la bella vita
A chronicle of my time spent travelling. Currently in the Melbourne. As a wise man once said "you're not in Indonesia, ya goose" (or something like that).
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Gardens of the Parliament of Catalonia
Barcelona, August 2012
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Frolicking Target: Acquired
Place de Catalunya, Barcelona
August 2012
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I Amsittinginthefountain
I found it funny.
It was a lovely warm day, hot in the sunshine, and there were plenty of people sitting around the edge of the fountain, but nobody in it, bar a few naked children. Well, I decided to climb in too!
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The child in front of the ‘I Amsterdam’ sign and the Rijksmuseum.
Yes, we did climb in the fountain.
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Place des Vosges
Paris, February 2012
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Le Tour Eiffel á patir de Palais de Challiot
Paris, February 2012
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Eglise Saint-Sulpice
Paris, February 2012
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Ms Mathews at Place de la Concorde
Paris, December 2011
December 29th 2011
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Place de la Concorde
Paris, December 2011
December 29th 2011
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Fontaine Saint-Michel
Paris, December 2011
December 28th 2011
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Jardin de Tuileries at Sunset
Paris, December 2011
December 29th 2011
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Jardin de Tuileries
Paris, December 2011
December 29th 2011
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Amelia in front of the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London
November 2011
I absolutely adore this photo, and the young lady in it! Couldn’t ask for a better friend.
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Trafalgar Square with St Martin-in-the-Fields in the background, London
November 2011
St Martin-in-the-Fields, a Protestant church, was designed by the Roman Catholic Scot James Gibbs. Whilst listed in various places as a ‘must see’ travel destination, I found the church itself to be rather bland - although it was very well maintained.
Gibbs’ earlier work at St Mary-le-Strand, one of the two ‘island’ churches in the middle of The Strand (opposite Somerset House and King’s College London) was a much more beautiful building, although apparently Gibbs was instructed to tone down the Italian and Roman Catholic architectural influences found in the Baroque St Mary when designing St Martin.
Unfortunately, St Mary-le-Strand is less famous than both St Martin and the other Strand ‘island’ church, St Clement Danes (featured in the song, ‘oranges and lemons and the bells of St Clements’). St Clement is the central church of the Royal Air Force, therefore receiving significant funds for upkeep from them. St Martin, due to its location, receives much tourist (and trust) monies. St Mary receives little, and so has somewhat of an unkept appearance.
I found this a shame, as it was by far the most pleasant of the three. The reverend there took the time to show me around, explain the history I paraphrase above, point out features of the architecture, and even insisted I play the grand piano and organ there. Just goes to show what one might discover if they stray off the tourist track.
*I unfortunately do not have an adequate photo of St Mary-le-Strand, although I will hopefully one day rectify this…
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View of the National Gallery from Trafalgar Square, London
November 2011
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