MENTON, FRANCE – The woman wearing the colorful Provençal apron insisted we try one of her oranges. She wanted to reward us for being early morning visitors to her tiny stall in this sun-drenched town’s historic outdoor market.

ROVANIEMI, FINLAND - Snowmobiling on the frozen Kemijoki River, I follow the lead driver up a steep embankment and into a primeval forest. The pathway is lined with towering trees heavy with new fallen snow. In the distance I see the reindeer farm where we are headed to learn more about Finland and the frozen Lapland tundra we are crossing just south of the Arctic Circle.

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FRANCE – Market day in this ancient Roman city is always a colorful event. The fruit and vegetable stands are lush with bright, local produce; large jars filled with spices punch the air with erotic scents; freshly-picked flowers are stacked high; colourful French characters, cigarettes dangling out of their mouths, seduce the crowd with their charming wit and salesmanship.

CAGNES-SUR-MER, FRANCE – A visitor sits on a hotel terrace high above the Mediterranean coastline enjoying a glass of wine and watching the sun dip behind the far-off Alps. The golden streaks that appear at sunset look like they've been added by an artist's brush.

BERLIN - While walking through a handsome square called Bebelplatz one night, my eyes are drawn to a corner where a white light rising from the cobblestones cuts through the darkness like a knife.

On a warm, sunny July morning, a parade of foodies were plodding dauntlessly — albeit a bit breathlessly — past a glacial stream and flower-strewn meadows towards a remote hut in the Austrian Alps. Straggling along at the back, I huff and puff my way up a formidable slope, kicking mud off my shoes and wiping beads of sweat from my sunburned brow.

LONDON - Australian friends were coming for the weekend and my wife was busily planning the itinerary: “I thought we’d go to the Changing of the Guard in the morning, then walk back to Trafalgar and go to the National Portrait Gallery. Then over to Harrods, and maybe finish up on Oxford Street for a little shopping. That okay with you?”

BATH, ENGLAND - On several occasions I’ve come to Britain in search of the places and locations featured in the many films made in this magical kingdom that provides so many stunning movie backdrops.

BIBURY, ENGLAND - As we nervously try to avoid oncoming traffic on the narrow one-lane highway leading into what I remember as a magical Cotswold village, flashes of my last visit to Bibury more than a decade ago start dancing in my head.

GREENWICH, ENGLAND - The steel gangplank leading to the tour boats tied up at London’s Westminster Pier strain under the weight of the hundreds of tourists waiting to take a trip back in time to this lovely city on the River Thames.