Thursday 31 January 2013

Northern Italy Part Uno ~ Milan

Over the last three weeks, I've really enjoyed the "Italy Unpacked" series which was on BBC 2, presented by Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli and Andrew Graham-Dixon. In April last year, we visited Milan and the surrounding area. Seeing more of Northern Italy on the programme, and the enthusiasm of Giorgio, has made me long to go back and explore more of the region.

In my three part series, I'll show you a selection of photos from Milan, Stresa and Como.

Duomo, Milan
Duomo, Milan
The Duomo in Milan is a truly magnificent building. It ought to be as it took nearly 600 years to fully complete it. I love the pink and grey colours of the marble.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Louis Vitton, Milan






Right next to the Duomo, is the most sumptuous shopping mall I've ever seen. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. In here you can find Louis Vuitton, Prada and even a McDonalds which looked like it had marble tables.

The main shopping mecca is the Quadrilatero d'Oro - a quadrangle of streets with some of the best designer shops. What I noticed throughout the city, was the window displays. Just about all of them were stunning and innovative.









Not to mention the window displays of food! Like the ice cream counter below. How could you resist that?


Gelato, Milan


Milan courtyard 




The Gothic architecture of the Duomo and the neo-classical style of the Galleria, were stunning, but most of the rest of the city was concrete. The Romans invented concrete and I think that, combined with Italy's troubled history, it has resulted in a lot of the architecture for apartment buildings looking very grey and drab.

Huge walls rise above the pavements with shuttered windows. But, when you walk past the huge apartment doors, and are lucky enough to find an open one, you get a glimpse into another world.

The apartments are built around a central courtyard, so essentially, what you see from the street is kind of the back of the buildings. I guess it's because it gets so hot in summer and the courtyard will be a cool place in between the tall buildings.

It's almost like peeking into a magical world when you see a courtyard like this one pictured.








The city has a rent-a-bike scheme and I loved the repetition of the bikes.

Bikes in Milan

Whilst we were walking through the Porta Ticinese quarter, we went past the Corinthian columns at the basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore. People were sitting in the sun and a violinist was playing. I thought this picture summed up the atmosphere of Milan perfectly.


Violinista by the Columns of San Lorenzo
Violinista by the Columns of San Lorenzo

Thank you for reading.

All of these images can be purchased as prints or greetings cards. Please contact me for details.

Gillian.

You may also like:
Northern Italy Part Due ~ Stresa
Northern Italy Part Tre ~ Como

Friday 25 January 2013

Photo Friday #41

Bolam Lake, winter
Lake Iced Over


This is a local lake which must be in such a sheltered spot, that when I took this photo of it iced over, it was March!

Thursday 24 January 2013

Forget about the gym!

My first post about general life! Please go easy on me while I settle into this new blog.

We've now had snow in the North East for about a week and a half and for one reason or another I've missed my Zumba class three weeks in a row.

Who needs Zumba at the minute though? This morning my warm-up was walking 20 minutes to and from school, my workout was 20 minutes shovelling snow and my cool-down was a few stretches, a glass of water and a couple of chocolates. Well I deserved a treat after all that work. Wearing a thermal top, long-sleeved top, fleecy hoodie, fleecy jacket and waterproof, I worked up quite a sweat!

Having sat at the computer for an hour now, I'm cold again so I think I need a brisk walk downstairs to get a cup of tea!

Thanks for reading, Gillian.

Welcome to Arty Things and Musings!

If you've visited this blog before under the title of Gillian Cross Fine Art, then you'll have spotted that I've changed the title! Don't worry, I'll still be blogging about my watercolour paintings and fine art photos, although I can't promise to keep up Photo Friday every week but I'll try.

Ever since I started blogging for my Wedding Photography business 18 months ago and the Fine Art blog a year ago, I keep thinking of other subjects I'd like to blog about. They didn't really seem to fit into either category. I didn't want to take on another blog so that's why I've made the decision to change this one into "Arty Things and Musings".

The emphasis is still on the creative side and I hope you enjoy my musings about life. After all, we all have to live it!

I do hope you stick with me, Gillian x

Friday 18 January 2013

Photo Friday #40

Winter Snow
Winter Snow
This is a wintry greetings card, perfect for a winter birthday or a thank you card.

Friday 11 January 2013

Photo Friday #39

Abstract Frost
Abstract Frost
I love the formation that the frost has. It's amazing what nature can do!

Friday 4 January 2013

Photo Friday #37

Frost, winter
Frilly Frost Fans
A macro shot of the patterns that the frost made on a plant. Pretty isn't it?



Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. Why don't you leave me a message to let me know you stopped by?

If you have any questions about purchasing any of the images or prints, please email me.

gillian@gilliancrossphotography.co.uk