There is something about old ruins of houses and castles that look better in monochrome. The first photos of these buildings would have been in black and white anyway! I’ve put together a small gallery for the theme this week.
My feature photo is the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Macau. A 17th century catholic religious complex.
I love walking through old buildings and ruins and touching the walls and stones. It makes me stop and wonder about what went on before, who walked on these floors and touched these walls.
Gjirokaster Castle, Albania
Butrint National Park, Albania
I had fun editing the above photo with the Snapseed App. I think I used the retro filter and a frame that makes it look like an old negative.
A bleak looking Alcatraz, USA
A depressing building to say the least! There was not much colour in there anyway.
The above two photos were taken a few years ago and the collapse of the house looks like it had happened recently. In actual fact it has been left like this since 1968, when there was a massive earthquake. The homestead was owned by the Snooke family and dated back to 1904. Alice Snooke managed to rescue her 2 year daughter from the ruins and lived to tell the tale.
Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh
Stonehenge, England
“OLD BUILDINGS ARE LIKE A BOOK. YOU CAN OPEN IT AND READ THE HISTORY OF A PLACE, OF A PEOPLE, OF A CIVILIZATION” RICHARD HENRIQUEZ
There is no theme this week for Monochrome Madness. However, I have taken inspiration from Leanne’s post. Her post focuses on buildings or architecture.
Tirana, Albania and London
Hong Kong
Hydrabad, India
Girokastra, Albania
Stratford Upon Avon, England
I’ve enjoyed editing these photos with different tones of black and white. It’s been fun working with all the different tools that come with Canva.
Another destination was on our itinerary today and after a leisurely breakfast, we said goodbye to Alex (not Nick as previously mentioned!) and his wife packed up the car and set off. Our drive would take us on the famous Llogora Pass and even though Anthony was driving my stomach had butterflies. The road is a high mountain pass in the Ceraunian Mountains with an elevation of over a 1,000 metres and is 20 miles long. The journey takes approximately 3 hours. We would be stopping frequently though to let tail gaters pass.
Passing through Dhermi
We were hoping that the roads would be fairly decent, but we did come across parts of the road that were being upgraded. (as above).
My heart was in my mouth most of the time and Anthony was getting slightly irritated with my comments of “watch out!”, “you’re too close to the edge”. Stopping for lunch was a welcome break.
The ubiquitous glass of wine
The Big Bunker located on the Llogara Pass. Albania has 700,000 bunkers dotted all over the country. Built during Hoxha’s reign, they were a drain on the economy and were never used for their intended purpose.
Berat
Arriving into Berat around 6 pm, we passed by the hotel and pulled over while I checked for parking. I promptly walked into a parking sign and nearly knocked myself out. A few people came over after they saw what happened, Anthony missed the whole thing and wondered why I sat down with my head in my hands. It was fortunate that the man outside the hotel saw and came to help.
On being taken up to our room, when we opened the door there was an overpowering smell of blocked sewers. I went back down and said it was impossible to stay there, the receptionist promptly found us another room, actually an upgrade but up four flights of stairs.
The view across the river from our room
Berat is best known for its white Ottoman houses and is also a Unesco World Heritage city. It’s approximately 2,400 years old and is situated on the Osum River.
Ura e VarurGorica Bridge
We were spending just one night here so dropping our bags in our room we set off exploring. Behind our hotel there was a mass of alleyways, with shops and restaurants, going up into the hills. Across the river where the houses were Berat Castle sits on top of a rocky hill. Deciding to give the castle a miss we spent the time looking around.
“Ali through the looking glass”
Walking across the bridge to the other side we walked through more alleys to find a restaurant I had looked up. It didn’t have a view but was in such a quaint garden overhung with lights on the grapevines and was perfect. There seemed to be only one oldish man running it and when I asked for the menu, he just reeled off three dishes in the quietest voice. It was then a surprise to see him take up his guitar and provide some entertainment.
Berat is well worth an overnight stay to experience the beauty of the nighttime lights of the houses.
During our stay in Sarande, one of the places we visited was Butrint.
The bus stop was only a five minute walk from the hotel and it arrived shortly after us. We found seats and then promptly sat there for 20 minutes while the bus filled up and up until the doors could hardly close. Amongst the throng was the bus conductor who was issuing tickets, I’m not sure how he checked who had tickets or not. The journey takes around 30 minutes and for 3 Euros each I thought it wasn’t bad. There is only one restaurant there and we ate lunch here after our walk.
Butrint has been inhabited since prehistoric times and also home to many different nations, including Romans, Byzantines and Venetians. The last person who live here was Ali Pasha, an Albanian Ottoman ruler who controlled Butrint and the area until its final abandonment.
Above is the Venetian Triangular Castle sitting on the banks of the Vivari Canal
Butrint is now home to a vast array of flora and fauna. The excellent preservation of the remaining structures bear witness to the amazing building skills of all the previous inhabitants, especially the Romans.
We enjoyed our two hour walk around the site marvelling in turn and discussing the history as we walked.
Sitting by the Venetian Tower and soaking up the atmosphere.
I didn’t realise how vast Butrint actually is, it covers 9,000 hectares and there are steep hills and tracks around and across it. Looking at the map I’m not sure we covered everything there was to see.
Possibly a Roman civic house from the 5th century and the views across Lake Butrint.
Most of the monuments were discovered by the Italian Archaeological Mission between the years 1928 – 1939. The team who worked here were guided by Luigi Maria Ugolini. Imagine the excitement on finding such historical structures.
6th Century Baptistery with mosaic floor
The mosaic has now been covered over again for preservation and apparently it is cleared every few years for viewing.
The Great Basilica, 6th century ADThe Lion’s GateThe Venetian Castle, reconstructed in the 1930’sFinally at the top!
This was a fabulous place to spend an afternoon if you are interested in history. Because of the many factions living here it was all the more interesting trying to piece together the timeline. It was such a peaceful afternoon, we were lucky that we had managed to avoid the tour buses.
The journey from Bilton to Glasgow took around four hours and with Anthony having a cold, he was extremely glad to check in to our hotel. The Clayton Hotel had been recommended to us and we had booked for a two night stay. Pleasantly surprised to find we had been upgraded to a larger room on the 16th floor. The views were amazing over the river, city and railway.
After a good rest we headed out for dinner and were going to try a tapas place not too far. We found the restaurant was actually in Prince’s Square Shopping Centre, beautifully decorated with glass and iron balconies with a massive glass dome. As we were heading to the restaurant, a man popped out of a French restaurant and tempted us to eat there instead! He had a good sales technique for sure and we had a gourmet meal.
Prince’s Square Shopping Centre
Billy Connolly Mural by John Byrne
The next day I suggested taking the hop on and hop off bus so we could see all the major sights Glasgow had to offer. We waited ages for the yellow line route to take us out to Pollark Park, in the end gave up and took the red route. As the weather turned progressively worse through the day, we did spend most of the time on the bus and I don’t think we did Glasgow justice. This is why the post is called Glimpses of Glasgow!
We did enjoy The Hunterian Museum in the University of Glasgow. There were some amazing exhibits on display.
University of Glasgow
The entrance and inside the museum
Patterned Window inside the University Library
Walking under and through the Cloisters with their fluted columns and impressive archways was amazing.
Roman shoes made of leather for Man, Woman and ChildFloating heads displaying different kinds of emotionLaughing Head
“Wives of Fishermen” 1914 – Pierre Braecke This sculpture was probably inspired by the death of Braecke’s cousin, who had seen a fishing boat sink in a storm in 1869. It focuses on the grief and anguish the women must have felt as they watched their husbands drown. (As described on the plaque)
Why we stayed on the bus!
It was a dreich day, completely plowetery! A wee bit of Scottish slang for you.
Dinner that night was in a Tapas restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.
Just a girl and her mojito
And just like that it was time to check out and onto our next destination before heading home.
The challenge from Leya for this week’s Lens-Artists is all about curves. I found some curvy buildings in my archives from a visit to Seville a few years ago.
The featured image is Puente de Triane.
Convent of the Incaceration, SevilleGate to ForgivenessA curvy apartment blockSeville Cathedral
After our visit to Melbourne was over, we flew into Sydney for three nights. This was to catch up with relatives and friends that we hadn’t seen for a few years.
We stayed in the Oaks, Goldsbrough Apartments in Darling Harbour. Very well located and within walking distance to the CBD, Darling Harbour and the new Barangaroo wharves.
One of the things we noticed about Sydney after Melbourne was the contact tracing. Everywhere was so much more vigilant than Melbourne, with people outside making sure you checked in or restaurant and bar staff asking before they served you.
Goldsbrough Apartment Complex
It was originally designed as a wool store by William Pritchard in 1883. This building caught fire in 1935 and burned for two weeks, but was rebuilt by Stuart Brothers the original builders. In 1995 the building was converted to apartments. The outside was kept to the original Victorian outlook but the inside is to my mind, something like a prison! Fairly well appointed as a one bed apartment with spectacular views over the city. We were on the 11th floor.
Looking down to the ground floor apartments
My dear husband commented “I wonder when lights out are”
Over the next three days we met up with friends and relatives and also did – for me anyway – large amounts of walking. Compensating for the large amounts of eating and drinking we were also doing.
Our walk from the apartment to Waterfront Park, Pyrmont took around 20 minutes.
Looking over at the new Crown Tower in BarangarooAnzac BridgeGlebe Island Bridge
Old and New Architecture Enormous rusted steel spheres, saved from the former CSL Sugar Mill, located on the former site.
The Glittering Lights of Sydney
From our apartment
Darling Harbour Views
Walking around Sydney
On Pyrmont Bridge
Flags flying on Pyrmont Bridge
QVB Building
Crossing over on Sydney Harbour Bridge on the train
Barangaroo harbour and wharves was only in the early stages when we were in Sydney last, now it’s completed and another feather in Sydney’s cap. Sadly the rooftop bar in the Crown Casino is only open from Thursday to Sunday. We found this was the case with many of the restaurants. Also we saw many bars, cafes and restaurants that had closed for good. The places that were open had the minimum of staff, so the wait was long for the food.
Empty boats on the wharves awaiting tourists
Finally a well deserved happy hour!
I really enjoyed staying in the Pyrmont/Darling Harbour area with the waterfront restaurants and cafes so close by. The harbour front was buzzing and lively during the day and night. I hope business picks up soon for the businesses here.
And then it was back to Perth where we thought we had escaped quarantine, but unfortunately not. I think this will be the last of our interstate trips until they have stopped closing the borders.
After four days of no long walks, the boys had had enough and I came down to this in the morning.
All too soon we were leaving Stanley, enroute to Launceston. It’s just a 2 hour 30 minute drive, so we had plenty of time to explore the wonderful coast road.
Our first stop was Boat Harbour Beach where we stopped for coffee. We found a beautiful little cafe right on the beach.
Boat Harbour Beach
There are so many small coves and bays along this route. Next stop was Devonport. This is the port where the “Spirit of the Sea” docks. Sailing from Melbourne twice a day, overnight and in the day. Next time we visit Tasmania this is what hubby would like to do.
Following Penguin Road along the beach there is also a railway line, that is in close proximity with the road. We were lucky enough to see a freight train riding along side of us.
The Western Railway Line
For lunch we settled on a restaurant called Drift, which overlooked the Bass Strait. It was housed in a glass walled timber structure jutting over the beach.
Drift Restaurant, Devonport
Before driving to our hotel in Launceston we had to make an additional stop at the airport to change our car as the aircon had stopped working! They were expecting us so we were able to make a swap without too much trouble!
Arriving at our hotel at 5 pm, we checked in and then went off for a walk. We definitely took a few wrong turns and it ended up being a very long walk.
Launceston is just so full of old historical buildings that have been renovated or restored and now house businesses and restaurants. It was nice to see whole buildings intact, unlike Perth, WA, where often they just keep the facade.
Customs House was built in 1885 and features beautiful intricate Corinthian columns.
Albert Hall built in 1891 and is still used for events and functions.
Price Memorial Hall built in 1896 and the Independent Church built in 1836, by the Reverend Price, once stood next to it.
Launceston is a riverside town and is very different from Hobart. It’s the second largest city after Hobart. It seemed to me that the streets and roads were much steeper. The Tamar River runs through Launceston where there are many wineries and vineyards along the route.
A street in Launceston
We ended up at the Seaport where there are many restaurants and bars, and had happy hour in the Mud Bar.
There was a concert being played the weekend we were there, Jimmy Barnes and some other equally famous bands, so we were told everywhere would be booked out. I did make a few restaurant bookings before we arrived though and for our first night we went to Novaris. A very elegant Italian restaurant not too far from our hotel.
Tomorrow we will pick up Laurence and Maddy who are joining us for the rest of our stay in Tasmania.
During our short stay in Stanley we visited Highfield Historic Site. I love a historical house, more so when it has an English background in another country.
Highfield was built in 1826 in the Regency style of 1811 – 1820, by Edward Curr. Mr. Curr was the newly appointed manager of Van Diemans Land company that had bought 250,000 acres in this region. He and his wife Elizabeth had 15 children, most sent away to school during their early years.
I was fascinated by this house and all the gruesome history that went with it. Being built by the hands of the convicts that were being transported from England at the time. It was a very harsh and rugged terrain and many ventures failed due to the inclement weather.
Highfield House
The Stables
They made sure they were warm with all these beautiful fireplaces. One in every room.
The Dining Room
One of the conversations written down for prosperity!
The Drawing RoomThe Gallery
Upstairs Bedroom
Dressing Room
Room with a view
We had a wonderful time exploring this house, with all the in-depth information available. There are portraits on the wall of everyone who has lived here and some background history, extracts of diaries from the ladies of the house as well as detailed goods that were needed to run such a busy household.
Of course it must be remembered that before this settlement was built it was home to the diminishing Tasmanian Aboriginal People. With the contest for these lands between the Company and the Indigenous People came many violent deaths and massacres.
Following on from our first day in Hobart. We woke up to another clear day with plans to explore further. First up was breakfast of course, and we walked across the road again to a cafe opposite one of the wharves. We were staying in the wonderful Grand Chancellor as I mentioned before and they did serve a very fancy buffet, but we didn’t want to spend too long over breakfast as they day was fast disappearing.
Our first stop was a walk to Battery Point and then onto Wrest Point Casino. This was a good 45 minute walk with steep hills along the way!
We had a quick pit stop in the casino, so glad we weren’t staying there. For strict gamblers only.
Battery Point was established in 1880 and still retains the winding streets and colonial architecture. There were some beautiful seafarer’s cottages around.
Fancy that! Errol Flynn was born in Hobart, near Battery Point.
Below some amazing sculptures that can be found all around the wharves
Bernacchi Tribute – showing Louis Bernacchi and his dog Louis Bernacchi (1878-1942) – a Tasmanian Antarctic Explorer
Heading South Sculpture
Footsteps Sculpture – Women and children convicts arriving in Van Diemans Land – 1800’s
No visit to Hobart is complete without a trip to MONA – Museum of Old and New Art. It is situated on the Berridale Peninsula and overlooking River Derwent. We took the MONA Ferry from Hobart for a very relaxing river trip to MONA. We didn’t have enough time to go inside but the outside is still worth seeing, and we had lunch at the Moorilla Wine Bar.
Leaving Hobart behind
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The ferry is decorated with all sorts of artwork and sculptures on board and also has two bars and a fantastic upper deck. There is also the “Posh Pit” which is that much more expensive, but you get to sit up front with free drinks and nibbles. The journey is only 30 minutes though so not sure how much can you drink in that time!
Arriving at the ferry terminal at MONA you are confronted by 90 steps leading up to the museum, not for the fainthearted or mobility impaired as there is no lift.
Rusted metal cement truck
The Cathedral
Inside the Cathedral, stained glass windows of X-rays!
A huge outdoor structure with very large benches
To appreciate this fantastic museum you would need at least a day here, there is just so much to see.
We caught the shuttle bus back into town and headed back to the hotel for a good rest before dinner.
Things to do in Hobart
Salamanca Market – Saturday only.
Battery Point
Mt. Wellington
Cascade Brewery tour – must pre-book
MONA
Boat trips to Bruny Island
Day trip to Port Arthur
Two or three days is a good amount of time to spend in Hobart to see most of the sights. The Hop on and off bus is a great way to see most things and if anything takes your fancy go back the following day.
With so many restaurants, cafes and pubs in Hobart, there is never a shortage of where to go and what to eat. We had a fabulous time here.
