More from my summer in Europe - enchanting Siena

Siena was not originally on our schedule to visit this summer, but we ended up being able to squeeze it in one day. It's a laid back, charming Tuscan city with an amazing sense of history.

You can click on each image for a bigger version.


The famous Piazza Del Campo

You can read about Siena here.

Church of San Domenico on the hill.


I'd have to say the highlight of Siena for me was the interior of the Cathedral of Siena. I feel like if Tim Burton ever designed a cathedral interior, it would look like this. Black and white are the colors of the civic coat of arms of Siena, and the black and white stripes are really striking...

You can read about the Cathedral of Siena here


really cool, right?



I've seen A LOT of cathedrals and had never seen anything like this

There was also a room full of amazing painted manuscripts...which offer great pattern design inspiration...
What do you think? Has anyone here been to Siena? What did you think of the cathedral?

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy

So stay tuned for more Europe pics - next post will be featuring the one and only Venice!

Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who took these amazing photos.

My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy

Florence is a must-see if you're going to Italy. It's just so beautiful. I went there for a day in the winter after I graduated college, and wished I had had more time. This summer we stayed for two days so I got to see more of this charming city. While the weather was much nicer in the summer, in the winter it was a treat because there were very few tourists about. If you can somehow manage to go in the Fall or early Spring that would probably be your best bet.



The famous Ponte Vecchio. The bridge is pedestrian and lined with jewelers.

The architecture in Florence is stunning and an interesting mix...

Piazza della Signoria

From my winter trip

There is an popular open-air sculpture garden in the famous
Piazza della Signoria

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio - the most prominent building in Piazza della Signoria

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is unforgettable



The Baptistery of St. John boasts the famous bronze doors Michelangelo dubbed "The Gates of Paradise"


The beautiful Santa Maria Novella...

Anyone here been to Florence? What did you think?

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast

Not to miss - the fairy tale interior of the Sagrada Familia

Anyone who goes to Barcelona must see the notorious Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic church. Although incomplete, it is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here is a brief history

"Though construction of Sagrada Familia had commenced in 1882, Gaudi took over in 1883, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style — combining Gothic and curvilinear, Art Nouveau forms with ambitious structural columns and arches.

Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War — only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the mid-point in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026 — the centennial of Gaudí's death."

Go to the Sagrada Familia page on Wikipedia to read more about this amazing project.

I found the interior to be the most impressive and beautiful, so I'll start there


The columns represent trees - see how they branch out at the top? They're symbolize "protecting" the congregation. Many of the shapes throughout the cathedral are taken from nature, which I think adds to it's beauty.




The gorgeous ceiling




They've yet to add stained glass to some of the windows


They had a museum in the "basement" featuring models, original gargoyles that they've had to recast, information about Gaudi, etc.

This is one of the many architectural renderings they had on display in the cathedral

Three below are from the exterior

I liked the little details like these roses






Three exterior images above from the Sagrada Familia Wikipedia page.

I'm not sure what to make of the spires with fruit and corn on them...
via Webshots

Anyone here seen the cathedral?

More photos from beautiful Spain

I thought I'd share some more photos with everyone from my travels in Spain. It is rainy here today - which is rare, so it's nice to see the beautiful blue sky in these photos.

The first group of photos is from the historic city Avila. About Avila:

"Avila is well-known for the amazingly intact wall surrounding the city, for being the birthplace and home of Santa Teresa of Jesus (a devout Catholic nun famous for writing poems dedicated to Jesus to in which she expressed her devotion to Him) and for sweetmeats made by local nuns and sold in small shops throughout the city. Especially 'yemas' made with egg yolks and sugar." via Guide to Avila

The walls have been amazingly resorted, and are, "One of the finest remnants of Europe's medieval era, the walled town of Avila was sacred to an ancient Celtiberian culture long before the arrival of the Romans or Christians. The city was captured by the Arab Moors in 714 AD,
recaptured by the Christians in 1088, and had its protective walls built in the 12^th century." via Avila, Spain

Chris and I were lucky enough to walk along the top of a section of the walls, giving us some great views. It costs a few euros but is worth it!


This cathedral was simply amazing

A typical square - outside seating is a real treat in the beautiful weather

Views from atop the city walls

I was under the impression that Spain wasn't big on sweets and pastries. Boy was I wrong. Does anyone know what this delicious marshmallowy, meringuey, graham cracker encased morsel is called? Even with the dollar at 14 month low against the euro - I had to have it. Chris joked that of course I had to pick the most "impractical" pastry, but that didn't stop him from devouring half of it.

These photos are from the beautiful La Granja. "The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso is an eighteenth-century palace, formerly the summer residence of theKings of Spain since the reign of Philip V. The palace is in the small town of San Ildefonso in the hills near Segovia.... The palace is in a restrained baroque style surrounded by extensive gardens in the French manner and sculptural fountains." via Wikipedia



The grounds are extensive- over 1,500 acres.


The fountains are all based on mythological themes. Unfortunately the fountains are not on. "Today, only a few fountains are active each day. Twice a year, on the feast days of San Fernando and Saint Louis), all twenty-six fountains are set to play, providing a memorable show." via Wikipedia

All photography by Chris!