Mr & Mrs Smith

1 month ago | mrandmrssmith.com | Kate Weir

It seems impossible to visit Florence and feel ‘meh’ about the city. A pitstop that largely contributed to the ‘grand’ in the Grand Tour, the wellspring of the Renaissance and a trove of art and architecture so enamouring it paralysed French writer Stendhal with its beauty (his namesake psychological phenomenon is also known as ‘Florence syndrome’) — it tends to make visitors fall head over heels.

1 month ago | mrandmrssmith.com | Lucy Halfhead

Few things are more effortlessly romantic than a road trip through the South of France, with the car roof down, the sun on your shoulders and the landscape unveiling more of itself at every turn. Even the occasional impatient local zipping past with an expressive honk feels like part of the adventure.

1 month ago | mrandmrssmith.com | Kate Weir

With travellers seeking out more authentic, immersive experiences, it seems that more and more are opting to take only photos and memories back home with them. Perhaps it’s due to dwindling baggage allowances, but there are still some souvenirs worth holding the space for: those that speak of hours of crafting and care, those keeping local artisans in business, those that are true, built-for-life heirloom pieces. Some even — rather than being made en masse — crafted by your very own hands.

1 month ago | mrandmrssmith.com | Estella Shardlow

On a Saturday night in Niseko, northern Japan, the hottest place to be isn’t a new sake den or karaoke bar — it’s in the bath. Partakers are bobbing around in the steaming outdoor pools like a fresh batch of gyoza dumplings, while the snow settled in the surrounding gardens resembles mounds of fluffy white rice. This resort town is home to dozens of onsen — Japan’s hot-spring bathhouses — their mineral-rich waters ideal for soaking mountain-wearied muscles. There’s a catch, though: public nudity.

1 month ago | mrandmrssmith.com | Lucy Halfhead

Legend has it that Es Vedrà, a towering limestone rock that juts out of the glittering Mediterranean sea on Ibiza’s west coast, is the third most magnetic point on earth (after the North Pole and the Bermuda Triangle). It’s certainly true that visitors to the White Isle just can’t seem to stay away, beckoned by its deep blue waters, golden sands and lush landscapes scented with pine and soundtracked by the hum of cicadas.