Tag Archives: historic

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Buildings and Walkway, Orvieto

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Buildings and Walkway, Orvieto
“Buildings and Walkway, Orvieto” — Old buildings and a walkway in Orvieto, Italy

I have previously described our approach to travel, but this is an example of how it can pay off. While we have no objection to them, we don’t take “tours.” Instead we head out on our own, and we love to walk in the places we visit, often with no particular goal in mind. In truth, we sometimes do miss some famous sites and sights, but we also see lots of things that aren’t on the tour agendas. Ending up at this quiet spot in Orvieto is an example of how this works.

Orvieto is an Italian “hill town,” situated on the top of a large plateau surrounding by very steep slopes and even cliffs in some places. It is on the day trip itinerary for visitors from Rome, but we stayed there a ew days. That meant that we weren’t under pressure to dash around and see things. (It also meant we enjoyed fewer crowds in the morning and evening.) One afternoon we arrived at this spot on one of our walks and we were almost the only people there. A small garden and walkway led to an overlook that provided a panoramic view of the country below the town.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Piazza Grande, Arezzo

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Piazza Grande, Arezzo
“Piazza Grande, Arezzo” — Buildings along the perimeter of the Piazza Grande, Arezzo, Italy.

During the summer of 2023 we went on a 10-week ramble though (mostly) Southern Europe. During the latter part of the trip we made a circuit through portions of Italy over a period of about three weeks. We made a point of visiting a few smaller places like this town of Arezzo. It isn’t entirely devoid of tourists, but it is nothing like the big, popular places. The photograph comes from the “Piazza Grande,” or grand square, in the upper part of the town.

It is a fascinating place. One signature feature of the square is that it tilts. It is built near the top of a hill in this high part of the town, and the slope is quite impressive. The square is surrounded by buildings that are hundreds of years old. We were there a couple of times, but on this afternoon we got there just before a thunderstorm arrived. and we quickly took refuge in a restaurant beneath a portico on the piazza as the storm began.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Light Beam, St. Giles Cathedral

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Light Beam, St. Giles Cathedral
“Light Beam, St. Giles Cathedral”— Light from an upper window forms beams inside St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh.

We concluded our three weeks in Scotland earlier this year with a few days in Edinburgh. This marked one extreme on the continuum of our visit, with the opposite end defined by a week spent walking the quiet trails of the Great Glen Way. Edinburgh, of course, is not just a rather large city, but it is also a place that attracts crowds of tourists, even when we were there before prime tourist season. Since it was our first visit to the city we had to, of course, visit some of the famous sites.

On the day we arrived by train we checked into our little hotel, located on a quiet side street less than a half mile from the famous Edinburgh Castle. After getting settled we set out on foot, walking toward this landmark at the upper end of the Royal Mile. We had not done much research, which means that we got to be surprised by “discovering” places like St. Giles’ Cathedral, the subject of this photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Central Station, Glasgow

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Central Station, Glasgow

“Central Station, Glasgow” — The Central Railrway Station and underpass, downtown Glasgow, Scotland.

The Scottish railway tracks reach this station via a nearby bridge over the River Clyde, and the tracks are still elevated here. Above we see a glass roof designed to light the interior, while below we see… an underpass between two sections of Glasgow’s downtown. Because rail transportation is common in the UK and Europe we see many more railway stations than we are used to in the US. There are some very modern stations, but many of them are more utilitarian and feature older architecture.

Although we arrived in and left from Glasgow by rail, we never made it inside this station. We came upon it near the end of a very long walk that took us from downtown Glasgow to the West End and then following the River Clyde. We turned into the city when we arrived at the railway bridge over the city.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.