dubrovnik

dubrovnik

19 Jul 2011

I spent last week in Croatia, exploring the Dalmatian coastline and no I did not see a single spotted dog. Instead I saw lots and lots of cats like this one fast asleep outside the Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik. From Dubrovnik, we island hopped to Korcula and Hvar before my final stop in Split, where I flew to Berlin.



Dubrovnik is the jewel of the Croatian coastline and it's just about the busiest tourist town I've ever visited. Each day 30,000 visitors cram into the old walled city.



Dubrovnik is picture postcard pretty with gorgeous blue sea and skies, an amazing old city with terracotta tiled roofs and the occasional colour burst from hot pink bougainvilleas.









Some buildings were damaged during the Balkan War and In Dubrovnik there were many memorials to the 1991 conflict. The bell tower is a relatively recent addition.



If there is a food market around, I will find it and this sweet little market runs daily 'til lunchtime. I bought a kilo the best peaches there for just 2 euros.



I did mention coastline and here is Dubrovnik from the water.



Dubrovnik was really hot during my stay, 35 degrees C hot and the best way to cope with the heat was to head to the water.


I caught the ferry over to Lokrum Island, a little paradise just 15 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Dubrovnik.



I just loved it there, and all the photos in the collage are from my trip to Lokrum Island. The rest of my time in Dubrovnik was spent trying to keep cool; walking the walls of the old city, visiting museums and the amazing war photography exhibit; trying to get my head around Balkan history and enjoying the freshest of seafood.

Berlin is a world away from the Croatian coastline, with so much to see and do. Sadly my trip ends on Friday and I'm still trying to work out what to see tomorrow, let alone my last 2 days here.

See you all again soon,

Jillian

Read more

Madame Grès Exhibition

Madame Grès Exhibition

18 Jul 2011

I love to visit galleries on my holidays. Life just seems to get in the way when I'm at home in Sydney. My favourite exhibition in Paris was the Madame Grès exhibition at the Musee Bourdelle. The exhibition runs until August 28, 2011 so you still have time to get there.



Whilst I knew little about Madame Grès, I did know she was a couturier. I was amazed at how fresh and modern her designs were.



The decision to hold the exhibition in a sculpture gallery was an inspired one, as her designs had such a sculptural quality.



I could see a modern bride wearing one of these designs.



Some of the colours she used were quite wild but I liked this ocean inspired palette.



I'd have thought the cut away back on this number would have been quite daring in it's time.



I'm currently in Berlin on the last leg of my holiday. It's been a week without any internet and I had over 100 items in Google Reader to review and I'm too scared to check my work emails. 

My next post will be about Dubrovnik and then I'll be winging my way home to Sydney. I'm a bit sad about that but all good things must come to an end. I have so much more to share with you but it will all have to wait until I return home.

Bye for now,

Jillian

Read more

paris

paris

11 Jul 2011

Greetings from Dubrovnik where I've finally found an internet connection, but back to Paris.



I left Paris regretfully a few days ago. I walked the streets, visited markets, went to museums and art galleries and sampled the food.



I visited the Raspail Organic Markets one Sunday morning. It was a very popular market filled with all sorts of lovely goodies.



A parisian puppy.






Beautiful roses.



Each day I'd walk miles and of course, I would end up in the Marais.



My bus to Korcula is about to arrive, so I'll close here. I have lots more images of Paris but I'll wait to post on my return, 

Bye for now, 

Jillian

Read more

London calling

London calling

7 Jul 2011

I've just been looking through my London images and wondering where to get started. I'm in Paris with a dodgy internet connection, so I'm writing this from the hotel lobby. Every-one else seems to be is going out partying but here I am tap, tapping away. I'm such an old nanna.

I've been to London many times before and I like to revisit old favourite haunts but I also like to see new places. It's always a challenge trying to find new ways to shoot old things. Here's one of my old favourites - the British Museum.

Some of the current exhibitions have an Australian flavour so it would have been unpatriotic of me not to visit.



 Another of my old favourites, the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House.

I don't know if it's preparation for the London Olympics in 2012, but London is in a bit of a mess at the moment. Streets are being dug up/tube stations are closed for refurbishment and buildings are covered in scaffolding. Some things about London never change though. How about listening to a brass band at the band stand in the Embankment Gardens?

All that walking makes me hungry and a girl's got to eat. I was staying in Notting Hill and decided to visit Ottolenghi, which wasn't far away. Everything I bought there was delicious and I'll be ordering a copy of Ottolenghi's book 'Plenty' when I return home.




One of the new places I visited were the Kensington Roof Gardens. The gardens are on the top floor of the old Derry and Tom's Department store. I had to call ahead to ensure the gardens were open, which I did, but when I arrived I was told the gardens were closed for a private function. Not happy Jan and it must have shown because I was allowed up anyway. There have been rooftop gardens in this location for ever and I can imagine it must have been a real thrill to have visited them on a shopping trip to Derry and Tom's.



My favourite part of the gardens were the pretty flamingos. I hummed the song for the rest of the day.



Another new place I visited was Richmond. There'll be another blog post on my visit to Richmond once I return home but here's a sneak peak for now.

Another new place to me was the Imperial War Museum. 

I enjoyed my view of war through the eyes of a child and visited the confronting holocaust display. Even after all this time, it's too much trying to take in all the horrors.


I spent a few hours in Shoreditch, where I bought the tasty gingerbread man you can see above and came across this great door. I love photographing doors and door knockers.



My last day in London was my shopping day, and apart from a swimsuit for my trip to Croatia, all I bought were home wares. I always visit Liberty (which was covered in scaffolding) but snapped a few images of the lovely flowers in their flower shop.

My stay in Paris is just about over and tomorrow I'm off to Croatia, then Berlin for the final stay of my trip. I've taken loads of photos in Paris and visited lots of shops, some old and new, so when I get a chance there'll be a slew of blog posts. Those blogposts will probably have to wait until I return to Sydney at the end of the month though.

I have no idea if I'll have internet access during my 10 days in Croatia, and part of that time I'll be on a trip so blogging time will be nil. So if you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry cos I'll be back.

Jillian

Read more

jupiter artland

jupiter artland

5 Jul 2011

When we were looking at things to see and do during my weekend in Edinburgh, Alison suggested Jupiter Artland, a sculpture garden. She'd not been before so last Sunday we drove the short distance there. I didn't really know what to expect but what I found exceeded all my expectations. The experience began as we drove through the front gates and past the gate house with the purple front door. Warning - there are quite a few photos in this post.

We drove past a gorgeous private house, Bonnington House. At the entry way was an Airstream caravan - Jupiter Artland's cafe.

A sample of some of the sculptures.

We were given a map to explore the grounds and the sculptures. We were there for close to 3 hours as we wandered the grounds, climbed the life mounds and fed the sheep, then stopped at the cafe for some lunch.



This sculpture is called 'Love Bomb'.

 
Who can resist donkeys?



Both Alison and I had our favourite sculptures. She loved the Stone Coppice and Life Mounds, whilst we both loved In Memory and the Weeping Girls.

How about this? A knitted sculpture called 'Over Here'.

 

A cute sheep and no, we didn't spy the rampant ram.



The Beautiful Temple of Apollo.

So much has happened since my last post. I've had a few days in London and I'm currently in Paris and the sun is shining. Next post will be about my London stay. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed my visit to Jupiter Artland. 

Happy 4th of July and see you all again soon,

Jillian

Read more

edinburgh and a mini anthroplogie shopshoot

edinburgh and a mini anthroplogie shopshoot

1 Jul 2011

My visit to Edinburgh was a little unexpected as originally I was meant to be staying with friends in Glasgow. I'm lucky to have 2 close friends who live on the train line between the 2 cities, so I managed to see both of them.

The weather wasn't too great but it's Scotland in summer, so you take what you get. My friend Alison could remember the 2 sunny weekends they'd experienced since April.

Edinburgh looks so different from Glasgow and the Royal Mile was crowded with tourists. To escape the throng, we ducked down to one of my favourite graveyards belonging to St. Cuthbert's Church.

Along the way we passed the 'stinky cheese shop'.

But I was on a mission. I'd heard that Anthropologie had just opened a store in Edinburgh so we trekked along George Street until we found the building.

So what did we find? Firstly, a gorgeously restored building over 2 levels.

 Secondly, the usual eclectic Anthropologie mix of fashion, art and design.

After almost 4 hours of pain at the Apple store in Covent Garden on Tuesday, my laptop seems to be working again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though. 

I'm off to Paris this weekend so check back next week. I've one more post from Edinburgh for you and it's truly the most amazing place I've visited on this trip. 

Bye for now, 

Jillian

Read more