If Fiji was nothing more than sand, sea and palm fronds, it wouldn't matter which beach resort you went to. Every vacation would be just like the last one, another been-there, done-that. But after 15 years and as many visits to this 333-island nation, deep in the South Pacific, I've got a pretty good idea why every resort offers a unique experience.

The Palladian Traveler puts away his wellies and laces up his hiking boots as he treks around the picturesque Valle d’Itra of Puglia in search of deserted trulli.

While visiting the coastal town of Bermeo, one of the oldest towns in the Basque Country of Spain, I received a most unusual invitation to dine with friends of friends. It was unusual not just because it began in a seafood market or ended in a mountaintop bodega. No, this was a rare invitation to dine at one of the Basque male gastronomy societies.

Australia, the “Land Down Under,” where, according to Men at Work, “the women glow, the beer does flow and men [purportedly] chunder,” is the sixth largest country, by area, on the planet, but also the smallest of our seven continents. Confused? Don’t be.

The Manor House, which is still in use today, was built in 1653 by the Knights of Malta. The sugar mill, constructed in 1733, now serves as a venue for weddings. Former slave quarters dating back 250 years provide lodging.

Ranking Blachford Lake Lodge has never been easy. Creative, rustic, “one man’s folly,” and gold-star luxury are just a few of the adjectives that befuddled lodging associations have applied to this remarkable eco-lodge, deep in the heart of Canada’s Northwest Territories. And it’s that last adjective – luxury – that misses the mark.

OK, so here’s the thing – when you go on vacation do you go to a place or county that you’ve been to before and loved or, do you go to a new country? Then again, would you even consider just going to an attraction that, so your friends told you, was so exciting it IS a MUST SEE attraction?

I find myself in the centre of a massive pit, surrounded by thousands of rigid warriors tall enough to look down on me. Posture perfect despite their years – twenty-two centuries – they stand in defiant battle formation. Overwhelmed, I back up to photograph a wiseacre standing behind a warrior who is missing his head. I accidentally bump against the warrior behind me. Down he goes. Then down go a hundred, like dominos.

Fireworks explode across the night sky. City streets and brick houses appear below shooting sparks and colors. Not a soul sleeps. We watch in awe and excitement as the clock strikes midnight; it’s Christmas morning.

Heads of state sometimes gather in Port of Spain to jockey for position, with some reaching out and some more antagonistic. Often overlooked is a lesson in personal diplomacy that the entire world might take from the host country, Trinidad and Tobago. The two islands, quite different from each other, form a single country, and have the Caribbean’s most intriguing culture. People who are often at loggerheads elsewhere in the world get along just fine here, thank you very much.