This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
News from the world of tourism, here and elsewhere.
Olympic Games and urban revitalization
After Paris, after Los Angeles, it will be Brisbane, Australia’s turn to host the Summer Olympics in 2032. Already, when I visited in 2022, the dazzling capital of Queensland was in turmoil as they were busy building the infrastructure needed for the new electric bus routes. On the banks of the river, another mega-project, worth AU$3.6 billion (CA$3.2 billion), was well underway: Queen’s Wharf. This residential-tourist project will connect the business district to that of South Bank via a pedestrian bridge. It is also hoped that it will put the city on the map as a global tourism and leisure destination. To this end, it will add four high-end hotels and around 1,000 rooms to the current accommodation offering. It will also include around fifty restaurants, bars and cafés as well as a casino. It is this first phase, The Star Brisbane, which will be inaugurated on August 29. From its height of 100 meters, the Sky Deck, a panoramic platform with restaurants, will be the centerpiece. While the whole thing looks great, I especially remember that two squares and nine heritage buildings in this historic area – the city was born from a penal colony founded in 1824 – will be restored. In addition, the equivalent of 12 football fields of green spaces will be created or redeveloped. So I am already awarding a gold medal to this major urban redevelopment project!
In India with Air Canada Vacations
Dreaming of exploring the Indian subcontinent? Then take note of Air Canada Vacations’ (ACV) new fully guided tours. There are eight of them and they vary in length, covering the country’s key regions, and one of them even includes a neighbouring country, Nepal, on its itinerary. Included are airfare, breakfasts and dinners, accommodations (mostly four or five star), as well as domestic travel by plane or train. Prefer to travel independently? I hear you! That said, adding a guided component to a long independent trip is a good strategy, especially in India, which is not a relaxing destination! The six-day, four-night Taj Mahal Express package could be an excellent complement to a solo trip. The same goes for North India (13 days and 11 nights), if you want to explore the Indian state of Kerala on your own, where the culture shock is much less than elsewhere in the country. Anything is possible, I am told at VAC, you just need to contact a travel advisor. When to go? Roughly speaking, between October and March or April, while knowing that in Rajasthan, the nights are cool from mid-November to mid-February. In Nepal, we prefer November, December and March, the least rainy months.
Manon, come and have dinner!
Still in India, the Tamil district of Pondicherry, with its “talking streets,” particularly delighted me. They were called that because the traditional houses, with their lean-tos under which everyone busied themselves, dozed, and chatted, created a friendly atmosphere. Like the Montreal alleys, mind you! Former independent journalist Florence Sara G. Ferraris, who we also read about in this newspaper, tells the story of these behind-the-scenes scenes. And this, in a book published last March, beautifully illustrated by photographer Ariel Tarr: Alleys (Parfum d’encre). The author gives voice to those who remember it, such as Michel Tremblay, and to those who animate it. She also invites us to rummage through it in ten routes in as many neighborhoods.
Not new, but still delicious!
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