Women Wandering

She was free in her wilderness

She was a wanderess, a drop of free water.

– Roman Payne (“The Wanderess”)

To celebrate a milestone birthday a few years back, I invited three girlfriends to explore an area of Italy with me that I hadn’t yet visited. I chose this mode of celebration and travel quite consciously because my past all-female travel experiences had taught me there’d be lots of laughing, intimate conversations, and dreaming out loud – just how I wanted to usher in a new chapter of my life.

I’ve travelled with women-only travel companies (lots of laughing, conversations, dreaming), with a BFF (again, laughing, convos, dreams), with female artists (you got it… the trifecta), and with female family members (yup, yup, yup). It’s not that travelling with men is problematic, but it’s just different – the men in my life have different reasons for travel and want different experiences, and I feel like there’s a lot more itinerary compromising.

I reflect on this travel preference of mine today as I introduce my latest miniature. It’s from a photo on that memorable birthday trip. The four of us flew to Turin in Piemonte, and then headed to the Langhe where we walked through the hilly vineyards from one wine town to another. On those walks, we’d stop in at cantinas for wine tastings, some nibbling, and then head back onto the trails a bit flushed and usually very talkative. Outside of La Morra, we walked beside a vineyard that was full of ripe Barbera grapes, almost ready for harvesting. They were so enticing that we all stopped for photos. The one I chose for this piece is courtesy of my friend, Lisa, as she had the best grape photos of that day. While painting this piece, it definitely took me back to – you guessed it – the laughing, the conversations, and the dreaming in the company of some amazing women wanderers!