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The Best Time of My Life

by on 23. Feb, 2012 in Travel

Eiffel TowerI always wanted to go to France. It seemed like the most fascinating country in Europe, and Paris, the capital, was the place I wanted to visit the most. So I started planning my trip. I started looking for plane tickets, discount hotels and places to visit. Soon everything was ready and I was embarking on a plane to Paris.

France was everything I expected it to be and more. Maybe it was because I was on vacation and everything seemed so easy, but the people looked elegant and happy, the sights were amazing and everything was so new and exciting that I simply had to stop and take a picture every two steps.

Paris was breathtaking. Of course I climbed all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower and speachlessly admired the sight. Then I proceeded to Champs-Elysees and took a walk until I reached the Arc de Triomph in all its glory.

Paris had a bit of everything. A lot of everything actually. It had art and culture engraved in its monuments: I visited the cathedrals Sacre Coeur and Notre-Dame, the church La Madeleine and the Louvre museum. It had history:

Les Invalides is the place where Napoleon and hundreds of French soldiers are buried. It had poetry: the area of Montmartre was once filled with great artists. It had education: Sorbonne and the Quartier Latin are the centre of higher-education. Of course it had fashion, all the haute couture boutiques and great stores could be found in the city. And it also had a modern side: La Defense and the area around it was the city’s business centre, that looked like it was taken from the future.

I had a great vacation in Paris. And even though I did not travel with private jets or lived in five star hotels, I ended up having the time of my life.

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New Gippsland outdoor sculpture

INSPIRING GIPPSLAND GRASS SCULPTURE

by on 10. Dec, 2011 in Gippsland

New Gippsland outdoor sculpture (photo: tourism.australia)

Melbourne artist Cory Thomas expressed his journey of creative inspiration by building a unique grass sculpture in Croanjingalong National Park, Gippsland. The park has 40 walking trails along 600 km of unspoiled coastline. The sculpture embodies the natural beauty of the area in a massive branch sculpture set in the sand, using approximately 200 silver ash branches from the surrounding area. The work was commissioned by Tourism Victoria and Destination Gippsland to encourage visitors to visit the Gippsland region. A video, done by Publicis Mojo Melbourne, has been created to showcase both the unique sculpture and natural beauty of Gippsland.

The video highlights the spectacular coastline of the national park, with its sandy hills and long sweeping beach. The artist is shown hiking on one of the trails, stopping at the beach to pick up a circle of tumbling beach grass. He sits down to sketch his inspiration based on the blowing beach grass. The resulting fan-like sculpture, that looks much like a giant circle of beach grass anchored like a windmill on the sand, is a simple and evocative symbol of the incredible natural beauty of the area. The video uses few words and and simple background music, creating an effective and evocative image of Croanjingalong National Park that should be very successful in encouraging tourism to the area.

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Eco-friendly Adventure Tourism at it’s Best

by on 10. Dec, 2011 in Gippsland

Gippsland Region

Croajingolong National Park on the coast of Victoria, Australia is a magical natural environment that has diverse eco-systems each of which is sustainably managed. It covers 87,500 hectares of striking natural beauty. The vast area extends 100 kilometres along the East Gippsland region.

Named after the local Aboriginal people, the men of the east or Krauatungalung, who lived in the area for over 40,000 years before Captain Cook stepped foot on the continent in 1770. Connected to the Nadgee Nature Reserve in New South Wales, it forms one of 12 World Biosphere areas in Australia. It is an important protected area for habitats and gene pools for birds including Pilotbirds and Eastern Bristlebirds among other important fauna.

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Food and Wine

by on 10. Dec, 2011 in Gippsland

Visit the Gippsland region in southern Victoria, one of Australia’s longest established and best-known food tourism destinations producing an array of excellent cheeses, fine meats, wonderful seafood and organic fruits and vegetables. The largest concentration of farm-fresh produce can be found in the renowned Gippsland Gourmet Country in and around charming towns and villages such as Jindivick, Noojee, Yarragon and Warragul in Central Gippsland. Turn off the beaten track to discover the wine – and the people – behind other beguiling names such as Narkoojee (‘place of flowers’), Paradise Enough, Wild Dog Winery and Lyre Bird Hill Winery.

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