Jardin des Tuileries

Welcome to the central-most park in Paris! It was one of the first to open to the public (1667) and has served as an exemplar for gardens across Europe.
Catherine de Medicis, Queen of France, moved her household to the Louvre Palace after the death of her husband, Henry II. She decided to build a new palace for herself and her son (King Francois II), complete with a garden patterned after the gardens she'd known in her native Florence.The spot was home to tile workshops (tuileries), which is where the area, the palace, and the gardens got their names.Place de la ConcordeThe plants, the sculptures, the fountains and the monuments are scrupulously maintained, creating a beautiful spot in the heart of a big city.The Palace no longer stands, but the gardens do. Standing in the middle of them, one can see down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and La Bastille in the opposite direction.It makes me wish I spoke French!

Rottnest Island

As with many of the islands we've visited, "Rotto" as the locals call it has had more than one name in its history. The native Australian Aboriginies called it Wadjemup, meaning "place across the water." In 1681, the English "found" the island and christened it Maiden's Isle. The name didn't really catch on apparently and the island remained uninhabitated due largely to the lack of fresh surface water. The Dutch were the next to find the island in 1694. They gave it the name Rottnest-"Rat's Nest"-and that is how it has been known since.What the Dutch seem to have missed was that what they thought were rats were actually marsupials similar to miniature kangaroos. The rats nest was thickly populated with quokkas, not rats.
The Shingleback Lizard and Rock Parrot are just two examples of some of the wildlife native to this part of the world.
This antipodean holiday spot hosts a variety of exotic life, including the still-thriving quokka on its small land area. The island is only 11 km long by 4km wide at its broadest point. It has a total of 19 square km (that is just over 7 miles), so it's a very small space. It is absolutely auto-free and has very few permanent residents. It is a popular snorkeling spot featuring underwater plaques to tell you what you're seeing. There are incredibly poisonous snakes, legless lizards, and myriad birds. Humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins frolic in the water and skinks clamber over the beaches close to dozing fur seals. The place is thriving with life and a fresh water source has been found, making it that much more popular.Still, you can see why people would visit it. I'd go.