Posts by Mathews

Good evening Georges, thanks for the message about Dubai. I don’t know that city—I just passed through the airport on a layover.

As for the political crisis in Poland, today’s article in *Le Figaro* seems to confirm the hunch I unfortunately had:

Poland reportedly foiled a provocation at the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad

link here

A few days ago, I came across a chart showing a number of cities around the world ranked by cost and quality of life.

Evening! The problem with these surveys and statistics is that they don’t include a "political stability" criterion. And yet, there are plenty of countries on Earth where things are pretty much a "mess," to put it casually. You can’t just look at the "business" side of things. If a city scores well but it’s chaotic—with lots of protests, vandalism, politicians yelling at each other—well, it doesn’t exactly make you want to live there... Take Poland, for example: what’s been happening there lately is a bit worrying. It’s like a coup in disguise. But when it comes to these kinds of brief political upheavals—a form of chaos—it actually works in some countries’ favor, if you catch my drift...

Hey, thanks for the feedback. Were there any protests?

Hi there, it depends on what you mean by "well-located"; The Calle Alcalá district is one of the city's most upscale neighborhoods. The advantage is that the Prado Museum is nearby, as well as Retiro Park. But if you prefer a lively area, you should choose a hotel on Gran Vía, near Callao metro station. I recommend checking out Atocha Station—there’s a stunning tropical greenhouse inside. The truly local neighborhood is Lavapiés. If you stay around Callao station, Puerta del Sol is nearby. Very lively!

Oh, and for a little anecdote—when I lived in Madrid for 3 months, I applied to a big temp agency on Calle Alcalá. Well, that’s just a little story 🙂

Hey, why would you want to rent a sleeping bag? The guide will provide one—or rather, a blanket. If you pay for a guide and go on a camel trek, everything is provided, including meals. Obviously, there’s no restaurant in the middle of the desert!

Hey, it's really nice to stay on deck. That's what I did for the Porto Velho to Manaus trip. Just be careful with your belongings, or ask someone you trust to keep an eye on them.

hi, I agree with Erjome—it might get expensive going via Barcelona. Otherwise, there’s also Edelweiss, which has a direct flight from Zurich. The issue there is that you’d need to get to Zurich. Check Skyscanner to see if there are flights from Geneva too.

Noble vision, but that’s a misunderstanding

Okay, fair enough, but what should we do then? Not impose any tax?

hi there for accommodation, there used to be a motel in Labelle, a few kilometers from Mont-Tremblant, but apparently it no longer exists. If you don’t want to spend too much on lodging, there’s the Manitonga Hostel in the village of Tremblant. It’s just a few minutes by car to reach the ski resort. For trails, there are 3 options: *from the village, head along Lake Mercier toward La Conception by taking the Petit Train du Nord trail. I’ve walked this section about thirty times. *alternatively, from the village, head south toward Saint-Jovite, but it’s better to go toward La Conception instead. *or start at the top of Mont Tremblant, arriving by the gondola. There’s a trail that follows the ridgeline to reach the Roof of the Laurentians—I think it’s Johanssen Peak.

If you have time, you can descend on the other side, still on the trail. Lower down, there’s a small bridge in the middle of the forest, and you’ll reach the road that crosses Mont-Tremblant Park.

If you walk down from the top of Mont-Tremblant to the ski resort, you’ll often see snakes in the grass in summer—Thamnophis or garter snakes. But in the fall, they retreat into their burrows, so you might not see any.

You’ll need to plan a full day for this. *Otherwise, in Mont-Tremblant Park, there are several hiking trails through the forest. If the park is closed when leaving from Labelle, you’ll access the truly wild part of the Laurentians. From Labelle, for those interested, there’s a trail either north toward Cap 360 and Mont Gorille or south, descending toward La Conception. Starting from Labelle in summer, follow the ATV trail, and you’ll reach the shores of Lake Vigné. There’s an old mine, and along the lake, you can find insectivorous sundews. Otherwise, the landscape is quite similar to the Swiss or French Jura, with fir forests and deciduous trees. In Labelle, there’s a pretty waterfall to see. Often in Labelle, you can spot white-tailed deer along the Petit Train du Nord trail. As for black bears, I’ve crossed the forest in the area many times but never seen one. You’d have to go deep into Mont-Tremblant Park.

For a nanosecond, I thought it was an AIDS awareness campaign. I scrolled through the photos, but no Durex box in sight!

Please, do me a favor and post some beautiful landscape photos of the Morvan forest instead of bringing up gross stuff. It’s like surgical masks—so unappealing and totally unglamorous. 😇

have a great time in Barcelona!

hi Jojoone, with all due respect, the websites you visit and your private life are your business, heh heh Unless your frivolity charms some members of this forum.

hi again, this program is still pretty packed. What time are you getting in? If you arrive late in the day, it’ll be tough to do much sightseeing. And don’t forget about jet lag if you’re coming from Montreal

Be careful not to buy dangerous products like trinitrotoluene, ha ha, just kidding! Make sure you can put it in your luggage if you're taking a plane. Even if you bribe the customs officers, it won't get through.

hi Kate well yeah why not it’s a substitute after all, black soap.

Okay, I’m not saying some "influencers" don’t do things that stand out, but for 99% of them, it’s just totally useless stuff...

Just adding that it’s crazy how all kinds of media manipulate people’s awareness 😉 😉 George Orwell must be spinning in his grave—it’s wild. What bothers me isn’t so much the content or style of what YouTubers and others produce, but rather the algorithms of the big platforms that push consumers to isolate themselves in a filter bubble. It’s especially younger people who are strongly influenced.

Hi Stratele, don’t overload your itinerary because there’s so much to see in Barcelona. Just visiting the Sagrada Familia takes time because there are people waiting to get in. Walking down La Rambla also takes quite a while. You’ll have to make some choices because 2-3 days on site isn’t much.

Hi, I don’t know if it’s sold in Switzerland, but in France you can buy Marseille soap. So you can bring a bar just in case. And Marseille soap is relatively eco-friendly.

hi there, This is a great route, but if you’ve still got time, try visiting Park Güell. It was designed by the same architect as the Sagrada Família.

Actually, I think influencers speed up overtourism..

It’s obvious that overtourism is a problem that the relevant authorities need to manage. But on the bright side, with taxes on tourism revenue, we can pay for wardens or rangers in big national parks like in Tanzania or Kenya. And that helps protect these protected areas.