I was born in Oakland, CA, but since childhood I've been on serial walkabout. Early jaunts had me road tripping through Europe and living in Hong Kong, Calcutta, India and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Soon thereafter I got bit by the travel writing bug and covered places as disparate as Guatemala, Italy and Thailand. After 4 years spent buckling down at Harvard University, I was ready to blow off a little steam... this led to a year spent all bundled up, way down under, in Antarctica. After communing with the penguins and the nacreous clouds, I emerged into the verdant Eden of New Zealand in spring. An experience highly recommended to all!Along about this time, I realized that in addition to writing about my journeys, I would paint about them too. You can see my paintings at www.alexisaverbuck.com And so began a gentle series of years spent writing and painting in bucolic New Orleans, Louisiana. But that couldn't last...I was called to the sea, and I sailed across the Pacific Ocean, from Costa Rica, to the Galapagos, to the Marquesas Islands. As a cook. There was no mutiny, thank goodness, since the cook is always the first one thrown overboard. Now I've settled in Hydra, Greece. Living, and enjoying what happens next.For Lonely Planet, I currently specialize in books about Iceland, France (especially Provence, the Dordogne, Burgundy and the Loire Valley), Greece and Antarctica. In the past I've covered California, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Costa Rica.