John 
I stepped off the boat onto a sliver of white sand barely visible from the water, and the lagoon around me looked like someone had spilled fifty different pots of turquoise paint. This wasn’t the Maldives—though the crystalline water and overwater bungalows made a convincing case. This was a motu in Bora Bora’s lagoon, French … Lire plus
After exploring more than 900 floating villages across Southeast Asia over two decades, I thought I’d seen every variation of water-based civilization. Then a local fisherman in Halong Bay mentioned a name that wasn’t on any tour itinerary: Cua Van. What we discovered there wasn’t just another picturesque floating village—it was a 733-person community preserving … Lire plus
When I turned 52, my favorite jeans stopped fitting. Not gradually—seemingly overnight. I wasn’t eating differently, but my body had other plans. Sound familiar? If you’re navigating menopause weight gain, you’re not alone, and grandmother’s wisdom combined with modern science might hold the answers you’ve been searching for. Why menopause changes everything about weight Think … Lire plus
I still remember stepping off the public ferry onto Fulhadhoo’s white sand, watching luxury resort seaplanes roar overhead toward islands charging $800 per night. The guesthouse owner greeting me quoted $61 for my beachfront room. Same turquoise water. Same powder-soft beaches. Same protected coral reefs. The only difference? I was standing in a real Maldivian … Lire plus
The denim aisle has transformed into something completely unexpected this spring. Where wide-leg jeans once dominated, a new silhouette has taken center stage—and it’s turning heads everywhere from Austin coffee shops to Manhattan sidewalks. Barrel jeans, with their distinctive curve from hip to knee and tapered ankle, aren’t just another passing trend. They’re becoming the … Lire plus
Twenty years mapping Alaska’s salmon arteries taught me that numbers lie. We catalogued over 900 streams from Ketchikan to Kotzebue, measuring flow rates and spawning densities with scientific precision. But Chichagof Island’s hidden bays revealed something our data sheets couldn’t capture: the eerie beauty of death feeding life, where October’s spawning salmon paint temperate rainforest … Lire plus
When New Zealand’s Department of Conservation rangers monitor Campbell Island each austral summer, they’re protecting something that exists nowhere else on Earth: fewer than 200 Campbell Island Teal, the world’s rarest duck species. These flightless birds survived extinction by a margin so thin that conservationists still lose sleep over every cruise ship proposal that crosses … Lire plus
There’s something quietly transformative about a haircut that makes you look in the mirror and smile. At 52, I found myself staring at my reflection, feeling stuck in a styling rut that aged me more than my years. Then I discovered the 2-inch French bob—a cut that’s taking 2025 by storm for all the right … Lire plus
Hidden in the Loire Valley of France, a 13th-century Carthusian monastery has transformed into one of the country’s most extraordinary villages. Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez isn’t just a place to visit—it’s a living museum where ancient monastery cells have become family homes, and cloistered courtyards serve as village squares. A village born from sacred silence What makes Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez … Lire plus
Twenty years photographing bamboo forests across Japan, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia taught me something unexpected: size means nothing without soul. I’ve walked through sprawling groves spanning miles, yet none prepared me for what happens inside Arashiyama’s compact 400-meter path where towering bamboo creates what Japan’s Ministry of Environment officially recognizes as one of the … Lire plus