Tuscany Travels

Florence

Well you see correctly, we have just returned from a 15 day trip to Tuscany, Italy.

Tom asked me towards the end of our trip if I was freshly inspired, the answer was unequivocally, yes! But what was I inspired to do?  That is the more interesting question.  Many of you know I am a fiber artist, but I am also a trained painter/artist, watercolor being my favorite medium, and I am also a textile designer.  I am a foodie and love experiencing new plates of beautiful food which I can translate into my life as well.  As we approached our last days in Italy I realized that, while we had full day trips out into the countryside, and driving in Italy is a bit nail biting at times, I was relaxed.  This vacation felt long.  What I became aware of was, I was savoring every moment, making each, one to remember.  I intentionally spent time capturing moments.  Most of us get into routines and a week goes by and I say, boy that week went fast or worse, that month flew by.  These past two weeks, have been new and exciting, and at the same time slow.  I want to sit down and document the cities we visited, the towns we drove through, and begin sifting through the 1300 photos that came home with me on my little digital camera!  I had all intents to journal and paint while traveling but I think that will happen later.  As I sort through my photos and experiences I promise to post and share them as inspiration too, wait till you see Venice!

Pointing at EVERYTHING in Venice!

What is also funny about traveling in these amazing places is, as you stand amongst a crowd of tourists taking photos and wonder how many of these same photo memories are floating around out there?  How many families sat watching slide shows of trips their loved ones took and things they saw - the same things over the years?  And now with the internet can't you simply Google images of Tuscany, Venice, Pisa, the Duomo in Florence and see almost the same images?  Yup, you sure can.  I even have boxes of slides my mother took of her travels in Europe in the 50's which I am in the process of scanning.  I wonder if when I get to her Italy slides, if we stood in the same place as each other some 60 years apart and each of us take a similar photo?  Intriguing, isn't it? I cannot wait to see what I find when I look back.

Murano Glass Chandelier

I know I am a different observer than most, heck my friends and family tell me so all the time, so it must be true!  What I observe are many things.  When I think about what captures my eyes as I trek around a town or city, I realize my habitual textile designer always pops her head out to take photos or memories that can be used as a "reference", she is so funny.  My water colorist takes photos that look like a good composition I can paint at a later date, and the foodie in me takes photos of food, to remember a meal, or a shopping experience, a different cuisine, different clothes, different styles, different interpretations.  It all comes down to Color, Texture, Pattern and Life!   Enjoy Life, enjoy the journey and my life lesson of the past couple of weeks is really savor the moment.  Ciao everyone!

Me and The Butterfly Flower Girl in Milan