28 September 2011

Paul at St. Paul's: I'm back

I'm back from my run through Cersaie in Bologna and the London Design Festival in London. Endless thanks to Ceramic Tiles of Italy and the Italian Trade Commission who covered my travel and to Modenus who hosted me so graciously in London. 2011 has turned into an embarrassment of riches and when I look through the stamps in my passport from this year alone I can't believe the life I lead sometimes.

The Cathedral Church of San Pietro in Bologna

Suffice it to say I saw tons design inspiration in Bologna and London to keep me in posts solidly for the next six months. The people I met reads like a who's who of the contemporary design scene and the people I traveled with on both trips were the best and brightest of the design and blogging worlds. These last two events gave me the shot in the arm to get excited about design I was looking for, so again, thank you to Ceramic Tiles of Italy and to Modenus.

Bologna is an amazing city in every sense of the word and it was fantastic to be back in Italy.

Last Sunday I went to see and hear the cathedral choir and organ at St. Paul's in London with my Friends Bob Borson and Stacy Bewkes. Though we weren't allowed to photograph or record inside the cathedral, what we found there was nothing short of spectacular. I found this video on YouTube that recreates what we saw and heard:





Outside of the Cathedral I recorded this myself:





After the service concluded, the three of us ran across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern for what has to have been the fastest run through that museum in its history. It was great to be in a place like the Tate with two people who get art, so thanks guys. Bob is the Bob behind Life of an Architect and Stacey is the woman behind Quintessence. If you don't read both of those sites, start to do so immediately. We were in London for Modenus' Blog Tour 2011 and all of the design bloggers from our croup are publishing posts and posting photos of our experiences in London on the Blog Tour site, check it out.

St. Paul's Cathedral from the far side of the Thames

Though I'm not a religious man, I love church architecture and classical, sacred music more than most. Look for a post on that topic over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I saw tons of bath and tile innovation at Cersaie and even more inspiration in London. I'll be writing about all of this for the next couple of months so please stay tuned.


17 comments:

  1. Nice update on your latest travels. Love the bells from the cathedral. Glad you had some nice blue skies in London. :) Can't wait for the design detail posts!

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  2. Thanks Lisa, I'm still sorting through the pile of stuff I brought back with me. London's weather was really perfect and rather warm for them this time of year. What a time!

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  3. Your trip sounds fantastic! But we're glad to have you back... ; )

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  4. Thanks, it was an incredible couple of weeks.

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  5. Looks like it was a fabulous trip - can't wait to see more stunning pictures.

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  6. Ann: I came home with about 2000 photos and 40 lbs. of press kits. It's going to take me months to sort through all of this. Stay tuned and wait'll you see what they're doing with induction in the UK.

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  7. You were a 10 Euro flight away from a free coffee and a few pints of Guinness. There's always a next time I suppose:(

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  8. Really?! Ten euro from London to Dublin? No way! It cost 50 euro to get from Bologna to London last week so that makes sense. I'll be back next year and will keep it in mind Keith, most definitely.

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  9. By the way, how far is it from Dublin to Carlowe?

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  10. Hi Paul. Yes Ryanair have some great prices here. Dublin is only 40 minutes from us, so it's a short commute:) I will have the coffee brewing for you.

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  11. But doesn't Ryanair charge extra for air? Hah! I will keep that in mind Keith, thanks. I'd love to see your work first hand AND I've never been to Ireland.

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  12. Great post Paul! Love the pictures and I'm sure you have many more for later.

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  13. Thanks Todd, I'll be writing about what I saw on this trip for a very long time.

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  14. Loved my morning at St. Paul's & the Tate Modern with you and Bob - full of beauty and inspiration!! Look forward to seeing you sometime soon!!

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  15. Thanks Stacey, I'll look back on that morning with great fondness for the rest of my days. Such great company to take in such great sights!

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  16. St. Paul's is reminiscent of The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., another inspiring trip :)? Thanx & safe travels!

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  17. Hmm. I never made that connection, thanks for pointing that out. While I was in St. Paul's however, all I could think about was how much it reminded me of St. Peter's in Rome.

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