The Scriffiths

Provençal France is nothing short of magical. By some miracle, there still remain small, medieval villages built entirely from stone, perched on top of hills with sweeping views of vineyards and lavender fields, that have not succumbed to the throngs of tourism. Herbs and spices at the market in Cucuron Accessibility is difficult. The region is accessed by winding, narrow country lanes. Between fields of lavender, forests of oak and pine, cherry orchards and meadows of wildflowers, small villages lay forgotten in time. »

Bruges was one of the last places on my (extended) bucket list.* The little town in Belgium has lingered on the list for many years, floating around the middle, high enough to remain one of the few cities left on the list, but not quite high enough to go out of the way for it. But such is the ease and compactness of travel in Europe that we squeezed a visit in for a weekend trip while we were staying in Amsterdam. »

Antarctica is truly the continent of superlatives. It is the coldest, driest, windiest, highest place on earth. It is a place of unimaginable beauty. During one half of the year, in the polar winter, it is a frigid landscape submerged in total darkness where nothing but the most extreme and hidden forms of life remain. But then, during the other half of the year, summer arrives, and with it, light. Through this oscillation between the seasons, a dynamic process of freezing and thawing transforms the continent and its surrounding seas. »

When I was 15, I wrote a small, five item travel bucket list. At the top of the list was Antarctica. Twenty years later, I have completed the list, more than ten years after I ticked off the other four items. So, it was with an enormous amount of anticipation that we embarked on our trip to the seventh, and final, continent. Arriving on the seventh continent Our tour was the 18-day expedition cruise dubbed the ‘Penguin Safari’ with Quark Expeditions, a reputable leader and operator in polar expeditions. »

A little more than a year ago we arrived in Tassie with a plan to live here. Not a very concrete plan. We’d bought a house without seeing it: a small, post-war home that had been meticulously renovated by the previous owners. And painted a delicate shade of blue. We knew almost nothing about the northern Hobart suburb we’d be living in. We weren’t sure how long we might stay, or whether we would like it. »