LIVE IT, LOVE IT, SHOOT IT on a photographic tour from Ghent and Bruges, Belgium to Amsterdam and beyond in Holland with Nancy Ori! There will be daily photo-focused city walking tours inboth of these lovely cities, as well as small canal villages with windmills, traditional architecture and lovely, warm hospitality. Moving from one country to another you will stay within walking distance of the famous Keukenhof Gardens. Photograph through the eye of resident local guides and photographers, taking you to their hidden gems. These top rated locations combine the best mix of what makes this region so recognizable. Timing is everything. Your local guides will get you to the best locations for best available light and maximum visual appeal.
Itinerary
April 14 Home Your journey to Belgium and Holland begins with an overnight flight from the U.S./Canada to Brussels*, Belgium. The tour does not include any time in Brussels as it is considered more of a business city. Strabo can recommend some hotels in the area or an airport hotel if you would like to travel a day or two earlier to explore on your own or simply get over jet lag.
*PLEASE NOTE: International airline ticket will need to be booked multi-city: Home/Brussels (BRU), Amsterdam (AMS)/Home.
April 15-18 Ghent – Brugge Departure time from Brussels Airport will be announced. Your local guide will meet you at the airport and depart for the very picturesque City of Ghent, a university town and cultural hub. Ghent is one of the most underrated, unknown medieval cities; it’s nothing short of spectacular. Sitting at the confluence of two rivers in the Flemish lowlands, it boasts a non- auto center area flush with churches, striking merchant houses, squares, and cobbled streets. Continue on to your home for the next four days in the quintessential Brugge. Bruges or Brugge (Dutch), is almost a perfect medieval fairytale town. Your local guide will point out interesting details and give you facts on what you’re seeing to help your shooting time along the way. You will be covering plenty of locations, chasing the morning light as it fades. As the day winds down, see a city lost in time as the lights turn on, the city at night is simply a sight to behold. The cobbled lanes and canals link the market squares, they are so picture perfect that you may find it difficult to put your camera away and absorb the beauty. The architecture, with Gothic and Baroque buildings is truly jaw-dropping. You will have an additional three days with Nancy and your local Brugge guide getting you to all the right places at the right time. One day you will travel further afield to Flanders Fields, with remembrances of WW I.
April 19-21 Lisse (B; D three days) Enjoy a relaxing morning and board the coach, leaving Belgium behind as you travel to South Holland. There will be a photography session at Kinderdijk Netherlands, an UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring 18th century windmills. The village is a unique icon of the Dutch water management system. Waterways, footpaths and bikeways crisscross the area, leading to preserved working windmills. Continue another hour to the town of Lisse where you can prepare for a full day of photography tomorrow amidst the flowering bulbs. Although the weather can be unpredictable we have timed the tour around visiting the famous Keukenhoff Gardens, staying just a few minutes away. With almost 80 acres of gardens, one could get memorized in the colorful seven million tulip bulbs that are planted each year in the park. The gardens have optional bike rental along the trails or boat through the canals. The next day meet your local Holland guide and travel further afield to the picturesque village of Geithoorn. Giethoorn is a very peaceful place, such simple beauty that it hardly seems real. Walk past boats gliding along small canals, and old but pretty thatched-roof farmhouses. You can turn down a “side street” (another small canal) and drift under a wooden bridge where an elderly resident may be strolling over to see a neighbor. No this is not Venice, or Amsterdam. It is too quiet, too serene and remote. It is so calm that its nickname of the “Dutch Venice” may give a false impression of size and crowds and commercialism. Return to Lisse for your last evening before moving on to North Holland tomorrow.Overnight Lisse.
April 22-23 Amsterdam (B, D three days) After breakfast depart to photograph idyllic Dutch villages, with their old wooden houses and surrounding dykes. Marken and Edam, the later known for its famous cheese market and old port. Driving further north to what was once one of the major harbors of the Dutch East India Company, Hoorn. Given time you may visit Enkhuizen, before returning to photograph the windmills in late afternoon light at Schmerhorn, providing a full portfolio of Dutch icons for any visitor. Weather permitting – photograph the best place in Amsterdam for sunset. The last day in Amsterdam you will (bags each day) the best places to photograph, away from the typical tourist sites, with your local guide. Your lovely hotel provides breakfast snack bags each morning, which allows the group to depart early on foot. Photograph the quiet neighborhoods, architectural reflections in the canals, all creating a fairytale vibe. The whole place sparkles to life as a special atmosphere descends on the city. Capture the light trails of boats and the silky dreaminess of the canals with night photography techniques. Overnight Amsterdam (Bags each day).
April 24 Amsterdam – Home The tour is designed to be out shooting as much as possible, therefore museum visits have not been incorporated into the program. Strabo can arrange for additional evenings at the same hotel, please contact us for rate details. Depending on your flight time this morning enjoy breakfast at the hotel, and perhaps another early morning photo walk. There is public transportation back to the airport or the hotel staff can call a taxi for your departure. (B bag)
Nancy Ori
photography,
travel
4995 USD
