpoint. Instead it adds an element of the building, drawing the inside out, as opposed to the outside in. 

So here are just a few, some with lattice windows, some without the glass at all. 

From the Castel Sant'Angelo towards St Peter's, Rome, Italy

Looking in to the Bath Assembly Rooms, UK

The grounds of Fontainebleu, France

18th Century Embroidery

On my latest trip to Europe I was fortunate enough to find a couple of museums with historical fashions on the floor.

Usually historical fashions are few and far between particularly as for every few months on display they are ideally required to spend a few years in deep storage to counterbalance the impact of the light and heat on the delicate fabrics. As a result, some museums are only open when they have a temporary exhibition on.

Other historical fashion collections are not even given their own museum, but are discretely incorporated into cultural or 'time period' museums with little or no external reference even to the existence of the collection within.

On this trip I had discovered a few small references to these collections which ensured my determination to see them. I was not expecting them to cover the same field. The first exhibition was Fashion Unframed at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and the second part of the permanent exhibition at Palazzo Mocenigo, Venice.

Delphi - Sanctuary of the Oracle

The following morning we headed to the ancient sanctuary of Delphi where again, there was a museum and the archaeological site.
However before we got to anything historic we may have been distracted slightly by firstly, the view from the hotel balcony, and secondly, the cats at Delphi.

 

Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games

Whilst in Athens we'd visited the stadium of the first modern Olympic Games, but today, our port of call was Olympia, home of the ancient Olympic Games.

Into the Peloponnese - Mycenae and Epidauros

Having appreciated Ancient Corinth and the sunshine, we jumped back on the bus for a quick lunch stop and then on to Mycenae. 

Mycenae was one of the places I grew up knowing about not only from its connection with the Trojan War, but also from an archaeological series we had a home, and as a result it was one of those places I was keen to visit. Delightfully the road we took in was such that it was hidden from view until we were near, and then it only looked like an old fortress that had been reduced to a little more than a pile of rubble. Having seen aerial views of the town I knew what it contained (not that I was the only one).

Our first stop was the Tomb of Agamemnon, otherwise known as the Treasury of Atreus. This is a huge beehive tomb with the appearance of being buried into the hill. It is impressive, easily the most impressive tomb in the area and probably was the tomb of a great king of the royal family of Mycenae.

Into the Peloponnese - Corinth

Having been woken at some ungodly hour, we were on the bus and heading out of Athens at an hour I'm usually just contemplating getting up, so it felt like a less than perfect start to the day. However as it was supposed to be a day packed full of Ancient monuments, I didn't mind. Having followed the coast south-east the precious afternoon to get to Cape Sounio, we now headed north-west along the coast in the direction of Corinth. First stop was the Corinth Canal, a a thin deep cut through the isthmus connecting the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf and saving cargo ships the hassle and expense of circling the Peloponnese in order to reach Athens.

Ancient Athens and Cape Sounio

I'm visiting Greece by Tour, simply because I don't feel comfortable doing it my myself and driving myself around the countryside (I have no experience driving in Europe and this is probably not the best way to start). Having arrived a few days early to catch up with a friend, the tour started properly on Saturday morning with Athens.

The heart of Athens is a delightful place, worth wandering around on foot, enjoying the food, the ancient monuments that seem to be everywhere, the touristy shops... The tour did not give us this opportunity as we were on a tight deadline which is almost a pity as there is so much history to immerse one's self into.

San Marco and surrounds - Venice

Still being unsatisfied with my impressions of Venice (they just weren't matching up with external images of Venice) I decided that the best way to get from my hotel near the Piazzale Roma to San Marco Square was by the vaparetto, the water bus, and on a route that went straight down the Grand Canal (actually it zigzags from bank to bank, but you get the picture).

Controlled attempt at getting lost - Venice

On the ferry back from Burano I got talking to an old Italian who told me that to appreciate Venice you have to get lost in the streets. While I can understand the sentiment, a) most of the streets I've discovered thus far are not interesting enough to want to get lost in them, and b) I don't like the idea of giving up that level of control.

 

As a result, though I tried to explore the south island I don't think I was all that successful. It may have been that it was still rather early, but it's as likely that I was not wandering along the beaten path and so the streets simply weren't catering for tourists.

Murano and Burano - Venice

Venice is a very small island sinking into the lagoon off the coast of mainland Italy.
Murano is a smaller island in the same lagoon famed for its Glass production. 

Burano is an even smaller island again famed for its Lace.

They are accessible by vaparetto, the water buses that speed you along the canals and out into the open lagoon.

Ca d'Oro & Palazzo Mocenigo - Venice

I arrived in Venice at 10 am having left Barcelona at the slightly unseasonably hour of 7:30 am. Being unable to check in until the afternoon, and not wishing to waste a day, I dumped my luggage and went in search of sights and information.

One of the things I wanted to do during my stay was make a day trip to Murano and Burano and I also wanted to see if there were any museums/things worth seeing that I had not yet discovered in my cursory search of Tripadvisor and Wikipedia. As a result. the information centre was my first stop. It was not as useful as I'd hoped though, which was perhaps a good thing as I'd already discovered enough things to keep my days filled.

Perfume and Palau de la Musica Catalana - Barcelona

I almost completely forgot to write up this day, which seems crazy as it was a delightful day visiting a Perfume bottle museum and the Palau de la Musica Catalana.

Markets and (Shitty) Museums - Barcelona

Our plan had been to get to the food market first thing in the morning, in time for morning tea. That didn't quite happen as anticipated. Our first stop on the Ramblas had been the tourist information centre to find out about tickets to the Palau Musica. The woman there had advised us to book the tickets in advance, something which could only be done at the Palau itself. As we had a very specific day on which we wanted to see it, this made it advisable to head there directly so we didn't miss out (tickets to the towers of the Sagrada Familia were already sold out).

However, along the way we stumbled upon an antique market something Mum and I are more than happy to have a rummage though. It was a knicky-knack kind of market with lots of jewellery of varying ages, and I noticed (because it is an interest) lots of dressing room pieces; pince-nez and spectacles, tortoise shell combs and little cases and a considerable amount of Ivory. I had a field day and could easily have spent longer time and more money there after a good rummage.

Also on route was the Roman Necropolis, once considered beyond the other walls of the Roman city Barcino, but now well within the heart of town. It was rather sweet, a city square with a view down to the Roman level where a little garden path led between two rows of tombs.

Modernisme in Barcelona: Hospital Sant Pau and Park Guell

Our day of travel from Seville to Barcelona was not the best of days, with problems with our initial connection, difficulty getting our bearings on the map, walking to the wrong address (thankfully only a block from the real address) and experiencing problems paying for the accommodation. As a result, once we had settled in, we decided on the simplest of tasks for the remainder of the afternoon.

Our apartment was located within walking distance of the Sagrada Familia (and spitting distance of Hospital Sant Pau) and so we wandered down the Avenue de Gaudi in search of the tourist bureau. There were a few things we needed to know;
a) what would be open on January 1 what with it being a religious holiday?
b) would any other days during our stay be affected?
c) what is the best way to buy tickets for the Sagrada Familia given we wanted them for a different day?

As it was dusk, we got to see the building in day light and at night and so were fortunate enough to send messages to family and friends commiserating our proximity to this unfinished monstrosity.

Being within spitting distance of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, having just read about it in the plane magazine and knowing it hadn't been open when my Aunt and Uncle had visited Barcelona last, we decided that the following morning, this had to be our first stop.

I'd stumbled upon it on my initial reconnaissance of the area and a glimpse of the facade was enough to decide it was worth doing first and foremost while we still decided what to spend the rest of our days seeing.

Granada -- Views from the Miradors

All day Friday was spent traveling. We awoke at 04:00 to catch a 07:30 flight to Malaga, only to arrive at the airport to be told that our flight had been delayed until 09:00. With departure time fluctuating to as late as 9:30, we finally left at about 08:45. It seems the intended pilot had taken ill and so they’d had to fly a new one in from Italy.

This meant that we arrived in Malaga only an hour before Mum and Dad and so were able to catch the bus to Granada together. Arrived in Granada at 6pm-ish to the sun still shining which made a delightful change from the 4pm sunsets of Germany. Having lugged our wheelie luggage up several long and winding cobble stone stairs we found our apartment, unpacked, and headed back down the cobblestone streets in search of a dinner of Tapas.

Granada is very much the city of the Pomegranate. They are drawn into the cobbled streets, form the street bollards and adorn every street sign at least.

 

 

In fact, the pomegranate in Spanish is actually called the Granada (something I learned a few days later as I tried to explain the shock of their absence from a particular room I was viewing).

The following afternoon we hit the town. As Tegan and Andy had only just commenced holidays (and lost previous precious weekends to visiting us in Munich and Cologne) they needed sleep, while the rest of us settled in, did some emailing/blogging and washing.

Being situated half way up a hill we decided to keep climbing up and check out the views of the Alhambra from Mirador San Nicolas. Not one for taking a direct route, we just started climbing up the hill stopping when we came to a terraced garden/sqauare. From there, views one way were to the Alhambra with a very inconvenient roof in the way and the other way, hinted at an old city wall and a view point beyond.

 

With some resistance (because it meant going down when our ultimate destination was still up), we followed the wall round, before slipping though a gateway in the ancient wall to find a food market, complete with (unfriendly) pussy cat.

The second view point, from Mirador de San Cristobal directed us not only at the Alhambra but also across the old fortifications of the city (Murallas del Albaicin).

Heading back into the old quarters (the Albaicin) we wandered around the hill top, finding all the churches closed for the midday siesta. This part of the city is the Albayazin, an old part of town where it seems the Christians hid out when the Moors were in control, and where the Moors hid when the Christians were in control.

At the next lookout point, Mirador de San Nicolas there was the remains of a deconsecrated church dedicated to St Nick. This church was little more than a shell having been burnt several times, but the community was interested in restoring it to its former glory.

It was while we were here that Andy discovered Icecream which meant the rest of us decided we too needed Icecream, though we didn’t perhaps need to strike dramatic poses against the sun lit wall.


Going for something unusual and having already noticed the recipe on the wall, I chose Date blossom honey icecream, a creamy concoction with a decidedly blossom taste (orange blossom would probably work as well) and the occasional strong honey taste, with pieces of dates throughout.

We then meandered down to the river through more winding streets, past more pussy cats to take up another opportunity to sit in the sunshine at the foot of the Alhambra, this time with a beer and plate of chorizo.

Having re-energised we wandered back into town, via guys blowing bubbles which small children immediately popped, to the Royal Chapel and Cathedral.

 

Typically, there were no photos allowed within either so I had to take written notes and resort to the internet and bought postcards to illustrate them for you.

The royal chapel is ridiculously ornate, but it is the final resting place of Ferdinand and Isabella and as the city seems to be somewhat devoted to them it is perhaps understandable. Though connected to the Cathedral through a big wooden door, it is classed as a separate attraction, therefore with a separate entrance fee.

 

Between a painted wrought iron gate and the gilded high altar, centred in the middle of the floor are the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella and their daughter (and successor) Juana with her husband Felipe and their nephew Miguel who died age two.  


Unlike most churches, the Cathedral is not a cruciform in shape. Instead it appears to be more square, with five vaulted aisles (each one roughly the same width) making up the width of the church. These are supposed on rows of columns. On each side of the central aisle, between the pillars closest to the altar were the massive church organs encased in gilded boxes with the pipes not only extending upwards towards the heavens but also outwards over the heads of the congregations.

Excluding the side chapels, the main body of the church was white, with a little bit of gilding on the organs as we neared the altar.

However when you got to the Altar the ratio was completely reversed; though there was still no colour, the amount of gilding had increased 100 fold resulting in very little white being visible at all. Only the ceiling of the dome was coloured, blue with gild stars. It really was an dramatic sight.

After visiting the Cathedral we wandered around that part of the city, enjoying the evening light (as opposed to sunsets at 16:00) before heading back to our apartment and then re-emerging to  grab a bite to eat.

*If you want to see pictures of the posing and food of the day, I suggest heading to Tegan's post instead.