Next week I fly to Italy, Milan first, then the coast at Forte dei Marmi. Instead of writing about the trip after, here’s the part nobody shows: how it gets planned. This is the exact process, using this route as the worked example.
Step 1: Pick a Base, Not a Checklist
Bad trips chase ten locations. Good trips pick one or two bases and go deep. Milan gives me the city, architecture, fashion-week energy, the Duomo. Forte dei Marmi gives me the opposite: a quiet, old-money beach town with the Apuan Alps stacked behind it. Two bases, total contrast, one hour forty apart. That contrast is the story.
Step 2: Scout Digitally First
Before any trip I spend an evening with satellite view, sun-position apps and geotag searches. I want to know where the sun rises relative to the Duomo terraces, when the marble mountains behind Forte catch the last light, which beach clubs face west. By the time I land, I have a shot list with times attached, not a wish list.
3: Schedule Light, Not Days
My itinerary isn’t “Tuesday: Milan.” It’s “Tuesday 6:15am: Duomo rooftop at opening; midday: Galleria interiors; 7pm: Navigli.” Golden hours are pre-assigned to hero shots. Middays go to interiors, food and details, the shots that don’t care about harsh sun.
4: Build In a Buffer Day
One day with nothing scheduled, always. It absorbs the rained-out morning, the closed location, the shot that needs a second attempt. A buffer day has saved every third trip I’ve ever taken.
5: Know What Done Looks Like
Before flying, I write the edit in one sentence. For Italy: “Milan’s marble was cut from the mountains above Forte dei Marmi, city and source, one hour apart.” If a planned shot doesn’t serve that sentence, it gets demoted. Focus at the planning desk is what looks like luck on location.
Full report from the other side of the trip coming next week.
