Brussels

I travelled to Brussels after Amsterdam. The architecture here was quite a contrast to Amsterdam I found. Through Amsterdam there are endless beautiful simple houses all thread around the canals. Brussels showed much grander buildings, this specifically shown in the Grand Place, shown further down this post. 

 These Pictures first two images are of the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, finished in 1847, a beautiful arcade filled with chocolatiers (of course for Belgian Chocolates) and restaurants, as well as other retail shops. The Galerie is split in two, each section spanning longer than 100m, a very impressive piece of architecture.

The building that houses the Brussels Stock Exchange,  finished in 1873.

 The Grand Place, possible one of the most beautiful squares i have ever been too. Every direction you look is an elaborate building. One of the most striking aspects of the Place is the combination of Gothic, Baroque and Louis XIV styles, all clashing together in one square, to make quite an astounding sensation. 

 The majority of the Place is surrounded by these Guildhalls.

 What i enjoy most about the Guildhalls, is the miss-match of the window alinement, I think this is something that really gives each building it's own individuality, rather than viewing the buildings as a whole row. If one was to compare this to British London townhouses, where the building can be seen as a whole as there is nothing to distinguish one another except a front door and porch.

 The Maison du Roi, a classic example of Gothic architecture placed alongside Baroque. Which I believe makes this particular building quite striking.

 The famous town hall of Brussels, opposite the Maison du Roi.

The Cathedral St. Michael and St. Gudula, was constructed between 1226 and 1276. Placed away from the main city centre, this building particularly reminded me of Notre-Dame, even though that was not build until the 1800's, the front facade's show similar features.

Amsterdam

 I have just visited the beautiful city of Amsterdam in Holland, i found as an architect student that this city is beautifully untouched. Almost every street you walk through in the city centre looks original. And if it is in fact modern, the majority of them have been styled to look like the original buildings anyway.

 This is the Westerkerk, situated in the Westermarket. This building was on the same street as my hotel, it was the first building i saw that i found really striking. The Westerkerk is a protestant church, built in 1631.

 This is a classic example of Amsterdam architecture, i thought the large shutters on the building really gave it some character.

This is the Rijks Museum the home of The Night Watch by Rembrandt, as well as a large collection of his work.

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam, this was built in the 17th century, in the year 1665.

Amsterdam is of course known for it's many canals, which were all kept beautifully clean, and made a lovely atmosphere with people on their own boats, or on canal tours

New York

 The View of New York at night time from the Empire State Building.

 Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art founded in 1870, located on 5th avenue.

 This was the view from the Ground Zero site.

 The statue of Liberty, we took a boat form Eastside New York, down to the Southside, on route we saw the statue.

 Where we boarded the boat

 Times Square

 The Guggenheim was founded in 1937, designed by Frank Lloyd-Wright.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp and co restaurant located in Times Square

Saint Paul de Vence

 Saint Paul de Vence is a small Medieval hill village in Southeastern France. It has gained it's fame for all of the small contemporary art galleries and museums situated in the village.

The architecture is very classical France. Stone built houses, with wooden shutters and iron balconies and lanterns.

In the village centre were some men playing petanque, a traditional french game

Castle Combe

 Castle Combe is a small village located in Wiltshire, famously known for being untouched since built. The village contains 14th century architecture, such as The Manor House Hotel, which I was lucky enough to stay at. Photos of this are shown further down. The village was further developed in the 15th century as well. Today it is a large tourist destination, was much unspoilt architecture on show.

The stunning 14th century Manor House hotel

The Manor House gardens