http://www.scriffith.net/ Recent content on The Scriffiths Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2026/tours/ Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2026/tours/ We went to Tours for the weekend with not much of a plan other than to taste some wine and visit just a few of the many castles of the Central Loire Valley. Tours is a traditional gateway for exploring the chateaux of the Loire Valley region. The Château Chenonceau, just outside of the town of Tours We took a train from Paris late Friday afternoon and arrived at Tours station, after a delay in Paris, at around 6. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2026/parisrelocation/ Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2026/parisrelocation/ When I was 15 years old I participated in a short school exchange program to France during my summer school holidays. I went to school for a month in Lyon, went on a field excursion to the United Nations in Geneva, and spent a week in Paris with other participants in the program. It snowed on Christmas Eve night as I drove with my host family to their family celebration. I vividly remember seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time, and eating an ice-cream cone while walking the streets of Paris on a cold mid-winter evening. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2026/luxembourg/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2026/luxembourg/ We spent the weekend in Luxembourg City - the small capital of the small country surrounded by France, Belgium and Germany. We left on a Friday afternoon from Paris Gare de L’Est and arrived by train in the city less than three hours later. Going to Luxembourg occurred on a whim and we had no expectations. It seemed like a nice weekend getaway - a small city not far from Paris - and the chance to visit an entirely new country for the weekend. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/provence/ Sun, 29 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/provence/ 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. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/bruges/ Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/bruges/ 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. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/penguinsafari2/ Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/penguinsafari2/ 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. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/penguinsafari/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2025/penguinsafari/ 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. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2024/tasmania/ Sun, 25 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2024/tasmania/ 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. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2024/amazon/ Sat, 13 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2024/amazon/ As time passes and the seasons change, so does the Amazon river. In the wet season, the river can be ten times wider in places than it is in the dry season, and over time, the mighty river carves new paths, creating new bends and washing away forest, and in previous paths devoid of vegetation, new forest begins to emerge. Like the changing river, so does our experience of travel. We oscillate between discomfort and pleasure, between serendipity and banality. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/lizardisland/ Tue, 27 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/lizardisland/ Our small plane took off from the runway at East Air terminal at Cairns and climbed up into the clouds which were obscuring the view of the reef below. But not long into the flight, the clouds began to dissipate and it was revealed as hundreds of little islands and atolls scattered along the coast in the sparkling turquoise sea. View from the plane Viewed from above, the repeating slices of reef stretching south to north at regular intervals looked like grains of rice lined up on a turquoise field. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/larapinta/ Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/larapinta/ The Larapinta Trail is a 223km trail across Tjoritja - the West MacDonnell Ranges - in the Northern Territory. The trail is made up of 12 distinct sections which can be hiked over 10 or more days. However, I booked with Trek Larapinta to do a six day walk during which we’d walk the six hardest, and most stunning, sections of the trail, experiencing the arresting landscapes of semi-arid central Australia. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/hongkong/ Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/hongkong/ Our trip to Hong Kong deliberately coincided with our friends Gavin and Ed also being there. After hanging out together in NYC in January when we house sat for them, and finding out they’d be in Hong Kong for the ‘100 day celebration’ of Ed’s brother’s new baby, we decided to rendez-vous in HK for another catch up. Since their departure to the US, we hadn’t seen each other in three years and our trip to HK together would make three catch ups in 7 months, following New York in January and San Diego in October 2022. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/quebec/ Sun, 15 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2023/quebec/ Before arriving in Quebec we’d spent three weeks house and puppy sitting for our friends in New York City over Christmas and New Year while they went home to Australia. While we endured temperatures well below freezing, we didn’t get any snow and so we were really looking forward to arriving in a city blanketed in snow. Quebec City is a walled city But the city hasn’t had the amount of snow that it usually would at this time of year. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/oaxaca/ Sat, 17 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/oaxaca/ We went on a Gastronomad Experience, hosted by serious foodies and long term digital nomads, Mike and Amira Elgan. Their obsession with finding good food and wine and deeply engaging with those who produce it has led to the creation of a truly unique travel experience. Our Gastronomad Experience was to the magical town of Oaxaca, Mexico, known for its strong preservation of indigenous culture and traditions, especially culinary ones. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/guadalajara/ Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/guadalajara/ Guadalajara is the capital city of Jalisco, the Mexican state famous for the town of Tequila and mariachi music. Agave fields outside the town of Tequila We experienced both during our Jose Cuervo tour to Tequila. We booked a full day tour and as we discovered when we arrived at the meeting point, so did hundreds of others. We weren’t necessarily expecting a small group tour but the experience we got was quite something, and certainly a long way from the type of travel we tend to do these days. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/houston/ Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/houston/ We flew into Houston, making it our entry point into the US, and stopover on the way to Mexico, for two reasons: barbecue and NASA. Max was also joining us on our Mexican adventure. Barbecue in Houston The first night we ate at J-Bar-M Barbecue which made a great sausage. After our fill, we went back to the hotel, for a restless night’s sleep, jetlag winning the battle for the middle hours of the night for all of us. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/miami/ Tue, 18 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/miami/ I don’t know what I expected from Miami. I wasn’t even sure I’d like it, but it was a convenient stop over for our itinerary so we planned two nights there. Miami Beach I thought it would be tacky, like a Gold Coast on steroids, and there was certainly some of that around, but also it was kinda nice. Miami Beach was clean, although it has nothing on a good Australian beach. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/galapagos_part1/ Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/galapagos_part1/ The trouble with having high expectations is that an impressive experience must necessarily follow lest disillusionment takes hold. I am not sure I had specific expectations about our trip to the Galápagos, but I had an overall expectation that it would be an amazing experience, mostly because everyone says it is. Even now, after having returned, I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly what made the experience so good. Usually it’s the food and people that make a place stand out for me, but neither are particularly noteworthy there. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/galapagos_part2/ Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/galapagos_part2/ Only 3.4% of the Galápagos archipelago is inhabited, only four of the 19 islands have permanent residents and only three have accommodation for visitors. Many islands, and parts of islands, are not accessible at all to tourists and are only visited by research scientists. Two Nazca boobys on a part of Española island where tourists are permitted to visit I was surprised and relieved to see how well tourism seems to be managed and restrained in this fragile place. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/ecuador/ Fri, 07 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/ecuador/ We flew into Quito, another South American city sprawled along the floor of a high Andean valley, its city extending up the incline in all directions. It is the capital of Ecuador and sits at 2,850m in elevation. Within 24 hours of arriving, our first impression of Quito was that it was a place of such friendly people. From the customs officer who stamped us in with a warm welcome, to the friendly Uber driver, the helpful people at the supermarket and at the pharmacy, and the kind lady who stopped us in the street because we looked lost. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/costarica/ Fri, 30 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/costarica/ We stayed for the week in San José, the capital of Costa Rica, situated in the centre of the country. It is not a particularly nice city. The reasons for visiting Costa Rica lie outside of the city: the mountains, tropical rainforests, volcanoes and the beaches of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. And the wildlife too, particaulrly the birds and the sloths. We went there to meet up with some of Dylan’s colleagues. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/colombia/ Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/colombia/ We arrived in Medellín and instantly loved it. It is the country’s second largest city after Bogotá and sitting at 1495m in elevation, is the capital of Colombia’s mountainous province Antioquia, which is nicknamed the “City of Eternal Spring” because of its temperate weather. Everyday hovers perfectly between 24°C - 27°C, is mostly sunny, low humidity, and at night it usually rains, breathing life into the city’s green canopies and veil of surrounding mountain forests. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/philly/ Sat, 03 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/philly/ Things were not off to a great start when we arrived in Philly. When we entered our Airbnb, it had a foul stench lingering in the air. It was really poorly equipped for a longer stay; many of the essentials were missing, the bedding smelt like stale cigarettes and the pillows were dreadful. When I went to open my suitcase, the padlock wouldn’t open. I tried multiple times and for whatever reason it wouldn’t open even though I had the right padlock combination. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/nola/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/nola/ It’s hard to know even where to begin with describing New Orleans, Louisiana. NOLA. It is unlike any other city in the US. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what makes it so unique but when you learn that the food, music, architecture and language has been influenced by French, Spanish, native American, Caribbean and West African cultures, you start to understand how this beautiful melange created the place it is today. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/america/ Tue, 23 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/america/ The first week of travel was not ideal: a bout of gastritis, travel sickness, bad sunburn and persistent jetlag. The downsides of travelling. But it’s great to be out in the world. We arrived in San Francisco, 8am local time, about two weeks ago. After waiting a few hours in the hotel lobby for check in we finally made it to bed, around 4am home time, for a few hours’ snooze. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/tarkine/ Mon, 16 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/tarkine/ I sat in my hotel room on a Sunday morning, alone, feeling rather anxious. I looked at the clock. It was 7.22am. I was being picked up sometime between 7.30 and 8.00am. I checked my packing list yet again, as if hoping it would provide some comfort. I got up from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed, noting it would be the last time I’d see a real bed for a week. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/italy/ Thu, 27 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/italy/ The sun is out, a bright halo in a brilliantly blue sky. The air is crisp, cold enough to refresh the lungs but not so cold that I can’t feel the sun’s warmth on my face. The light is bright behind my closed lids. My cheeks are flushed, maybe from the wind whipping my face as I rode down the mountain, or maybe from the third aperol spritz I just finished. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/jetplane/ Thu, 13 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2022/jetplane/ It’s been almost two years since I was on a plane. In February 2019, we were snowboarding in Japan. Coronavirus was spreading around the globe but it still seemed like an “overseas” problem. After Japan we were going to Europe for 4 weeks, first to Prague, then Italy and St Petersburg. At the time, Italy was one of the countries - along with China, Japan and South Korea - that was experiencing an alarming increase in case numbers. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2021/pyrmont/ Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2021/pyrmont/ I’m languishing. This emotional and mental state has become common parlance in the frequent conversations where we discuss our fading mental health during the pandemic. This word describes that ever-present feeling, lying murkily between thriving and depression, that repeated lock down and social isolation has forced upon us. The dominant emotion of 2021. In response to a prolonged period of languish, where a rotation of tactics had failed to work (online shopping, more exercise, less exercise, binging Netflix, reading, more alcohol, no alcohol, mindfulness activities, good food, bad food, buying plants), I decided I needed a change. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2021/roadtripnsw/ Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2021/roadtripnsw/ We had two weeks off for a holiday to Tasmania but inevitably a coronavirus spike in greater Sydney closed the borders and we were facing the third cancelled holiday in 12 months. Somewhat fortunately though, we had bought a car only 2 weeks earlier and so a road trip around NSW wasn’t such a bad alternative. After a life-sized game of tetris, the car was packed to the brim of camping gear and 4WDing equipment and we headed north. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2020/corona2/ Fri, 10 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2020/corona2/ I read an article the other day which explained how, as a result of the global efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus, the planet is literally moving less. It said that the increase in people working from home and the reduction in transport movement and use of industrial machinery has created a noticeable drop in seismic noise - the hum of vibrations in the planet’s crust. This fall in human-induced noise could improve the ability of scientists to detect activity like earthquakes, volcanoes and waves in certain locations. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2020/corona1/ Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2020/corona1/ Will life be fundamentally changed after this? In old age, will we look back on our lives and describe all of our major life events as pre-covid and post-covid? On 30 January 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and on 11 February named the disease COVID-19 because it is a form of coronavirus and was first reported to the WHO country office in China on 31 December 2019. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2020/tokyo/ Tue, 07 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2020/tokyo/ Japan has long been on the bucket list. On this trip we decided just to visit Tokyo. We stayed in Shinjuku City, one of Tokyo’s 23 city wards located to the west of Tokyo City. It is known for its karaoke rooms, nightlife, neon-lit red light district and Japan’s busiest train station. Despite this, like the rest of Tokyo, it is extremely safe and clean. Tokyo is like no other major city in the world: organised and tidy, the people are extremely polite and there is a seamless fusion of traditional and contemporary life. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/america/ Sun, 17 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/america/ I arrived in the US to meet Dylan after leaving Cuba. What a contrast to arrive in New York City. The next day was my 30th birthday, and what a great city to celebrate in. We had bagels for breakfast and spent the day shopping - exploring East Village, Soho and Chelsea. We had an amazing dinner at a French restaurant and cocktails at The Dead Rabbit cocktail bar - rated as the best bar in the world in 2016. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/bad-things-about-travel/ Sat, 16 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/bad-things-about-travel/ About six months into this trip I was having a video call with my sister just after I had posted the blog post about Romania. We got talking about the apartment Dylan and I had in Romania and I explained how it was located in a bit of a shit hole and the problems I was having in Bucharest in general. She asked why I hadn’t written about all those things in the blog post (in the spirit of full disclosure that I had promised in one of my early blog posts). http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/cuba/ Fri, 08 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/cuba/ Cuba is interesting and infuriating. Being in Cuba necessarily involves giving way to a simpler existence. But the apparent simplicity is in fact just the result of existing in a socialist state under a planned economy. The economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee and nickel. And apart from rum and pineapples, not much else is easy to come by. Cuba’s rum — Havana Club Cuba imports nearly all of its food and of that, about 80% is rationed for the population. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/mexico/ Sat, 19 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/mexico/ I knew from the moment I saw the iridescent blue water as our plane flew over Cancun that I’d love Mexico. And it did not disappoint. We landed in Cancun after an 11 hour flight from Europe feeling rather tired and gross. We were meeting my friend Lauren at the airport, but with neither of us having wifi, and having inadvertently failed to have a synchronous conversation about where we would meet, there was a mild amount of panic when it materialised that our broad plan to meet in the arrivals hall was rather flawed. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/swissmas/ Sun, 06 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2019/swissmas/ After leaving Vienna we arrived in Zurich where we met up with our friends Max and Tash. They had been travelling around the UK and Ireland and met us in Switzerland to go snowboarding and spend Christmas together. We had just one night in Zurich, where we spent the evening at the Christmas market in the concourse of the main train station. It is one of the largest indoor Christmas markets in Europe. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/vienna/ Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/vienna/ I’m finishing this blog post while on a train from Vienna to Zurich. It is an incredibly picturesque train ride — we emerged from a long dark tunnel into a valley surrounded on either side by towering snow-covered mountains spread with white spruce, their branches drooping under the weight of the snow. The sky is cloudless and bright blue but everything else is white, bright white, and glistens where the sun falls. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/winter-skies/ Mon, 17 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/winter-skies/ Lying 200km north of the Arctic Circle on the edge of the Torne river in Sweden is the little town of Jukkasjärvi. At the end of each winter, when the frozen river ice is at its thickest, it is harvested in preparation for construction of the annual Ice Hotel. Large blocks of ice are cut from the river in April and stored in a cool room until it is time to begin construction in October. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/lisbon/ Sat, 24 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/lisbon/ Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) is Europe’s second oldest capital after Athens and is a city built upon seven hills. While steep hills and stair climbs are inevitable, even on a short walk, the city rewards those who are willing to venture up and down the hills and climb the dizzyingly steep staircases. The highest places throughout the city provide vast views of the city below: showing off the effortless blend of old and new and the pastel-coloured buildings dotted around the city in pretty shades of pink, yellow, orange and blue. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/scotland/ Mon, 12 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/scotland/ The national animal of Scotland is a unicorn. While most countries would choose a real animal as their emblem, it seems befitting for Scotland to be represented by a mythical creature. This is, after all, a land so steeped in myth, legend, folklore and superstition. And in more recent years, the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter. I generally don’t read fiction that much, but it’s a story that has had me enchanted since I first read it nearly 20 years ago. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/romania/ Sun, 07 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/romania/ After two months of hotel (and country) hopping we were looking forward to finally settling into some longer term accommodation again to live a “normal life”. Our chosen location was Bucharest, in part, due to the lower cost of living and because it is not part of the Schengen zone, where there is a 90 day limit for travel without a visa. Dylan was particularly relieved to get back into a routine as the travel was starting to exhaust him and keeping on top of work was a real struggle. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/our-turkish-delight/ Tue, 02 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/our-turkish-delight/ We went to Istanbul for a long weekend, leaving late Thursday night from Bucharest. It’s a short one hour flight. On the Friday morning we went to the Grand Bazaar, which I’ve been desperate to visit for years. It feels incredible to walk through a market place that has been trading for nearly 600 years. The floors are tiled and the ceiling is painted in yellow with beautiful blue and red mosaic patterns. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/african-safari/ Sun, 09 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/african-safari/ It’s a warm evening and the sun is setting over the savannah, casting a golden glow behind the marula trees. A cloud of dust appears on the horizon — an open safari vehicle comes into view, carrying a pair of Aussies eager to see the African animals of Kruger National Park. One of the many beautiful sunsets in Kruger But only a few hours earlier, Dylan and I were sat on the side of the road somewhere between Johannesburg and Kruger National Park. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/cape-town/ Thu, 06 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/cape-town/ We arrived in Cape Town for the GitLab Summit after our 11 hour overnight flight from London feeling as you do after a long haul overnight flight. But after a good night’s sleep we were ready for a busy week. The Summit brought together over 300 GitLab employees and their SOs (significant others). The Summit is a very important event for GitLab as it provides the rare opportunity for all the remote working employees to come together in one place. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/greece/ Thu, 09 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/greece/ A sailing trip around the Greek islands was on our “must do” list for our diginom adventures. We were apprehensive and kept procrastinating when it came to booking something for fear of it not meeting our expectations. Eventually we found a catamaran sailing trip on Airbnb that seemed to tick all the boxes so we booked it and hoped it would be everything we wanted it to be. And it was. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/san-sebastian/ Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/san-sebastian/ After our time in Rioja we drove through the mountainous Basque Country to the coastal town of San Sebastián (known as Donostia in Basque) which is located in the north-west of Spain on the Bay of Biscay. It is known for its beaches and world-renowned restaurants, and in particular, for its high concentration of Michelin stars. But you don’t have to eat at a Michelin star restaurant to enjoy really good food in San Sebastián. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/la-rioja/ Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/la-rioja/ La Rioja is a province in the north of Spain renowned for its local wine industry. We spent 3 days exploring and wine tasting in Rioja, staying in a hotel in the capital of the region, Logroño. The region is best known for its use of tempranillo, which is considered native to Rioja. Tempranillo is one of my favourite wines so going here was a bucket list tick for me. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/our-next-adventure/ Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/our-next-adventure/ Today we are heading to Spain after spending 5 weeks in Sweden. We’ve travelled all around Sweden, visiting its two largest cities, Stockholm and Göteborg (Gothenburg), while staying in the third largest, Malmö, as our base. All of them were cool cities — we stayed in great places (both Airbnb and hotels), saw the sites, ate at some amazing restaurants and, of course, went cocktail bar hopping. We found the most incredible G+Ts at a bar in Göteborg called Steampunk Bar. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/malmo/ Thu, 17 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/malmo/ We landed at Copenhagen airport after a short flight from Paris, navigated our way through the purchasing of train tickets and caught the train to Malmö: our new home for 5 weeks. Daffodils in bloom The trip from Copenhagen airport to Malmö is an easy 25 minute train trip across the Øresund Bridge: an 8km combined railway and motorway bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. It was then an easy 10 minute walk from Malmö Centralstation to our quintessentially Scandinavian Airbnb apartment, which is right in the centre of town and aptly fitted out with all the Ikea essentials. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/paris/ Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/paris/ Paris is addictive. This was my fifth time and each time has been a very different experience. This visit was an opportunity to live more like a local — to eat and drink in local restaurants and bars, to have picnics in the gardens, and to explore the less trodden paths. I never grow tired of seeing Paris, nor eating French food. And naturally, we ate croissants every morning for breakfast, baguette, cheese and wine every day for lunch and more wine, bread and cheese with dinner every night. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/singapore/ Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/2018/singapore/ My first impressions of Singapore were that it is a clean, organised, accessible, environmentally conscious city (more accurately, city-state) and the people are friendly and welcoming of tourists. We stayed at the Marina Bay Sands hotel, which was, predictably, very impressive. However, for the price, it is what you would expect. But it was worth it to swim in that pool! It is quite an experience swimming 200m up in the air, looking out into the high rise buildings of the city. http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/our-travel-itinerary/ Wed, 04 Apr 2018 15:29:02 +1000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/travel/our-travel-itinerary/ This is a post that we will continue to edit as we plan our travel. Check it out for updates to our itinerary. Passports Getting to Europe We’ll be taking our time to get to Europe, avoiding any flights longer than 8 hours. 25 April — 28 April: Singapore 28 April — 2 May: Abu Dhabi 2 May — 7 May: Paris 7 May — 13 June: Malmö, Sweden 🇸🇪 http://www.scriffith.net/post/why-we-decided-to-become-digital-nomads/ Tue, 27 Mar 2018 15:05:38 +1000 http://www.scriffith.net/post/why-we-decided-to-become-digital-nomads/ We’ve decided to become digital nomads — or “diginoms”. The decision to do this evolved in an incremental way, from one idea to another, rather than arising as an already formed idea in itself. We love travelling and since being together have tried to fit in as much holidaying in the year as our 9–5 work schedules would allow. However, we were constantly left wanting more after only four weeks annual leave per year.