Leaning away from Instagram

Notes on a trip, and looking ahead

Hello there, friends.

I’ve been away for several weeks on an extended sojourn with my family across Italy and England. I took a break from the newsletter last week, knowing full well I would come raging back with lots of inspiration. And I have!

Next week you can expect notes on Puglia - a region of Italy many people are visiting as more well-known destinations like Rome, Florence/Tuscany, Amalfi Coast, and Venice have become overrun and untenable in the summer months.

In the lead up to our visit, I did a lot of research as always. Looking back I’d say no one had unlocked just how to make Puglia work for a great vacation - all I found were suggestions about food and lodging, stitched together across a wide swath of the map. To get the most out of Puglia, I found there is an ideal rhythm, a “best approach,” and I’ll give you that guidance from my experience.

Our hotel of choice in Puglia: Masseria Calderisi

At the moment I’m writing from the courtyard of Three Horseshoes, in the petite village of Batcombe in Somerset. This area, designated for conservation as an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” is just that: beautiful, natural, peaceful. Stonehenge is just up the road and there are lots of stone walls, cloaked in ivy, abutting winding remote roadways connecting tiny charming villages.

Three Horseshoes in the postage stamp sized village of Batcombe.

We sought out this particular inn and pub because it is owned by Margot Henderson, the chef behind one of our favorite London restaurants, Rochelle Canteen. And partner to Fergus Henderson, of massive repute in the annals of English culinary history. We’re staying above the pub (one of five rooms), taking lots of misty walks, and exploring neighboring towns and villages. I’m excited to share more about this still under-the-radar area with you in the coming weeks.

The road from Batcombe to Westcombe.

One thing that’s become clear over the last month is that I’m tired of Instagram, and I’ll be leaning more into Substack - so if you’re here you’re in the right place. It’s still early days for Substack, relatively speaking, and it’s already proven to be a great resource for my own diet of news and culture. I hope you’re finding it to be equally as satisfying.

I always viewed Instagram as a way to collect inspiration, connect with people I admire, track the happenings of close friends and family, and share my observations of the world with others. For many years, it was the ideal place for all of that. But the algorithm has altered the landscape, and the landscape has altered us. The people I want to keep up with seem to have disappeared from my feed, and the information I AM receiving is a tapestry of selfies, life hacks, travel brags, and affiliate links to subpar products disguised as good advice.

When we landed in Europe at the end of June I was keen to share my discoveries and observations. But my growing sense that Instagram lacked the context to accurately frame those discoveries reached a fever pitch. My genuine excitement to share cool things with others (so they might experience for themselves) began to feel hollow, like bragging. A picture of me raising a glass at a cool hotel is meaningless. With the right context, it might become an exciting discovery for others, even if you’re not there to experience it in person.

On this platform I can share things I’m excited about with readers I know are interested. It’s enabled me to make a more substantial investment in the information, not just the image. On Instagram the grid can only relay so much, and the subtext these days seems to be “look at me and this awesome thing I did.” Here I like that I can share an experience but at the same time explain how you also might have that experience, and why it would be worth your time.

So thank you for finding your way here. I hope you find it worth your time.

Until next week,

Brooks