Solo photo excursions

CM and I both love taking photos, particularly while traveling, so you'd think it would be a great activity for us to do together. In reality, however, it's not my favorite. Chalk it up to my own insecurities, but I get frustrated when we both photograph the same thing and his photos turn out SO MUCH BETTER. And with his amazing eye for composition, he spots photo opportunities that I would pass right by. For whatever reason, when we're together, I tend to leave my camera in its bag.

Which is why we I'm so happy we discovered a new travel activity: solo photo excursions. Some of my favorite pictures of the summer were taken during a timed 30-minute stroll in Montalcino at sunset, when we headed off with our cameras in opposite directions and met up afterwards for Negronis and shared what we'd each seen. It's a tradition I hope we'll keep on subsequent trips—I actually felt closer to CM after spending a (teeny tiny) bit of time apart.

I had plenty of time to wander alone with my camera during our 3 days in Aix-en-Provence. Poor CM was holed up in our (admittedly gorgeous) hotel room working for most of our time (despite the vacation beard, he wasn't truly on vacation). I was going stir-crazy, so I headed out to take pictures of this gorgeous city, all winding streets and outdoor cafés and rosé…so, so much rosé. I've been told that Aix is not even close to being the most scenic spot in Provence, but we sure liked it.

As ever, click on any photo to be taken into a slideshow.

All photos by LMB