In parts of Madagascar a unique landscape has formed, alternating sharp shards of rock and deep canyons. This is the tsingy, from a Malagasy word meaning 'where one cannot walk barefoot'. It is formed from limestone plateaus, the remains of ancient coral reefs when this area lay under the sea.
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Such are the natural wonders of Madagascar that in a couple of hours’ walking you can see an array of endemic species from tiny (and I mean tiny!) chameleons to lively lemurs and towering baobab trees.
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In addition to the national parks in Madagascar there are a number of small community-run reserves. In these local people care for and maintain their patch of forest. The money they get from visitors, e.g. for guiding and souvenir sales, is invested into both the village and the upkeep of the forest.
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Many of the fascinating and endemic creatures of Madagascar are nocturnal. Frogs, geckos, chameleons and lemurs all include some species that prefer the cover of darkness. So to see them you have to get out at night too, of course.
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There are a lot of reasons to visit Madagascar, but for most people the biggest draw is lemurs. These cute animals are endemic to the country, having evolved there separately to apes and monkeys, their closest relatives. And of all the lemurs the one I most wanted to see, and hear, was the Indri.
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Old Town is not, somewhat to my surprise, the old heart of Chicago, but rather one of its neighbourhoods. It takes its name from art fairs held in this area in the 1940s, ‘Old Town Holidays’. However, it is certainly home to many buildings older than most in the city. There are Victorian era houses and even one of just seven buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
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Paris is famed for its art galleries. From the iconic Louvre via the stylish Museé d’Orsay to the wonderful display of Monet’s Waterlilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie, there are collections to appeal to all tastes. Smaller galleries too, many less well known, and artists’ studios such as those of Rodin and Delacroix. And now there is a new kid on the block, the Bourse de Commerce.
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The Chicago suburb / dormitory town of Naperville is unlikely to be on most tourists’ radar, unless like me you have a friend who lives there. And yet there are sights to be seen. Actually, that’s probably true of most places, isn’t it, if only we look?
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The Place des Vosges must be one of the most beautiful corners of this beautiful city. Like the Place Dauphine it owes its existence to the city planning ambitions of Henri IV. It was laid out as an elegant residential square where the upper echelons of Parisian society could live and socialise. Much has changed since then, not least due to the Revolution, but it remains as elegant as ever.
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When you first arrive in a new city, you can’t wait to get out and explore. There are new sights to be seen, new experiences to be had. But if it’s somewhere you’ve visited many times before there isn’t that urgency. New sights can wait for tomorrow. Today, on arrival, your desire is rather to reconnect, to regain that sense of feeling at home. And for me, in Paris, that means a walk by the Seine.
