A Pizza Church

Last night Phoebe and I went to one of our favourite restaurants for something to eat, to celebrate the start of our week off of work (Yay!) This is Zizzi's, an Italian restaurant now taking up residence in a former church, which the new owners restored the interior of, keeping nearly all of the original features of this fantastic Gothic Revival style building. The top photo shows the open kitchen, with pizza oven, in the area that was once the altar. As you can see, the place is beautifully lit at night which enhances all of the stone work. The photo below shows the balcony, which is where you'll find the bar. Last night there was someone playing the piano, you can see the lid of the grand piano in the bottom of the photo. Hopefully you'll be able to make out the wooden ceiling with its carved features. If you want to see the outside of the building then check out a previous post here.

Both of these photos were taken with my camera phone, hence the quality.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Step Into The Darkside

Not much to say today, I just quite liked this shot of some steps in black and white. I think it has a real urban feel.

Living The High Life

Who fancies living in a penthouse apartment? I know I do. No noisy neighbours above you, room to swing a cat, outdoor space, great views. What more could you want?!

Cheltenham, like many towns and cities across the UK, has seen lots of apartment buildings like this one being built over the last few years. Of course, with the current financial situation, sales are slowing down and prices are falling. Perhaps I'll be able to afford a penthouse sooner than I thought!

Off Your Trolley

I normally show you the nicer side of Cheltenham but, like all towns and cities, we have the usual problems - crime, vandalism, littering, anti-social behaviour. Following Knoxville Girl's lead the other day, I headed into a part of town I never walk through. It's not a particularly unpleasant part of town, in fact redevelopment of the area has just finished. The area used to be St James' train station and then a car park, it is now luxury apartments and a Waitrose supermarket. It's also where the River Chelt flows through. The riverside area (well, the stream side area!) was revamped with a walkway, seating, artwork and a waterfall. And here it is in all its glory, along with a shopping trolley for an added urban feel!

Old And New

This is The Bayshill pub, at the edge of the town centre, with a new shiny office block in the background, on what used to St James' railway station. The train station shut many years ago and for a long time was a car park, before the Council sold the land for building. Now the area is occupied by office blocks, flats and a supermarket. Now that's what you call an original use of waste land!

Church Carving

This is one picture that you must click on to enlarge, the detailed carving is amazing. It adorns the doorway of St Gregory's Catholic Church, in St James' Square. Up until 1810 the Roman Catholics in Cheltenham used hired rooms for their services, until a small purpose built chapel was erected on the Churches present site. St Gregory's was then built in stages between 1854 and 1876, following the design of architect Charles Hansom. The Grade 2 listed building now has a weekend congregation of around 1000, with about 70 people attending the daily Mass. Its good to see that this church is used regularly, unlike some of the towns others. It really is a lovely looking building, so I'll show some more of it another time.

Its A Restaurant!

Yes, the carved stone head on the church with a difference, from yesterdays post, is on the front of a restaurant!

Zizzi's is a great Italian restaurant that took over the building about five years ago. Before that the former church, which was de-consecrated in 1974, was used as the Church Hall for St Philip and St James Church based in nearby Leckhampton. The church, once St James', is in Suffolk Square and is built in the Gothic Revival style. It was built in 1825-30 on land sold by the Earl of Suffolk's daughter, and was designed by local architect Edward Jenkins. It was, and still is, the impressive focal point of the upmarket Suffolk Square. Inside all of the original stone carvings, pillars and balconies still exist; with the open kitchen under the magnificent stained glass window, in the area of the former altar. It is stunning inside and next time I eat there I will take some photos. As a bonus the food is great too!

There was no outright winner from yesterdays quiz. The nearest guess was Vanky, but they have no link to their profile, so I can't give a link to their blog. Therefore the honour of a link goes to Jackie in Glasgow, who came second. Check out her great blog at Glasgow Daily Photo.

Fire! Fire!

I'm going out on a limb here, but I guess that this was Cheltenhams former Fire Station! The towns present one is close to the Hospital, where as this one is on the other side of town, in the St James' area. I spotted this building back in the summer when I was at the little Bistro ( Number 7) situated opposite the old Fire Station. The building is in good repair but looks like its undergoing some kind of makeover, as the windows are covered with dust sheets. I can't seem to find anything out about the old Fire Station, apart from it was built in 1906!

Theme Day - Bridges

This bridge is a relatively new feature in Cheltenham. The Honeybourne Bridge forms part of the former Honeybourne Line that once ran out of Cheltenham Train Station. The former train line came into St James' Station, now Waitrose supermarket, which was unused since the 1960's. For many decades the route of the former track has been a cycle path linking Cheltenham Spa Station to the Leisure Centre. When the Borough Council passed plans for the redevelopement of the St James' site the bridge was required due to new roads crossing through the cycle path. This new bridge now carries cyclists and pedestrians saftely along the route of the once great train system.

Check out these other Daily Photo Blogs around the world that have joined in with this Theme Day -

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