europe » Traverse Earth

Approaching the Shard, London

England, Europe, London, Travel 4 Responses »

Jan 152014

My arrival in London went as smoothly as is possible. We landed early, my bag arrived quickly and I stepped onto the Gatwick Express to Victoria as the doors closed. Upon reaching my hotel, my room was already available and I was able to be in bed by 8am. That’s pretty good after an overnight flight where I hadn’t slept.

I had plans to meet up with some friends at the Shard and go up to the viewing deck. I wasn’t exactly sure how to get there from London Bridge tube station and my directions were that it’s a huge building, I’d have to try to miss it.

As I came up the escalator I had a thought that I’d probably bump into Amy on the way, who could help me find it. I have no idea why I thought that, or why I thought it’d most likely be Amy.

I walked out and looked up for the building but all I saw was blue sky. Then, I heard someone say my name. I directed my gaze down and found that Amy was stood three feet in front of me. I’d walked out and promptly looked straight over her head. We set off walking and, when we rounded the corner to see this, we knew we were probably heading in the right direction.

Heineken Experience, Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Europe, Travel 1 Response »

Jan 082014

Here’s another shot of the inner workings of the original Heineken brewery.

Il Duomo, Florence, Italy

Europe, Italy, Travel 108 Responses »

Jan 072014

On my recent tour of Europe, I wasn’t particularly good at getting up early to take pictures. Partly because for most of the trip the weather wasn’t ideal but mainly because I tended to hang out way too late to even consider getting up early. Florence, on the other hand, inspired me. I couldn’t go there and not come away with some sunrise photos. So, I dragged my travel buddy up at the crack of dawn. We’d wander the empty streets of Florence before collecting our car to drive up to Pisa, down to Sienna, and back up to Florence.

The sunrise didn’t disappoint and I got this opportunity to take a super close up of Florence’s famous cathedral in front of blue sky and pink skies. Following this I bought two prosciutto on mini-croissant sandwiches for breakfast. It was a good start to the day.

The Clock Tower, Sighisoara, Romania

Europe, Romania, Travel 1,013 Responses »

Jan 032014

This is another one of my older photos taken with my Canon Rebel, I played around with the levels a bit before posting it here.

I remember there was a man sat to the left of me, just out of frame painting this scene and I kind of copied his composition exactly. I think it’s an interesting view of the tower with some of the typical buildings in the foreground. It’s a colourful place.

The clock tower was first built in the 14th century and had various additions over the years. The roof had to be rebuilt at one point after the town’s gunpowder supplied exploded. The small four corner turrets denote the act that the citadel had judicial autonomy and the right to decide on capital punishments.

Originally, the tower housed the town’s council but now it holds a museum. As you climb it you get to learn about the history of Sighisoara.

Blue Bicycle, Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Europe, Travel 23 Responses »

Jan 022014

In my house in Bermuda I have a giant print of one of my first photos, taken in Amsterdam about 7 years ago. It’s looking a little worn out and I keep thinking I’d like to replace it, but can’t decide on a photo. So, I decided I could replace it with an up to date picture of the same place. So, I found the spot. It wasn’t anywhere near where I thought it was but I stumbled upon it within an hour of arriving. Unfortunately, things have changed, there were loads of tables stacked up blocking my view.

I kept wandering and spotted this blue bike looking back towards the same canal junction that is up on my wall.

San Gimignano Alleyway

Europe, Italy, Travel 4 Responses »

Jan 012014

Happy New Year everyone.

Now that we’re through the holiday season I’ve decided to get back to trying to post a daily photograph. This is a shot I took on my September country hopping week and a half in Europe. I liked the laundry hanging out to dry and the vines in this small street in the beautiful little town of San Gimignano.

I’ll be heading off island again in 10 days for London and Rome, so hopefully will be posting some photos from that trip soon.

Inside La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Europe, Spain, Travel 3 Responses »

Oct 292013

This is the inside of Gaudi’s incomplete cathedral, La Sagrada Familia. It’s a weird structure that will only get weirder as they continue building it.The columns shape was inspired by trees, hence the branches at the top. It was pretty tricky to get this shot as tripods were not allowed.

Sighisoara Morning, Transylvania Romania

Europe, Romania, Travel 6 Responses »

Oct 282013

This is an old photo, taken with my old rebel, in Sighisoara, Romania very early in the morning just before sunrise. Sighisoara is a beautiful little medieval town in Transylvania. It’s known as the birthplace of the real life Dracula, Vlad the Impaler.

Firenze di Notte, Italia

Europe, Italy, Travel 1 Response »

Oct 052013

I haven’t posted a photo in a while as I’ve been preparing for some exams on Monday and Tuesday. It’s time for a break so I spent the evening processing one of the photos from my recent trip to Florence.

This was taken from Michelangelo Plaza overlooking the city. It was about half an hour after sunset and we’d made a quick drive back from the Chianti region to get here while there was still a bit of light about. It was so frantic that when we saw a deer next to the road in amongst the vineyards I, unfortunately, didn’t even think to stop and try to get a picture of it!

Still though, I think this night shot makes up for it. If you click on the image and blow it up you’ll be able to see the first stars streaking across the sky.

Climb Every Tower, San Gimignano

Europe, Italy, Travel 6 Responses »

Sep 262013

San Gimignano is an amazing little place. The town has successfully preserved fourteen medieval towers. These were built for defense and from the top, as you can see below, you could see people coming from miles around. They were built by wealthy families living there. Each time someone built a new tower, someone would begin plans to build a taller one. Apparently towers like this were common in Tuscany but most were lost to war, catastrophe or urban renewal.

I’ve been to San Gimignano a number of times. I remember visiting with my parents on a trip where I insisted on climbing to the top of anything we could climb and dragged them up more than one of the towers.

This time, one tower was enough. We were actually looking for lunch when I spotted a little doorway inviting you to climb to the top of the tower. It wasn’t the usual tower that tourists climb (the tallest one), it had actually been renovated to act as a vacation home. As we entered, I said we’d missed out on our chance to stay in one of these towers, thinking it would be amazing.

It wasn’t long before I changed my mind. Each floor was only big enough for one small room. So, we saw a sitting room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, another sitting room, a bedroom, another bathroom, and another kitchen on our way up. I was four flights of tiny spiral stairs in when I concluded that staying there would be absolute torture. Eventually, we burst through the roof into the sunlight, panting for air, and interrupted what appeared to be a romantic moment.

I set about taking photos from the tower. I actually liked being able to look up at the taller tower more than I think I would have enjoyed being up on it. It was full of tourists and after the happy couple descended, we had the place to ourselves. This photo is actually a panorama comprised of five photos to let me show you the whole scene. I actually wasn’t able to see down into the courtyard as the walls were so thick, but I edged my camera and tripod out as far as I could and let it peak over for me.

Once we returned to Earth we went to a little restaurant for a seriously garlic-heavy bruschetta while a man in a tailcoat with a bushy beard and sandals played the flute beautifully, before packing up, hopping on his bicycle and weaving away through the crowd.

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