#Cathedral Square

[alexxx-malev]

Russia. Vladimir. Cathedral Square. The former City Council Владимир. Соборная площадь. Здание бывшей городской Думы

[odinsblog]

[pinkfloydhq]

This Friday in Italy

Milan's Cathedral Square for the celebration of the 50 years of The Dark Side Of The Moon. 🎧 📸 Andrea Cherchi

[postcard-from-the-past]

Cathedral Square in Milan, Lombardy region of Italy

Italian vintage postcard

[eopederson]

Ábol de navidad metálico, cerca de la catedral, Málaga, 2019.

[theodoreangelos]

Bell Tower of Vilnius Cathedral, Lithuania Vilniaus katedros varpinė, Lietuva Glockenturm der Kathedrale von Vilnius, Litauen Колокольня Собора Святого Станислава, Вильнюс, Литва Le beffroi de la Cathédrale de Vilnius, Lituanie

[rabbitcruiser]

Plaza de la Catedral, Oviedo (No. 3)

The construction of the current [Oviedo Cathedral’s] façade began in the early sixteenth century under the design of Juan de Badajoz. Despite the time of construction, the Gothic style is still used instead of the Renaissance.

A low portico is built with three arches and three doors that give access to each of the naves. It is covered with an almost flat ribbed vault. The central façade, the most important both aesthetically and in size, is crowned with a relief of the Transfiguration and next to it some bas-relief figures representing Fruela I and Alfonso II the Chaste. A little further down some medallions representing the baby Jesus and Saint John child.

The doors made in the eighteenth century in walnut. The door of the central nave contains in the center of each of its leaves an image of San Salvador and Santa Eulalia de Mérida, both patrons of the cathedral and the Principality of Asturias. The temple is accessed through the door on the left.

With a height of 80 m it is divided into five bodies that decrease in size as you ascend. The tower begins integrated into the portico on the four pillars that form the arcade. It is topped with a temple formed by cylindrical towers that end in the arrow of the pinnacle.

In the tower we can find a clock on the second floor, on the top floor the shield of the bishop of Oviedo Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval who held the position at the end of the tower and in each section a window with mainel that hold braided stone otivals.

Famous tower in nineteenth-century Spanish literature because it is one of the inert protagonists of Leopoldo Alas' novel "Clarín" La Regenta. From his height and with the help of a spyglass, Don Fermín de Pas, the Magistral, watched over the city.

​Source: Wikipedia    

[jontycrane]

Vilnius

My final stop travelling through the Baltics was Lithuania’s capital Vilnius. I found it more pleasant than Riga and less touristy than Tallinn (helped by not having cruise ship visitors) and home to more than a hundred churches, of which I visited seventeen. It was a lovely place to wander around, enjoying the architecture. Before WW2 nearly half the population of Vilnius was Jewish and home…

[cllnsllvn]

First Week in Christchurch

So here's the thing - writing out day-by-day posts is incredibly time-consuming, and no one needs to know everything I am doing all the time, so we'll just start to condense it all starting now.

For the first week in Christchurch, I was staying in the Haka House Hostel in the central city. I spent the week exploring, working a bit off of the list that Laurel gave of things she enjoyed in Chch.

I spent a lot more time at Riverside Market - it was definitely one of my go-to places to eat. When I went to Riverside, I often spent time sitting and watching the river. In this area, right by the Terrace, there are always a ton of ducks and eels that interact with the people (trying to get food!).

I also spent a lot of time wandering around the Botanic Gardens. There are so many beautiful flowers, especially in December! The hydrangeas were so vibrant, and I took new photos just about every time I went. Because I went so often (and will continue to go), I can kind of see the change in the flowers as the time continues!

I popped along to Cathedral Square, which is considered to be the true central city of Christchurch. You can sort of see in the photo below that the cathedral is currently surrounded by scaffolding. Christchurch sustained a lot of damage in the 2011 earthquakes, and many buildings are still under renovation/reconstruction. I've learned that even some of the popular social areas are relatively recent additions to the city, breathing a bit of life back into the social scene post-earthquake.

Along one of those popular areas (the Terrace, as I have already mentioned), there are a series of bars and restaurants. In that area, I also enjoyed exploring and finding new coffee and pastries to try. There was one particular place called Therapy Coffee (which gave me a chuckle every time I ordered) which had incredible spinach, feta, and pepita scones. So delicious!

I also checked out Victoria Park, which is another outdoor space by the Christchurch Town Hall. It also has some beautiful statues and fountains.

Also by my hostel was the Arts Centre, which occasionally hosts some outdoor events in the courtyard (as well as traditional events inside). At this point, I was still doing my daily Christmas activities as directed by my advent chain, which I chronicled daily on Facebook/Instagram, so I haven't wasted the space here. That said, one such activity was to see a Christmas play/performance. On that day, there was meant to be an outdoor performance of an operatic adaptation of A Christmas Carol. I went to see the performance, but unfortunately, they had to make the tough decision to move it indoors (thus limiting the number of people who could attend), as the weather forecasted hail. Luckily, because so many interested people had to be turned away, they decided to do a second performance a bit later, so I decided to hang around and go to the second one! To kill time, you may have guessed it, I went to the botanic gardens! I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks, so I took a stroll to kill time before going to see the performance. It was a very cool experience, though I am not usually an opera person!

While exploring, I have also come across several of the murals that adorn many Christchurch buildings, and one of them looks just like my Bindi kitty! I also had to take a picture of the Worcester Boulevard sign for the folks back home!

I also spent the time looking for a long-term place to live. I looked at quite a few flats that I found either listed on housing groups on Facebook or listed on the popular NZ site TradeMe. Think ebay meets craigslist meets marketplace. Late in this first week, I found a place to live and will move in on Dec. 18! More on that later.

[viridiansunset]

Jackson Square

New Orleans

[wgm-beautiful-world]

Città del Vaticano

[mim70]

Pskov, Russia

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance - La Cité des Cloches

[postcard-from-the-past]

Cathedral Square in Prato, Tuscany, Italy

Italian vintage postcard

[misscromwellsmonocle]

Yarn Bomb at Helsinki Cathedral (2011)

[theodoreangelos]

Cathedral Square & Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, Lithuania Katedros aikštė & Vilniaus šv. Stanislovo ir šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika, Vilnius, Lietuva Plac Katedralny w Wilnie & Bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława Biskupa i św. Władysława, Wilna, Litwa Kathedralenplatz Vilnius & Kathedrale St. Stanislaus und St. Ladislaus, Vilnius, Litauen Place de la Cathédrale et Basilique archicathédrale Saint-Stanislas et Saint-Ladislas de Vilnius, Lituanie Кафедральная площадь & Архикафедральный собор базилика Святого Станислава и Святого Владислава, Вильнюс, Литва