Ah, Italy…
… where else but the art capital of the Renaissance world, the place where opera was invented, where Galileo pioneered astronomy, where Giotto, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci created the great works of the era, where Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio wrote history… Italy is enchanting, mysterious and eternal.1
Fourth Time Lucky
This week-long excursion in Tuscany is a “me” solo photography trip; I’ve come to call it my “fourth time lucky” trip. I have been intrigued for years by the beauty of Tuscany and wished to see, and photograph, it for myself. In 2019 I signed up for a Light & Land photography tour of Tuscany that was set to run in May 2020. We all know what happened in early 2020 (pandemic, anyone?), so the tour that year was cancelled. Sights were reset on the tour to run in May 2021, but that year it was also cancelled due to COVID-19. The tour did actually run in 2022, but last year I was still not completely comfortable with getting on a plane and travelling anywhere, so I backed out. This year, 2023, it’s finally a go the fourth time around, and I’m ready to take it on!
Light & Land Photography Tours
Several people have heard me mention Light & Land: this is the British tour company specializing in photography tours to some of the most interesting and photographic places on the planet. Light & Land take care of the travel and hotel arrangements and take you to the best photography spots so you only need focus (no pun intended) on getting some great shots. The tour Leader also provides invaluable photography advice/tutoring during the trip. This is my second Light & Land tour; in 2018 I joined them for a four-day photo tour around England’s west coast: beautiful and rugged Cornwall. If you’d like to read about that trip, my Cornwall blog is here.
The Travel Plan
My agenda for this trip involves first flying to London (UK) on May 3rd to stay in an airport hotel at Heathrow for a couple of days. The reason for this is to overcome the inevitable, soul-crushing jet lag before proceeding on to Italy, where I will need all my energy and faculties from the moment I arrive. On May 6th there is a group flight from London’s Heathrow to Pisa, Italy, and this is the flight I will be on. My colleagues and I will arrive in Pisa together and be met by Phil, our amazing tour Leader, who will gather us up and drive two-and-a-half hours to our hotel in the Tuscan countryside.
I’ve never been to Italy before so this will be a memorable trip I’m sure. For years I’ve heard so much about how wonderful Italian food, wine and people are, so here’s my chance to find out for myself.
This Blog
This trip is all about photography. As such, my blog this time out will not contain as much explanatory text as some of my others have; the emphasis is on the captured images (with a destination like Tuscany, that’s a given).
Due to the late nights and very early mornings our group will have while in Tuscany, I don’t intend to blog while on location as I have done with other journeys. Rather, this blog (actually, it’s more like an online diary) will be written in retrospect using my field notes from each day. Hopefully nothing will be left out.
Soooooo, time to go!
All my bags are packed I’m ready to go / I’m standing here outside the door / The taxi’s waiting, he’s blowing his horn…
Let’s do this!
1 Paraphrase from a book I’ve recently read authored by Lesley-Ann Jones
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