Tag Archives: old

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Buildings, Porto

Image August 25, 2023 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Distressed buildings in Porto, Portugal.

Based on our three-day visit, Porto is a fascinating city. I’m no expert on Portugal, but it is my understanding that the country was one of the least wealthy in Europe and that it was sort of neglected — but more recently it has become quite a popular destination. The attractions are many: fascinating food, sunny shoreline, port (!), general friendliness to English-speakers. We spent time here in Porto and then in Lisbon, and they have so far been among our favorite destinations on this trip.

While Porto has plenty of modern, sophisticated stuff… it is also still full of old, run-down-looking neighborhoods with buildings suggesting better days in the past. (And, from what I hear, now there is a lot of redevelopment of these older areas, which brings its own controversies.) The building in this photograph must have once been quite nice, but today it looks like its best days are behind it — yet, look at that characteristic tile work and more and this building seems like it could be part of the Porto revitalization.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Courtyard and Stairs

Image August 24, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An arched passageway, a courtyard, and stairs — Orvieto, Italy.

Because we were on such a long trip (ten weeks!), we scheduled some time in quieter, slower places between our visits to the “big name” destinations. After Florence we visited two places that are a bit less overrun, Arezzo and Orvieto. Neither is quite immune to tourism, but the difference is striking — especially in Orvieto, which seems to be visited by a lot of day-trippers. While certain areas are pretty busy in the middle of the day, in the morning and evening the place is quiet.

This photograph comes from Orvieto, a really lovely place. It is a “hill town,” built on the top of a mountain above the surrounding land and surrounded by old walls. While there is more modern stuff outside the walls and on the lower surroundings, the town itself is almost entirely old structures, including a really beautiful duomo. Walking around Orvieto we found little vignette like this at every turn.

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

Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Vespa

Image August 23, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Blue Vespa in front of. a blue wall, Porto, Portugal.

These scooters are, of course, ubiquitous in Europe, especially in the warmer climates. On these extremely narrow streets, which lack much of any parking facilities, they are extremely practical. But to American visitors, at least up to a point, they also seem fun and romantic. (My guess is that the fun/romantic part impresses their owners less.)

All of this is by way of saying that I could not resist photographing a few of them, particularly when they came in striking colors or related to their surroundings in interesting ways. This blue Vespa was parked against a very weathered blue wall in the sunshine, with just a bit of Porto graffiti in the background.