View From The Top

One thing that I love about revisiting Italy time and again is getting the opportunity to learn more about Italian culture and landmarks with each trip while gaining a sense of familiarity.  I recently returned from a 16 day Italian trip and had the pleasure of spending the first day in Milan.  I had spent some time in Milan before and knew that I wanted to go up on the roof of the famous Duomo di Milano.  The roof is not only a great place to take dramatic photos, but also another incredibly cool Italian hang out.  View my images below to see how I spent my afternoon... 

  My views from atop the Duomo di Milano.

Italians and tourists alike visit the Duomo roof on a daily basis. It can be the perfect place for a scenic lunch or a quick nap.

While shooting, I noticed an interesting rooftop bar just over the  Duomo's spires.  It was just about happy hour, so you can guess what happened next...

Needless to say, Il bar at La Rinascente did not disappoint.  I noticed almost everyone drinking this orange-colored cocktail and thought "When in Rome" (or this case, Milan). It was an Aperol Spritz, a new favorite cocktail.  Cheers to new discoveries!!

Iceland part II

A few more insights and pictures into the Icelandic culture:

-The Icelanders are very particular about their horses.  There is only one breed on the island and Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.  With manes this long it gives them human-like characteristics.

-There are churches scattered all over Iceland and they are usually all about the same size.  You can see below that they are small and oftentimes have the same red and white color scheme. 

-There is one major road that circles the entire country and it's Route 1 which is also called the Ring Road.  It's 830 miles and many tourists rent a car and drive around the entire country.  If you are going to do this, it's suggested to spend about two weeks to really be able to take in the sights.

-The iceberg lagoon known as Jökulsárlón is an amazing sight to see.  When you arrive you see this entire lagoon filled with floating icebergs.  They are a result of the ice falling off of the glacier on the north end of the lagoon.  It's really amazing to watch these icebergs float by and at first they seem very serene just floating there and all of the sudden you will see one flip upside down and the underside of the iceberg is really bright blue because of the ice being so cold.  As it's exposed to the elements it starts to shift color and becomes more clear or white and then they float off to sea.  I took a boat ride in the lagoon and they pulled a piece of ice out of the water and it was crystal clear.  The tour guide broke it into pieces and we ate it.

Icelandic horses

Brunnholl church

The ring road

Icebergs at Jökulsárlón

Sólfar (Sun Voyager) sculpture in the harbor in Reykjavik

 Most of my blog posts are personal photos that give you some insight to my travels.  I make my living by being an advertising, magazine, architectural, and corporate photographer in Indianapolis, IN.

Iceland

This is the first in a series from my recent trip to Iceland.  A lot of people looked at me with a curious expression when I said my next trip was to Iceland.  It's not on most Americans radar for a travel destination, but I can tell you it's well worth the trip.  This first email is designed to clarify some things about Iceland.  First off, it's not icy everywhere in Iceland.  See, the story goes that the Norwegian vikings decided to call it Iceland when they were settling the country because they wanted it to themselves.  They figured if they named it something like Iceland no one would want to go there.  On the contrary, it's green in lots of areas and it's filled with natural beauty like waterfalls, geysirs, volcanos, hot springs, mountains, moss and lichen-covered lava fields, and, yes, glaciers.  But glaciers only comprise a part of Iceland.  The funny thing is that the vikings also gave Greenland it's name to get people interested in going there and if you know anything about Greenland its' about 80% ice covered.  So the saying "Iceland is green and Greenland is ice" is really true.  Clever vikings.  And the weather in Iceland isn't as cold as you might expect.  In fact, the average high in January in Reykjavik (the capital) is warmer than in New York City.  But, it doesn't exactly get hot here either.  The average high in July/August is around 55° but temps can get into the upper 70's.  The country stays temperate because of the gulf stream even though it's just outside the Arctic Circle.  And in the spring and fall the high and low temperature hardly changes at all. While I was there the forecast showed a high of 57 and a low of 54 for the whole week.  And Iceland is the easiest foreign country I've ever traveled in because everyone speaks English, they drive on the same side of the road as the US and they accept credit cards virtually everywhere.  Stay tuned for the next installment of this series.

Hallgrimskirkja cathedral in Reykjavik and the inspiration for the design is the naturally forming basalt columns you see on the right.

þingvellir national park is where the first Icelandic parliament convened in 930 AD

People photographing in lava fields

Kirkjufell mountain

If you have an interest in buying photos from my travels in Europe you can find them here http://www.europefineartphotos.com