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Our Favorite Photographs of 2018 | Photography Travel Tours

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Jim and Magrit Baurecht NilsenJanuary 13, 2019

Magrit and I spent a wonderful and adventurous 4.5 months in Europe in 2018. Conducting photo tours, researching new locations for 2019 and beyond, and visiting family in Austria. We even had time for a hut-to-hut hike in the fantastic tri-border regions of Slovenia, Austria and Italy.

So what better way to recap this journey than with some of the favorite images we’ve captured along the way.

Seattle-Frankfurt-Naples

This was the beginning of our journey: a 2-week scouting trip in the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast region. We can’t wait to start our 2019 tour season with this exciting new photo tour.

naples, night, blue hour, italy — Naples, Italy blue hour with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

Santa Margherita Nuova Church, Procida, Italy

positano, italy — Evening blue hour in Positano on the Amalfi Coast

For more images and tour information, click here. »

The Czech Republic

A quick flight from Rome to Prague brought us to the location of our first photo tour of the season. We love the Czech Republic and always look forward to revisiting it and photographing our favorite spots: Prague, Kutna Hora, Cesky Krumlov and Southern Moravia, where the rolling hills are glowing with bright spring green.

Southern Moravia field patterns, Czech Republic

From one of Prague’s many towers during the evening blue hour

Santini stairwell, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

My favorite wall, Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic.

For more images and tour information, click here. »

Cinque Terre

From the Czech Republic we flew to Pisa in Italy to get ready for our Cinque Terre Photo Tour. Flights are very frequent and incredibly inexpensive in Europe. Not too much train travel for us these days. I have photographed this scene in Manarola in the Cinque Terre many times before and will continue to do so. It’s one of my favorite places to photograph anywhere!

For more images and tour information, click here. »

Tuscany

Our Cinque Terre Photo Tour flows directly into our Tuscany Photo Tour which is followed immediately by our Venice Photo Tour. A few of our dedicated and hearty clients have even participated in all three tours in a row. The Tuscany Photo Tour is dear to our hearts as it was the first photo tour the we conducted 9 years ago. It is still my absolute favorite of the bunch.

Poggio Covilli farmhouse, Val d’ Orcia, Tuscany, Italy

Il Ciprisini farmhouse, Val d’ Orcia, Tuscany, Italy

For more images and tour information, click here. »

Venice

After a quick night off in Pisa we made our way to Venice. There’s nothing like this place in the whole world, Las Vegas included. 🙂 This is the real deal and yes, it is crowded, expensive and smelly at times but we absolutely love the decaying charm and magical beauty of Venice. We found a couple of new locations very close to our hotel with great compositions for evening photography during our Venice Photo Tour.

For more images and tour information, click here. »

Slovenia and Croatia

After our time in Venice, we met a brand new photo tour group at Marco Polo Airport and made our way from Venice to Rovinj, a charming medieval town in Croatia and our first stop on the Slovenia & Croatia Photo Tour with a Pinch of Italy. This tour includes Rovinj and Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, the Lake Bled region of Slovenia and a one-night stop in a small charming hamlet on top of Monte Lussari in the very NE corner of Italy.

Wonderful afternoon light on top of Monte Lussari, Italy

For more images and tour information, click here. »

Portugal

Back on board another flight, this time to Porto in Portugal where we began our brand new exciting Portugal Photo Tour. Photo destinations included the lively small city of Porto, the port vineyards of the Douro Valley, colorful Aveiro, the walled town of Obidos and Lisbon.

Traditional Portuguese fishing boat near Aveiro

Obidos, Portugal during the evening blue hour

For more images and tour information, click here. »

Provence

And last but not least, we flew from Lisbon to Marseille for our Provence Photo Tour which includes photographing lavender in full bloom, charming villages and the beautiful white horses of the Camargue.

The horses of the Camargue. Great big fun!

One last run at sunset. Camargue, France

For more images and tour information, click here. »

2019 is off to a great start. All tours are full except for a couple of spots on the Provence Photo Tour. We will be posting the 2020 schedule soon.

We’re also excited to be adding a couple new photo tours to the 2020 lineup: The Netherlands in April 2020 and Ireland in July 2020. We’ll research the best photo ops, hotels and restaurants extensively during our time in Europe this spring and early summer so that we can offer our clients more exciting and fun photo adventures.

Stay tuned for the updates. We wish you a prosperous 2019 filled with fantastic photo ops.

Jim and Magrit have been photographing professionally and traveling in Europe for the past 20 years.

They started Photography Travel Tours in 2011 with the goal of educating and guiding photographers to some of the most beautiful and iconic scenes in Europe.

The tours are not just about getting great photographs but also have the side benefits of doing so in wonderful environments. Great food, wine, people, and ambiance.

Read more about Jim & Magrit and their wonderful photo tours here: (http://photographytraveltours.com/about/).

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.

Bonne année !

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Tim HarroldJanuary 11, 2019

Happy New Year to all the slow travellers of the world!

News from the riverboat, the Randle – Winter 2019

The river is normally a tranquil sleepy snake that winds its way through the Yonne valley. However, in the winter it can be a little restive, and last winter was no exception. A great winter storm filled the banks with so much water that the captain needed wellies in order the collect the daily bread, and trees ripped from the shores floated down with the torrent.

This can be a regular seasonal event; however, a well-engineered system of dams and sluices moderates the flow and prevents serious flooding. Some the dams are over 200 years old and involve a system of wooden needles that are manually adjusted to maintain levels and moderate the flow. First installed on the Nivernais in the 19th century because of its unique combination of river and canal, the needle dam system was eventually used throughout France. Needle Barrages, as they are called, are a feature of the Nivernais Canal and very much part of its watery charm.

The Randle approaching the needle dam at Vaux
(access to the lower part of the river is via the canal and lock to the left of the dam)

Collette, a stunning new film

A stunning new film has just been released, based on the life of Colette, author of Gigi, mentor of Audrey Hepburn, and a daughter of Burgundy. Visit Colette’s home village and museum dedicated to her life, cruise through the beautiful countryside, visit vineyards, chateaus, and castles, enjoy fine wine and fine dining, live the life of the “belle époque” aboard the Randle, a dream of Burgundy!

Just to lift mood with those in the northern winter, here’s a dreamy video of last summer by our local tourist office featuring many of the places we visit on our riverboat tours.. now dreaming of summer 2019 !

“Rêver… je ne plus attendre rêver, pourtant, j’adore rêver…”

Dream .. I cannot wait to dream again, why, I love to dream …

Visit our New Website!

www.edgecharter.com

Welcome to our bright new website with abundant information about cruising the inland waterways of Burgundy. Build your very own perfect cruise with many custom options using our Cruise Builder.

Contact us with your own ideas. Come for the perfect cruise vacation aboard the Randle!

*Build your very own dream boat holiday with our cruise builde*r

Wishing everybody a very happy and prosperous 2019!

Tim Harrold is owner and captain of the Randle, a beautiful and classically styled river boat fitted with two en-suite cabins and all the modern facilities to travel in comfort.

Tim offers private barge tours on the picturesque Burgundy Canal du Nivernais and river Yonne. A luxury cruise with Tim and his crew includes gourmet cuisine, fine wine, and guided tours by private car to vineyards and chateaux. Learn more about Edge Charter and barge trips on the Randle along Burgundy's canals and rivers here.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.

The Majestic Duomo of Orvieto

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Michelle LogueDecember 30, 2018

She’s not the first thing you see when you arrive in Orvieto. I think that makes the first time you see her even more breathtaking. Walking up via del Duomo, you catch the first glimpse of her facade, and as you continue up the street the full picture comes into view. When you finally reach the Piazza del Duomo, you see her in all of her glory. Stunning. And that’s just on the outside.

Most eye-catching are the large sculptures of Angel, ox, lion, Eagle, symbols of the Evangelists. In between the doorways are graphic depictions of the Creation, and the Final Judgement. You could spend hours there and not even step inside.

The Duomo, officially named Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, is a 14th century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was built to commemorate the Miracle of Bolsena, in which a young priest had just blessed the Host during Mass and it started to bleed, so much so that it stained the altar cloth. The cloth is housed in the Chapel of the Corporal inside the Duomo. If you visit at Easter or during the Feast of Corpus Christi you can see the Corporal. Otherwise, you can see the beautiful gilded housing inside the chapel.

On the opposite side of the church is the Chapel of San Brizio, also know as the Signorelli chapel. Fra Angelico and Luca Signorelli completed the frescoes in this chapel, which is said to have influenced Michelangelo’s Last Judgement. The artists even put themselves in the work.

Also of note inside the Duomo is the Pieta, carved by Orvieto native Ippolito Scalza. It took him eight years to carve the four marbled figures.

Every time I visit the Duomo I am struck by her beauty, and I see something new. The way the light makes her sparkle depends on the sky; overcast, bright sunlight, twilight. I go visit daily just to say hi. She’s always the last stop before I leave Orvieto, often accompanied by my final gelato! “A prossimo” See you next time!

Michelle Logue leads cultural and creative adventures in Orvieto, Italy. With a mandate to provide "travel that transforms", Adventures in Italy gives guests an immersive experience. After more than 15 years of return trips, Orvieto has become a welcoming home base surpassing the typical Italian vacation.

Adventures in Italy operates trips in May and September, with two options: Artistic Enrichment nurtures creative expression, while Discover Orvieto invites visitors to focus on the history and culture of Orvieto and live as locals. Find out more about tours and special offers by following Adventures in Italy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit www.adventuresinitaly.ca

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.