At the start of this year we spent several months outside Italy, in countries we’d mostly not visited before. These places are familiar to many but, for us each one was a newly-discovered gem.

Norway
New Year’s Eve in Hammerfest in Norway’s far north was an occasion to remember. The land of the Polar night, at least at that time of year. And then the voyage south through the coastal fjords. As we disembarked in Bergen, snowy shores and low grey clouds gave way to bright sunshine, a happy surprise in this, Europe’s rainiest – and we think, one of its loveliest – cities.

Copenhagen
Our perception of a city is often influenced by the people we meet and places we find. That was certainly the case on our visit to the Danish capital. Copenhagen’s Meatpacking District is just trendy enough to make it livable, yet still rough enough round the edges to keep it interesting. We found innovative cuisine (organic, of course) and a lot of great design, all created by uber-cool and super-friendly Danes.

Portugal
Lisbon. What a joy it was to arrive in this vibrant, noisy city. Music, colour and food. Fado, azulejos and pastel de nata. We loved every moment. And then we headed out of the capital to find there was so much more to enjoy. There’s a word in Portuguese that roughly translates as ‘a deep feeling of melancholy for someone or something that’s missing’. The word is saudade. It’s what we feel when we think of Portugal.

Amorgos
Our first and only Greek island. We went looking for somewhere authentic and out of the way and found exactly that in this small, eastern Cyclades island. From our little flat overlooking the port (a couple of doors up from the butcher and next door to the grocer/car renter) we watched the comings and goings of life on Amorgos. And we loved it all, from local festivals that involved a lot of music and dancing in the streets, to a little taverna in the middle of a paddock where every ingredient is caught, grown or foraged within a couple of kilometres.

Faroe Islands
Islands of a different kind. In fact, different to anything we’ve seen before. The landscape of the Faroe Islands – about midway between Iceland and Norway – is extraordinary. It’s a combination of sloping, grassy plateaus and sheer cliffs plunging dramatically into the sea. The tiny villages dotted around the islands’ coastlines are incredibly picturesque and completely unforgettable.

Iceland
Another amazing and dramatic landscape. Fire and ice. Water, heated to boiling by underground volcanoes, bubbles up to the surface in hundreds of places around the country. (If we lived in Iceland, wallowing in thermal pools would likely be our favourite pastime). Elsewhere great chunks of ice break free from glaciers and float out to sea, only to be washed back onto black, sandy beaches.

Soča Valley, Slovenia
Slovenia is such a beautiful country, it almost seems unfair to single out the Soča Valley for special mention – and yet we do. In summer this area is crowded with fishers, canoeists and walkers. At the end of winter, there’s scarcely anyone else around. The weather was cold and wet during our visit to the Soča – not ideal you’d think – but it was, in fact, the perfect accompaniment to this wonderfully wild part of Slovenia.

The Lake District
Ah, the romance of it all. Walking in England’s Lake District had been on our wish list for so long we worried it might not live up to expectations. We needn’t have. It turned out to be all we had hoped for and more. A little English pub (‘we’ll ring the dinner bell at seven’), green meadows filled with white lambs, lakes surrounded by boggy combes, dry stone walls, kissing gates, heather-covered slopes and peaks with views for miles. The Lake District ticked every box on the wish list.

Scotland
And then there was Scotland. For us, this seems like a land of contrasts. Countryside that is harsh and beautiful. People who are hardy and kind. There’s a warmth here that doesn’t come from the sun (not that often anyway), and it’s enough to make you want to slow down and enjoy it. Or, even better, to come back and bask just a little bit more.