#frifotos – Views ( Rooms with a View)

 I made this post for a previous FriFotos theme of Views which turns out to be still more appropriate now the topic is A Room with A View, so here again…  Rooms With Views

We would all like one -  A Room with a View. Learning  this week’s FriFotos theme was Views, the title of E.M.Forster’s novel was the first association to come to mind with the image of  Charlotte Bartlett, chaperoning her cousin Lucy on an Italian tour, put out to discover the view of the Arno River in Florence they had been promised was instead a view of a courtyard.

Here are some of the views I’ve enjoyed on my travels.

Two from the the wine region of the Douro Valley in Portugal

First, above, the view from a River Room at the Aquapura Douro – a room with a view from nearly everywhere.  This is the grandstand view of the river Douro, to be enjoyed from the comfort of the fine, white linen dressed bed.  Through nifty use of glass partitions by designer Nini Andrade Silva you  can clean your teeth and shower with a view too.

Further inland along the Douro Valley you come to the village of Pinhão.  I’ve a soft spot for the family run Hotel Douro here, a room at the front gives you a view over the railway station and river.  It was a toss up between a view down the valley of the river flowing between steep vine clad hillsides and this one. This photo won for the charm of the station – it’s decorated with tiled panels depicting the grape harvest and for happy moments sat watching  life pass slowly by.

A dynamic view

Such is the dynamic nature of Berlin that each time I visit it seems the view has changed.  This view from the Nhow Music and Lifestyle Hotel over the River Spree towards the Oberbaum Bridge, once on the border between east and west, is part of the ongoing story.  Which room has the best view?  No question, it  has to be the recording studio at the top of the building hovering in space over the river.

A landmark view

Another view with connections to the Douro River.  This time a landmark, the Clerigios Church Tower in Porto seen through a gauze curtain.  I like the filtered effect – feels old with the modern buildings muted.  In the past sailors used  the tower to guide them.

A landscape view

Sun catching peaks of the  Picos Mountains in northern Spain.  This view brings back memories of a warm September evening in Potes, it was the time of  La Santísima Cruz festival; the unexpected balcony that came with our room perfect for enjoying the atmosphere and watching the sun set over a glass of local cider.

A view of Paradise

Not strictly a view from a room I’ve stayed in, though pretty nearly.  A view over the lake comes with breakfast and dinner at the charming Quinta Do Barranco da Estrada.  You can see why it’s called Paradise in Portugal.

An endless blue horizon

And the last view.  I’m cheating a bit here too as our room at the Hotel Jardin Tecina on La Gomera in the Canary Islands overlooked the pool.  For me though this is the view that says the cares of the world are left behind …relax.