Moving is the pits, but there is an upside to all the dusting and wrapping and packing: unearthing forgotten treasures — things you thought were lost or disposed of in the last move — and remembering the history behind those objects. Here are three little packets of pure pigments I bought many years ago on a stopover trip to South Korea. I remember going into that little art shop with the ulterior motive of asking where I could find a good lunch spot. I speak no Korean and the store owner spoke no English. But, somehow, I managed to convey my request. Before I knew it, he had summoned his boyish assistant and, in a lengthy description, instructed him on where to take me. What ensued was a scene out of a film: running down long alleys, in and out of tunnels, up and down stairwells. At one point we even passed through a store, front entrance to rear exit. Finally, thrillingly, I ended up in a tiny, windowless, wood-paneled restaurant. Few meals have been better than that one.

Vanves discovery. I miss Paris.

I had NO idea that Antarctica has its own currency. Actually, it doesn’t. We all know it’s a continent, not a country (right?), so doesn’t have its own legal tender. Antarctica is divided into territories, so in some parts the British Pound will buy you milk, and in others the US Dollar will pay your way. These bills are produced by the Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office, and while they may not get you far, they do fund valuable programs in that far flung place.

Dave Gilligan (a very talented photographer and graphic designer) and his new bride were not your typical newlyweds. As he tells it, they didn’t want to go on a typical “sun holiday” so instead opted for a far more interesting honeymoon on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. These photographs of windows were taken in Irkutsk as well as around Lake Baikal. Apparently, all the windows are painted a shade of Green, White or Blue to hopefully ward off evil spirits. Each and every one seems to me like a small fairy tale. If something about these images grabs your imagination, there are two books on Siberia that I would highly recommend reading: Colin Thubron’s In Siberia, and Ian Frazier’s Travels in Siberia, which was released only just last year.