SUNSET APARTMENTS

These apartment buildings are in Melbourne's Southbank. The setting sun toned them with orange, but Photoshop did the rest!

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

ALEXANDER NEVSKY CATHEDRAL, BULGARIA

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Bulgarian: Храм-паметник „Свети Александър Невски“, Hram-pametnik „Sveti Aleksandar Nevski“) is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world, as well as one of Sofia's symbols and primary tourist attractions. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia occupies an area of 3,170 square metres and can hold 10,000 people inside. It is the second-largest cathedral located on the Balkan Peninsula, after the Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade.

It is a cross-domed basilica featuring an emphasised central dome. The cathedral's gold-plated dome is 45 m high,  with the bell tower reaching 53 metres. The temple has 12 bells with total weight of 23 tons, the heaviest weighing 12 tons and the lightest 10 kilograms. The interior is decorated with Italian marble in various colours, Brazilian onyx, alabaster, and other luxurious materials. The central dome has the Lord's Prayer inscribed around it, with thin gold letters.

The construction of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral started in 1882 (having been planned since 19 February, 1879), when the foundation stone was laid, but most of it was built between 1904 and 1912. Saint Alexander Nevsky was a Russian prince. The cathedral was created in honour to the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, as a result of which Bulgaria was liberated from Ottoman rule.

The cathedral was designed by Alexander Pomerantsev, aided by Alexander Smirnov and Alexander Yakovlev, as the initial 1884-1885 project of Ivan Bogomolov was radically changed by Pomerantsev. The final design was finished in 1898, and the construction and decoration were done by a team of Bulgarian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and other European artists, architects and workers, including the aforementioned architects, as well as Petko Momchilov, Yordan Milanov, Haralampi Tachev, Ivan Mrkvička, Vasily D. Bolotnov, Nikolay A. Bruni, A.A. Kiselyov, Anton Mitov and many others.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.

BANANA ALLEY VAULTS

The Banana Alley Vaults are near the Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia and extend onto the North Bank of the Yarra River. Built in 1891–92, they were originally known as the Viaduct Buildings, and were built in conjunction with the tracks of the Flinders Street Viaduct that run overhead. The vaults were originally used by produce agents and fruiterers to store their wares before market.

The name "Banana Alley" stems from bananas being stored and ripened here (using ethylene gas) before being sold. The vaults are divided up into 33 separate spaces, with first tenants being recorded in 1893. With the construction of the Spencer Street Bridge in 1930 Queens Wharf was rendered inaccessible to cargo ships, and the vaults fell into disuse. A café was opened in one of the vaults in 1936, being joined by the "Pieteria" café selling pies 24 hours a day from the 1950s. Hearnes Hobbies also occupied a vault from 1946 until they moved into the basement of Flinders Street Station. Other vaults were used by newsagents as a distribution point, and the Victorian Railways Refreshment Services branch as a storage area.

The vaults were neglected and disused for many years and subsequently developed a sinister reputation in the 1970s and 80s. The vaults were used by homeless persons as shelter from Melbourne’s cold nights, and numerous attacks and murders occurred here. In 1987 the State Government carried out a $4.5 million refurbishment of the vaults in a project aimed at promoting Victorian tourism. The drawcard was "Wine Victoria", which closed after only 2 years of operation, with other vaults becoming vacant as well. Nowadays, Banana Alley is host to a number of different businesses that operate within the underground facility. These include Platform One Nightclub, a leading martial arts facility and the iconic, 24:7 Doherty's Gym.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

BRISBANE SKIES

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of 2.24 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay.

The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range. The metropolitan area sprawls across several of Australia's most populous local government areas, including the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite. Brisbane is named after the Brisbane River on which it is located, which in turn was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.

The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the central business district, which was founded in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

GOLDEN WATTLE

Acacia pycnantha, Golden Wattle, is a shrub or small tree about 4 to 8 metres tall. The specific name pycnantha from the Greek 'pyknos', meaning 'dense', and 'anthos', meaning 'a flower', refers to the dense clusters of flowers. In late winter/early spring large fluffy golden-yellow flower-heads with up to eighty minute sweetly scented flowers provide a vivid contrast with the foliage.

Golden Wattle occurs in the understorey of open forest or woodland and in open scrub formations in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, in temperate regions with mean annual rainfall of 350 mm to 1000 mm. It regenerates freely after fires, which usually kill the parent plants but stimulate the germination of seeds stored in the soil if rain follows soon after.

The brilliant yellow, fragrant flowers of Golden Wattle make it a popular garden plant. It is moderately frost tolerant and grows well in a wide range of soils provided drainage is effective, but tends to be short-lived in cultivation. It is easily propagated from seed soaked in hot water to break the hard seed coat, and the seedlings can be transplanted to pots of soil mix for growing on before planting out in a lightly shaded or open position.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. As at June 2013, Adelaide had an estimated resident population of 1.29 million. The demonym "Adelaidean" is used in reference to the city and its residents. Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.

Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parklands. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties, which led to the moniker "City of Churches".

As South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area. Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist's World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

FACES OF MUMBAI

Mumbai (also known as Bombay) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, second most populous metropolitan area in India, and the fifth most populous city in the world, with an estimated city population of 18.4 million and metropolitan area population of 20.7 million as of 2011. Along with the urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.

We took these photos a few years ago when we visited India in what was an amazing and very memorable trip. The people of Mumbai were hospitable, friendly and helpful. Such a lot happens in the streets of Mumbai and such a cavalcade remains unforgettable.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

EGGCUPS GALORE

This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme.

TEATIME

This post is part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

CITY REFLECTIONS

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.