Travel Diary

wednesday 15th april - sunday 10th may

Guide

April 2026

In the weeks ahead, follow See All This editor-in-chief Nicole Ex and photographer Anke Riesenkamp as they travel from Città della Pieve in Italy to Cape Town and the Karoo in South Africa, before returning to Italy for the opening of La Biennale di Venezia.

Fig 1. Nicole Ex at the 61st Venice Biennale In Minor Keys, in front of one of the monumental works by Kaloki Nyamai, which is exhibited at the Arsenale venue.

‘Flight from Cape Town to Istanbul. From Istanbul to Venice. Usually the lagoon glitters in welcome; today it is grey as we take the vaporetto to San Marco. We are among the first wave arriving for the 61st Biennale, In Minor Keys, but Venice already seems worn out – like a damp jumper stretched too many times. Mine.’

Read Nicole’s column about the Bienale di Venezia here.

Scroll down to watch the interview with artist Dries Verhoeven.

9 may 2026

7 may 2026

Nicole and Anke’s trip comes to a close in Venice, where attend the opening of the Biennale and spend a few take to take in the art and atmosphere. Ahead of the opening, Nicole spoke with artist Dries Verhoeven. View the full interview in the video below.

For the 61st edition of La Biennale di Venezia, Dries Verhoeven, in collaboration with curator Rieke Vos, presents The Fortress: a work that addresses self-preservation and protectionism in the face of profound geopolitical uncertainty.

Read more about Dries Verhoeven’s work. Read the opening statement by the artist here.

Fig 2. The Fortress, 2026, Dries Verhoeven. View of the Dutch pavilion. Photo Willem Popelier.

5 may 2026

‘We have come from a landscape that was once an inland sea, with succulent plants such as the ‘soutvygies’, whose fleshy leaves still taste of salt. Now it is time to surrender to the swell and shimmer of the ocean itself, to upwellings and wind-driven waves, with lenticular clouds floating above us like UFOs.’

Read Nicole Ex’s new column here.

2 may 2026

‘We are leaving Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Karoo. I am writing in the car as we head back to Cape Town. Estimated time of arrival: 5.30 pm — just before nightfall. ‘Back to the real world,’ Anke says as the gate closes behind us, ‘or is the world we are leaving perhaps the real one?’’

Read Nicole Ex’s new column here.

28 april 2026

In the Karoo we visit the weaving studio of Frances van Hasselt, whose handmade mohair cloths and blankets are inspired by the landscape and people of this semi-desert. Watch the interview with Frances van Hasselt in the video below.

‘That live-and-let-live spirit runs through the work she makes with a team of local makers: pieces into which the colour and layers of the land are woven, but which above all radiate the pleasure of making, as well as humour and self-deprecation. They express themselves in mohair, soft and lustrous as silk when it comes from the hair of kid goats.’

Read Nicole’s column about her visit to the studio of Frances van Hasselt here.

Fig 7. The atelier of Frances Van Hasselt

Fig 9. Weaving looms in the studio of Frances van Hasselt

24 april 2026

From Cape Town to the Karoo: in her travel journal, Nicole writes about the route that leads away from the city and through the vast emptiness, with views of mountain ridges draped in wisps of mist and dramatic skies.

On 22 April, their first day in the Karoo, Nicole and Anke explored the area around the Swartberge with Dr Sue Milton-Dean, ecologist, conservationist, and an unrivalled expert on this remarkable landscape.

Fig 11. Dr. Sue Milton-Dean and Nicole Ex, Swartberge, South Africa | photo: Anke Riesenkamp

23 april 2026

On 21 April, Nicole and Anke drove from Cape Town to the remote town of Prince Albert in the Karoo, a journey of around 500 kilometres. ‘Mists hanging between the mountain ridges as in the Highlands. Dramatic skies that make those of Turner look pale by comparison,’ Nicole writes about the views during that drive.

Fig 13. The landscape on the route to Prince Albert, 21 April

‘By late afternoon the light begins to change. It gets dark early here, around 6.15–6.30pm. By then you can barely conceive of the vastness of the landscape.

It is one great emptiness and expanse. The light and the autumn season together conjure clouds and shades of grey. The clouds hang low, sometimes deep into the valley, giving you a strange sense of being simultaneously above and below. You sometimes lose all sense of where you are. The light shifts pink one moment, then grey, then gold.’

Fig 14. The landscape in the evening light, 21 April

21 april 2026

Read Nicole’s column about Quintosapore, a regenerative farm in Umbria, and her encounter with Satish Kumar. And listen to the sound of the morning in Città della Pieve.

Fig 15. Workshop with Cameron Russell using cyanotype technique at the Humus gathering at Quintosapore, Saturday 18 April

Fig 16. Quintosapore vineyard in Umbria, Saturday 20 April

Nicole spoke with Quintosapore founders Alessandro and Nicola Giuggioli. Listen to the conversation in the video below.

‘After two years of study with the University of Perugia and the Centre for National Research, we found that the variety (of grapes) is probably one of the oldest varieties known in Italy. It is Etruscan.’ – Alessandro Giuggioli

Fig 17. At the Humus gathering at Quintosapore on Saturday 18 April. From left to right: Alessandro Giuggioli with dog Mocca, Satish Kumar and Nicola Giuggioli

At the annual Humus gathering at Quintosapore, Nicole Ex spoke with activist and thinker Satish Kumar about the climate crisis: ‘The climate crisis is a lack of aesthetics, a crisis in beauty.’ Kumar believes that everyone is an artist.

Also read the interview with Satish Kumar in See All This #36.

16 april 2026

Fig 18. Città della Pieve

Fig 19. About to depart. Destination: Florence.

15th april 2026

‘Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,’ as the Chinese proverb has it. Nicole Ex’s begins with a pair of hiking boots still waiting to be broken in. Read her column.

Fig 20. Nicole Ex and Anke Riesenkamp in The Burren, Ireland, on a walking journey with poet David Whyte (see issue 36)

Fig 21. This map traces the route Nicole and Anke will be travelling over the coming month.

For a part of the South Africa trip See All This travelled with South Africa specialist Matoke Tours. This Dutch travel company — specialising in tailor-made journeys through East and Southern Africa — looks beyond the familiar. After all, those seeking a truly exceptional experience do not want to get lost in the crowds. By carefully shaping rhythm, structure and moments of rest, you taste more, see more clearly and experience more intensely. In this way, attention remains focused on what is truly special. More information: matoketours.nl