Under the Tuscan Sun ... - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Close your eyes, and you see rolling hills covered by spreading vineyards, with leaves waving and grapes glistering in the warm golden sheen.  Would you have imagined there is a piece of land, under the same sun, that could be bare during certain season of the year, but it's also more "rolling"?  It's the UNESCO listed World Heritage Site of Val d'Orcia,  the strip of land that's been celebrated by painters from the Scuola Senese, which flourished during the Renaissance.

The landscape is so suggestive that I find my imagination flying off the roof.  Wait... Roof?  Anyway, you get the point.  

Stay tuned.  I assure you that there will be more about Val d'Orcia forth-coming.

What do you see in this image? 

Lone-Tree-on-Top-of-Hill-of-Waves-Val-d'Orcia-Tuscany-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

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Some Choose to Stay with the Passing of Time - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

I once heard myself blurted to someone "I like everything old".  It's funny how self-revelation can sometimes get ahead of realization by oneself.  

In the medieval town of Pisa, Italy, majority visitors cram the UNESCO World Heritage site of Piazza dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles in English).  Many even try to save the Torre (The Leaning Tower).  Yet, a few blocks away, we get to sink into the rhythm of an old town, and witness how locals go about their daily lives.  It is here that we ran into this gem, where time seems to not have much meaning to the one that creates beautiful crafts with his hands.  

An old man working in an old shop with his old craft... To me, that is a beautiful way of life. 

Orafo-Goldsmith-in-the-Medieval-Town-of-Pisa-Tuscany-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

P.S. If you are interested in seeing how people "save the Leaning Tower", put a request in the comment below and I will share in the next post.

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Not All Who Wander are Lost - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Not all who wander are lost.  At least not in Tuscany... :-)

You've all got to hear my opinion about Firenze (Florence in Italian) in my recent post.  In the week following this Renaissance mecca, we explored, in depth, the beautiful country-side of the Chianti area.  My nerves relaxed and senses woke up to the warm peacefulness (you know what I'm talking about :-)), until we arrived at Siena.  To be accurate, that was until we sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic in a what-seems-to-be a two-lane street, which was not even horribly close to the old city center.  I felt congested and difficulty in breathing.  Despite numerous comments online about how Siena is much more laid back compared to Firenze, we "fled" to the country side as soon as we checked into our hotel.

We picked a general direction to where the interesting topography of Crete Senesi is on the map and off we went.  After 8 or 9 or 10 (anyway, a lot of) round-abouts (where traffic flow at intersections is managed without traffic lights) and roughly half-an-hour on the main road, we veered off to the little town of Castelnuovo Berardenga.  A stroll and peeking about every corner of the town did not do enough to tame our curiosity and we knew we wanted to keep exploring.  Putting our faith into the hands of the land of Tuscany, we continued along the same street that we came from.  Voilà, there we met the work of a true artist.  The small vineyard with such graphic design, at the entrance of a tiny town San Gusmè:

Vineyard-San-Gusmè-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

With such an image in hand, you can't say we were lost, can you?  We simply wandered into a magic land. :-)

Clarification: For kids that don't want to go home or disappear into the darkness of night after their parents fell asleep, this concept does not apply to you.  Wondering at night does not bring your to a wonderland.  Go home, do what a kid is supposed to do (go to school, work hard, etc.).  When you become an adult, you may qualify to join the league.

P.S. To have future posts delivered to the comfort of your email inbox, simply subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/ba87a1. :-)

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