stompy

The only reason I went here was because this is where the ferry to Heron Island departs from. If you are going to Heron Island, you pretty much have to go to Gladstone. But try to avoid staying the night in Gladstone if you can… just fly in and go straight to the Heron Island ferry.

Wilson Island is only accessible via Heron Island (you have to buy a package deal from the people who run Heron Island Resort – you get a day on Heron, three on Wilson and then one more day on Heron).
Wilson Island was the most amazing place to visit, even if it wasn’t long enough! The island is tiny – you can walk around it in 10 minutes (although I never managed to do this… kept getting distracted and stopping to look at stuff). The island only has a maximum of 12 guests at any one time, so it really is like being stranded on a deserted island. Except for the food and accommodation! Three beautiful meals a day, cooked by the island chef, all drinks, alcohol and snacks included. The accommodation is in luxury tents, with complete privacy and solitude (and a private bathroom per tent as well – this is not primative camping!)
I can’t wait to go back!

When I was in the Old Port area of Marseille (early April, 2005), it was quite warm (16-18 C) – especially compared with Paris where we had come from. So that was one good thing about Marseille. But on the whole, I didn’t really like this place. It felt quite busy and dirty and hard to get around in. The food was very seafood based (obviously, being a seaside city with an economy based on the fishing industry) and I am not a big fan of shellfish.
However one really interesting place to visit was the Chateau d’If off the coast of Marseille. This fortress is hundreds of years old and sits on a little rocky island, about a 20 minute boat ride from Marseille. It was the setting for the Count of Monte Cristo and the actual Chateau has been used as a fort and a prison in the past.
I know that other people will find a lot to enjoy about Marseille, but personally I didn’t like it that much and won’t be in a hurry to go back. However, I will say it is worth a visit, because unless you go, you won’t know if you like it or not!

Tours is the place to go if you want to see French Chateaux (castles and grand mansions). We did 1.5 days worth of guided tours which depart from the Tours tourism office. The tour company was ‘Alienor’ and David was our excellent guide. I really enjoyed these tours as they were in a small mini-bus (8 seater) so we were never in a very large group – at most there were four other people on the tour with us. One of the tours also finished up at a cave (wine cellar) where we got to taste wine from the Vouvray region.
Tours, the city, is itself also a lovely place to visit. The old town is amazing – buildings date back to about the 15th century. There are plenty of interesting tourist sites. I highly recommend the Musee du Compagnonnage (showcases the amazing work of master craftsmen) and the Musee du Gemmail (a museum of art work created with glass – a little like stained glass windows, but made with layer upon layer of glass. It has to been seen to be understood – it is not possible to photograph these artworks as the three-dimensionality is what makes them so wonderful).
We spent four days in Tours and could have happily stayed for a few more.

Reims is in the heart of champagne land in France. My partner and I had a great time here – we visited three of the champagne houses – Veuve Clicquot, Pommery and Taittinger, and tasted the wine at each one. We also went on the tour at Pommery and Taittinger where you go down into the caves (cellars) which are constructed in the old chalk quarries that the romans used when they quarried chalk for all their buildings. After all the wine, we wobbled back to our hotel.
There is a great place to eat in the main mall in town – L’Apostrophe. The trio of creme brulees is not to be missed (Vanilla, Mango and Spiced Bread). Reims is a very beautiful town and has many of the sights you hope to see in other parts of France (grand cathererals, roman ruins, etc) but is much less busy than Paris.
Definitely worth a visit and spend at least three days. I recommend you do one tour at a champagne house, but one is enough – the second one we did was pretty much more of the same. I think Pommery was a little more interesting that Taittinger – it has a much larger complex of tunnels and some amazing art work carved into the walls of the caves.

I actually stayed up the road from Kuta in Legian but travelled into Kuta to look around on most of the days I was in this region of Bali. I was in Kuta about 18 months before the bomb attack. I didn’t like it as much as other parts of Bali as I found it culturally less ‘Balinese’ because the locals were so geared up to provide services to tourists. This is a shame, but understandable – the locals have to make a living.
Anyway, had some fun in Kuta – got my hair braided, wandered around the shops buying clothes, etc. and spent a little bit of time on the beach.
Kuta is worth a look, but if you only have a short stay in Bali I would prioritise other areas over Kuta.

A really interesting part of Bali… much less touristy than areas like Kuta. There is a traditional walled village located nearby (I forget it’s name) where the members of the community live according to age-old tradition – for example, members must marry within the community. Only problem is that they are running out of people so some external marriages are tolerated.

Visited France in April of 2005. Paris was great! Especially the food and the sights. I enjoyed learning to speak some French, visiting museums, galleries, etc. Shopping was fun – our hotel was around the corner from Rue Daguerre – a great little mall with lots of fresh food vendors.

The down side:
1. Everybody smokes – everywhere and all the time. I particularly hated this when we were eating as it masked the taste and smell of the food. In Victoria (where I am from), smoking is banned in most public places and definitely anywhere where people are eating.
2. Dog poo – it seems to be standard issue for Parisians to own a little (usually white) dog. Evidence is everywhere – on the footpaths and sometimes on my shoe.
3. the Aussie dollar was piss-weak against the Euro so everything was quite expensive.