Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The shores of Sirmione

England, and Belgium this past September.
Or, see all our travel posts here.

What's the first thing you do after being cooped up in a car for 6 hours and arriving to views like this? (Have a drink and) Take a good long walk.

Sirmione is the perfect size to comfortably walk around in a couple hours, and its shores are ridiculously stunning. During our walk there in September we saw hardy a soul, the weather was perfect (warm with a breeze) and we felt like we had this entire enchanting peninsula to ourselves. 

The waters of Lake Garda are so clear! While we toured Sirmione's shores we passed by the back yards of little villas and luxury hotels, for the most part following this easy pathway...

...And happening upon some Roman ruins! (No big deal.)

Sirmione is the kind of place that begs to be photographed. Sunbathers, cute kids, (more) swans, mountains and sweeping vistas. I was shutter happy.

But sometimes I question travelling with a camera and phone by my side at all times. I hope to be brave enough to leave them behind someday, and rely purely on my memory to capture every memorable scene. Or - to bring a film camera so I'm more attentive to the number and quality of shots I'm taking. I find I always get the best photos - and am the most relaxed about it - when my camera has a very low battery (and I can't reshoot and reshoot), so maybe that's an option too! (Perpetual low battery syndrome is a thing in our house.)

Have you ever travelled without a camera? Were you more tuned in to your surroundings (or was it just annoying and scary?)

- Jess


  1. What a gorgeous post Jess. I can't stand it when I forget my camera or when I can't take a picture... {as witnessed by my poor boyfriend when I realised my battery had died as we pulled into Venice for the first time}. Yes, it probably does distract me from a little bit from my surroundings, but when captured in the right way, I also feel like I carry it home with me.

    1. Thanks! I agree, so I'm not quite ready to leave mine at home when we travel (yet). But I've started traveling without tech when we take day trips around Malta, and I have much richer memories of those day trips than the ones I've photographed! Strange right?!

  2. I brought a film camera with me when I went to Kenya for a month last summer. I love the photos I took - I was more careful with what I photographed and took more time to get it right. I was part of a group of 8 and most of the others brought digital cameras with them, so I'm not lacking in photos of me with the kids or mundane day-to-day events. However they have fewer of the type of photographs I have.


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