Brizzle Love

And now for those bits and pieces I found on my trip that are definitely worth sharing!

The Arnolfini gallery is a must see for culture lovers - art, dance, music, film and talks all congeal together here, and it is well known for presenting the best of the best. Its situated right in the docks, with a brilliant bookshop and cafe which looks out onto the water. 

There's a huge gallery/museum culture going on around the docks.

@Bristol includes the science museum, with an amazing new Planetarium structure:

Spike Island is another exhibition space, with art, literature, talks and activity workshops constantly taking place. 

The Imax cinema (based inside @Bristol) also offers an amazing experience, and the Aquarium can be found in this area too. 

THE NEED TO REST:

Found a really relaxed cafe/pub along the docks too, called the 'Harbourside' . Hosts its own little musix nights, publiscied in a leaflet which sits on all the tables with the month ahead's listings. Not only is there some casual jazz artists, but flamenco, soul and funk acts also make their way in. Every weekend the cafe holds its own market, "bringing you the best of local wares, trinkets, gourmet food and gifts". La Dame Gateau is in the house selling her cakes, all home made delights - I had a yummy (but maybe a bit sickly) white choc flapjack. Nice and reasonable, that goes for the drinks too. Just a chilled out pub with a brilliant view of (hence the name) the harbourside.

Listings available at http://no1harbourside.co.uk/

Another good-looking eating place along the harbour:

Found some very interesting building inscriptions when walking around the centre

A brilliant little vintage shop, with a retro style bowling alley attached - hence the name 'The Lanes':

A microbrewery, where it is possible to create and then buy your own alcohol, it has its own little 'beer garden' which has amazing rooftop views over Bristol's skyline. 

Bristol University stands tall in the city - some beautifully grand buildings that are worth a walk to see:

One thing that is impossible to ignore in the city centre is the sheer amount of graffiti work. However, its not a bad thing, seeing as Bristol is the home of Banksy, the quality is amazing...

The Grand Hotel had a special Christmas theme going on:

Cabot Circus was also in the Christmas spirit:

                               

A brilliant trip all round. Yes, I've been to Bristol many a time, but I don't think mum and I realised how bursting the city is with culture, food and sights... It is definitely worthy of another visit!

Ship Shape, Bristol Fashion

Even though I have been to Bristol quite a few times for shopping trips, I hadn't realised what a big city it is, with so many different areas.

Mother Sazza and I had one of those very satisfying mother/daughter bonding days touring around Bristol in the car, trying to orientate ourselves. We practically covered the whole of the area before taking to the task in hand and getting on our feet for some serious walking.

Clifton was our first stop.

A beautiful quaint formation of roads with little boutiques and coffee shops alongside one another. It was a nice change to see some more independent stores for once - from special toy and interior design shops to bakerys and fishmongers.

Just So -an impressive toy shop full of hand crafted pieces

Fish mongers / amazing fish and chip shop

Yummy little deli

Amazing cakes!

One of the Clifton high streets

Another Clifton high street

However, of course, there is no escape from the chain restaurants - cue Strada, Zizzi, Pizza Express, Cafe Nero etc etc. Clifton seems to be the posh sector of Bristol, and reminded me of Montpelier in my home town of Cheltenham - another very designer street.

Zizzi's sits in a beautiful building in the centre of one of the Clifton streets.

The views from the top of Bristol are amazing. I never thought about how hilly the city is - mum and I were practically leaning forward in the car to help it on its crawl up the steep streets to Clifton.

Of course, we had to pay a visit to the famous 'Royal York Crescent' which stands out along the dramatic skyline of Bristol when you're driving towards the city. An aspiration to live in one of these beautiful houses has indeed begun, even just for the view.

Behind the main streets of Clifton lies the Suspension Bridge, designed by Brunel, an icon that constantly represents Bristol. I have a ridiculous fear of heights and there was no way I was going to be in a car driving over that, let alone walking it. But, admittedly, it is incredible, and the specially designated and heavily signposted 'viewing point' and 'camera observation area' just shows how important the bridge is to the city. Definitely worth a trek up the hill for, and a reminder of Bristol's history with the shipping and docking industry.

Suspension bridge taken from the car.

And so to View.

An art gallery in the Hotwells area of Bristol, full of really high quality pieces.

The 'Darkness In Bloom' exhibition finishes on the 8th of Jan unfortunately but I wouldn't mind visiting it again to see its next one. I absolutely loved one particular artist - Rosie Emerson...

ROSIE EMERSON

She is a 'collage photographer', which means she digitally manipulates photographs of women wearing incredible jewellery and adds paint and ink effects. I particularly love her pieces set in the dark background - the colours really pop out and give a more intense feel.

She has done a series of pieces titled 'Alchemy' which feature fashion muses including Daisy Lowe and Eliza Doolittle. The jewellery is designed by Annoushka Ducas, and the idea for the collaboration was conceived by both Ducas and Emerson, as a way of presenting the collection.

Some of this art work has already been on display in Somerset House during LFW last September, and they will be auctioned in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

BETH CARTER

Another artist I found fascinating in this exhibition was Beth Carter. 

Free Reign

I surprised myself at how interested I was in this delicate sculpture, where the human body is mixed with the horses head. I've picked out a quote from the exhibition booklet, which questions whether the creatures are "powerful aggressors or are they vulnerable and thoughtful beasts?"

Bull and Flowers

If you look really closely, you will notice the tiny flower details embedded into the bull's coat. This is one of those art works where the closer you look, the more you see, and the contrast between an aggressive bull and precious flowers is really beautiful.

Something which mum and I found really interesting were the two featured animated drawings placed in a little dark room under the gallery.  Carter has created two different animations - one called 'The Shining Guest' and the other, 'Deja Vu'  which each have a different meanings, but the quality of the drawing is amazing.

GEORGE HARDING

The next few pieces are by George Harding - the artist who inspired the whole exhibition, and I absolutely love these:

Remembrance 

In Darkness Blooms




JACOB DAHLSTRUP

Jacob Dahlstrup's intricate skull tattooing is, although slightly odd, very very beautiful. 

Fox Skull

Magpie Skull

Dahlstrup has covered all sorts of mediums in his fine pencil style, from paper to human bodies, and I think it gives a really fragile quality.

DAMIAN DALY

The final artist from the exhibition - Damian Daly - has a very different way of producing his work. He uses single pencil strokes to start forming his characters which he then enhances by pulling in his "inner thoughts, memories, and imagination"

Fragile Neck

Tigerpawed Hummingbird

Geodesiac Girl

Particularly like the one above - this is another one of those pieces - the more you look, the more you find.

A really  beautiful exhibition by  View - highly recommend a visit to the gallery no matter what is on, it  seems like a real up-and-coming venue and full of amazing work.