TRAVEL TUESDAY 484 - PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS

“Mauritius was made first and then heaven, heaven being copied after Mauritius.” - Mark Twain

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There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

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Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometres off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Agaléga, and St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos shoals). The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, along with nearby Réunion (a French overseas department), are part of the Mascarene Islands. The main island of Mauritius, where the population is concentrated, hosts the capital and largest city, Port Louis (see photo). The country spans 2,040 square kilometres and has an exclusive economic zone covering 2,300,000 square kilometres.

Given its geographic location and colonial past, the people of Mauritius are diverse in ethnicity, culture, language and faith. It is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the most practised religion. Indo-Mauritians make up the bulk of the population with significant Creole, Sino-Mauritian and Franco-Mauritian minorities. The island's government is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system with Mauritius highly ranked for economic and political freedom. The Economist Democracy Index ranks Mauritius as the only country in Africa with full democracy.

Mauritius ranks 72nd (high) in the Human Development Index and the World Bank classifies it as a high-income economy. It is amongst the most competitive and most developed economies in the African region. The country is a welfare state. The government provides free universal health care, free education up through the tertiary level, and free public transportation for students, senior citizens, and the disabled. Mauritius is consistently ranked as the most peaceful country in Africa.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 325 - DUNKIRK

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. 

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Dunkirk (French: Dunkerque, Dutch: Duinkerke) is a town in the region of Nord-Pas de Calais in France. The name Dunkirk derives from West Flemish "dun" (Dune) and "Kerke" (Church), i.e. "The Church on the Dunes". Dunkirk is a small town in the northernmost tip of France. It is very close to the border with Belgium and is actually located on the shores of the North Sea.

Dunkirk has a wide variety of tourist attractions including beaches, architectural and historical sites, festivals, cafes with live music, a theatre, a conference centre, museums, cinemas and its Carnival. Seven hundred hectares of dunes, 15 kilometres of beaches, and a recognised sailing resort make the Flanders coast an increasingly popular seaside resort for tourists who can find quality activities and entertainment all year round.

A history enthusiast after having visited the Dunkirk War Museum and the Town Cemetery's War Memorial might want to head South-East to the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper, Belgium. The Museum which looks at the history of the First World War in the Western Flanders Front region. Both France and Belgium have abolished passport control under the Schengen Agreement, so moving between these countries is easy. Other locations worth visiting which are connected to the First World war is the The Museum of the Great War in Péronne, France and the Sommme 1916 Museum in Albert, also in France.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
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TRAVEL TUESDAY 303 - TRIESTE ITALY

“The great cliché about Trieste is that it is melancholy: its quiet colors, its cultural indeterminacy, its literary legacies all lending themselves to a certain (to use Joyce’s famous pun) tristesse. But in my week there, I found less sadness than a bittersweet nostalgia for a half-imagined, half-remembered past.” - Tara Isabella Burton

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us.  Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Trieste is a city and a seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city. It is also located near Croatia some further 30 kilometres south. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste and throughout history it has been influenced by its location at the crossroads of Latin, Slavic, and Germanic cultures. In 2009, it had a population of about 205,000 and it is the capital of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The metropolitan population of Trieste is 410,000, with the city comprising about 240,000 inhabitants. 

Trieste was one of the oldest parts of the Habsburg Monarchy, belonging to it from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century the monarchy was one of the Great Powers of Europe and Trieste was its most important seaport. As a prosperous seaport in the Mediterranean region, Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). In the fin de siècle period at the end of the 19th century it emerged as an important hub for literature and music.

Trieste underwent an economic revival during the 1930s, and the city was an important spot in the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War. Today, Trieste province is one of the richest in Italy, and it is a great centre for shipping (through the Port of Trieste), shipbuilding and financial services. Trieste is the most important port of Italy and was the 2020 European Capital of Science - ESOF.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 280 - HONFLEUR, FRANCE

“We live in a rainbow of chaos.” – Paul Cézanne

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. Its inhabitants are called Honfleurais. It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterised by its houses with slate-covered frontages.

Hornfleur was painted many times by artists, including in particular Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind, forming the école de Honfleur (Honfleur school) which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

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