Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera)

Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera)
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas per year in approximately 200 performances. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. As such, the Staatsoper employs over 1000 people!

More than 50 productions are staged every year, and there is a performance nearly every day for ten months of the year. Isn't that amazing?

Schloss Schönbrunn

Schloss Schönbrunn
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

the palace grounds at night. it was a pity we did not have time to visit the museum, it would have taken at least half a day! you would not believe how big the palace grounds are! and considering there was still no electricity at that time, it is a wonder how many candles and lamps they had to light every night!!!

Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera),

Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera),
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

The building was the first major building on the Wiener Ringstraße, at the heart of Old Vienna. This would probably be the most visited area of Vienna, where all tourist converge to walk around, enjoy the coffee and eat some sacher torte or even do some shopping. That time, La Traviata was showing, I was so tempted to go and watch! maybe another time....

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

St. Stephen's Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. In the middle of St. Stephen's square it is one of the oldest and highest cathedrals of the world!

Note that in this picture part of one of its spires is under renovation. nothing new here, as preservation and repair of the fabric of the medieval cathedral has been a continuous process at St. Stephen's Cathedral since its original construction in 1147!

there was so much to see...

there was so much to see...
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

From Gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral to the Imperial Palace to the Art Nouveau splendor of the Secession, from the magnificent baroque palace Schönbrunn to the Museum of Fine Arts to modern architecture at the MuseumsQuartier.

back from vienna

back from vienna
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony (lost in space)

the whole week was a blur! too much to see in so little time...it is great to have photos to remind me of the places i have been and seen! yet there was so much more to see in such little time. as my friend always says, leave something for the next trip. i just hope it would be less frantic! lol!

shot this from a speeding van to budapest, so you will note the foreground blur...

postcards from milan

postcards from milan
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

got the idea of this project of shooting postcards from places i go to. started with paris last year and with milan and venice this year. next week i will have the chance to visit austria and can't wait to get postcards shots from there!

cobblestoned streets, a medieval church and the da vinci's last supper

cobblestoned streets, a medieval church and the da vinci's last supper fresco: is that all worth walking all the way from the metro?
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

you bet it was! the only thing is, i did not get to see the fresco. it turned out the waiting list to see it like 2 weeks! i could not believe how popular that place was ever since the "the vinci code" movie. lol! well, at least there is something to look forward to in my next visit! and you bet, i am going to walk all the back there again!

there was no one inside the church, but i felt a presence i could not

there was no one inside the church, but i felt a presence i could not describe...
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

i never thought myself as having a sixth sense. i have always wondered how psychics and ghost whisperers felt, but that place just had the aura of spirits all around you. the interior just exuded of another time. i felt i was caught in a time warp and was just waiting for medieval characters of the past to pop out of the maze of pillars within.

"si venera il corpo di s. luciano" it says on the door of this church...

"si venera il corpo di s. luciano" it says on the door of this church...
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

...which i bumped into while walking from the piazza san marco back to the train station. you cannot imagine the number of churches you will find in such a small area! this one just had those words on the door and would that mean this is st. luciano's church? i know the literal translation meant "here lies the body of st. luciano" - at least that is what i thought.

i actually went inside and took some photos (will post those later on). there was no one inside, saw some flowers with dedications for people (dead?). all in all the atmosphere was serene, almost haunting, like you can feel spirits or angels about to make an apparition! i felt a slight chill while shooting and darted back to the courtyard!

honey, can you stop singing "o sole mio"? you are giving me a

honey, can you stop singing "o sole mio"? you are giving me a headache....
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

this shot just made me wonder if the tip of the gondola hit the bottom of the bridge and if the gondolero actually stooped or sat as it passed under it. lol!!!

i feel these things can be a bit overrated and overpriced but if i had the time and the moolah i would have gone for it. ha ha! call me a tourist milking cow but venice is venice! the water looksed a bit murky at that time and had a not so appealing scent, but i would have done it anytime than can catch the ones in las vegas or macau...well, maybe next time.

i remember the day was hot, but we had a blast!

i remember the day was hot, but we had a blast!
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

there are several of these mini docks for individual gondolas lined along the grand canal of venice. each one is different, perhaps as a way to attract the tourists. i love how this one added hanging flower pots to give it a rustic look.

where to take a taxi in venice

where to take a taxi in venice
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

along the grand canal are lined these gondolas. this is also where you go to take a taxi boat back to the train station. i would have wanted to just walk back, but we had to get back faster to catch our train to milan. unfortunately, despite that we missed the train! lol!

Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri)

Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri)
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals.

A local legend says that lovers will be assured eternal love if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the bridge. This legend played a key part in the 1979 film A Little Romance.

(from Wikipedia)

i don't know about you, but masks make me feel eerie...

i don't know about you, but masks make me feel eerie...
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

its like being afraid of clowns i guess. it's as if behind the bright colors and the smiles lies something nasty and ugly, like sin. as benjamin franklin said, "vice knows she's ugly, so she puts on her mask."

these are venetian canevale masks. i do love their craftsmanship though and i actually got a couple to bring home and wear on halloween!

it was a slow afternoon, on the way to nowhere...

it was a slow afternoon, on the way to nowhere...
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

taken during my last trip to milan armed with a D3 and the 14-24 UWA lens!

i always enjoy taking the train and just go around in circles all day! good i had a week long metro pass so i can go anywhere and anytime when i want to!

the lady by the window

the lady by the window
Originally uploaded by Doc Tony

she was probably on her way home, riding on the milan train. i was on my way to the lake. her stare was far way, i wonder what she was thinking. i tried to talk to her, but she could not understand english.

my third day in italy. just two more days and back to manila i go.

hope you are all ok. my computer had problems today, hopefully it does not conk out on me...

let me take you there...

let me take you there...
Originally uploaded by doctony

champs elysees and the arc de triomph! i just had to have this shot as difficult the situation was! in the middle of heavy traffic with no tripod! you should have seen me! lol!!!

say a little prayer

say a little prayer
Originally uploaded by doctony

on sunday we went to notre dame hoping to hear mass, but we never got to. apparently we got the wrong information and got there 4 hours early for the english one, and the latin one was over. got a few nice pics though...

no tripods so i used a high ISO to do this shot.

you must remember this...

you must remember this...
Originally uploaded by doctony

went back to the trocadero to get a view of the lady at dusk and i was not disappointed! see the silhouettes of people below watching the light show!?it was just amazing!