Good Campervan Morning and self care Sunday from the foot of Volterra, a small town, with a big history, perched 500 metres atop a hill at some and further into Tuscany. A warm evening in the shade of the town above us and parked up a few yards from one of the medieval gateways into the city, next to a fountain dating back to Ancient Rome. Travellers would pass through the gate, pay the taxes due on any goods they were bringing in, then slake theirs and their animals thirst in the fountain, before moving into the town. It’s a warm morning, very humid and close. Fortunate enough to have the company of an Owl during the night there hoots echoing around the trees and parking area. The grey cloud has given way to blue sky and the church bells call the faithful. The usual blackbirds and other secretive songbirds high in the trees herald in the morning. Yesterday was very much a tale of two days, one bright and sunny, the other of dull, thunder and rain and the consistent dance between the two as the day progressed.
Playing the wandering tourist again, medieval streets, piazzas, palaces, coffee houses and ristorante. Coffee. There is something special sat outside an Italian coffee house, drinking coffee and watching humanity pass you by. Buyers and sellers, shoppers and shopkeepers, families, couples and individuals, tourist and local, cheek by jowl, hustling and snaking their way through narrow streets. Pick a coffee house off the beaten track away from the Piazzas and shops and witness humanity unfold.
“ I love going to places where I can sit and people watch, take in the colors of their clothes, the wrinkles they have around their eyes when they smile, their body language when meeting one another, and sometimes I even eavesdrop on their conversations “ Helen Edwards.
Wandering streets looking for something different, looking for an angle, history, a story, a picture, the apparently uninteresting or a view. Something that jumps out at me or needs some work to reveal itself. Trying to immerse myself in the surroundings. The director and photographer Antoine D’Agata said that :
“ It’s not how a photographer looks at the world that is important. It’s their intimate relations up with it. “
Tending to walk away from the crowds. Patience as I wrote a few days ago being the rule. Also acceptance. The day will bring what the day will bring. And so onwards. It’s self care Sunday so do something for yourself today and lovely days people.
“ Allow yourself the freedom to step away from perfection because it is only then that you can find success. “ Chase Jarvis.
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