It was P's turn to choose a country this time and he chose Mauritius in honour of our good Mauritian friend Hemmy who, incidentally, runs probably the best pizza parlour in Melbourne. Well, that's just our opinion but really his pizzas are so good that we go there every Sunday night. It's called Belle Rose in Chadstone if you want to try them out sometime.
H started the ball rolling by finding us the best airline ticket prices and somewhere to stay. We ended up flying Emirates and staying in the north west of the island at Grand Baie Suites Hotel on Royal Rd, Grand Baie. The price for 7 nights was an absolute bargain, making us think that we really should go there in real life sometime.
We explored the many cultures that make up Mauritius today - French, Chinese, Indian, Portugese and African. We also learned about their religions (most are Hindu) and we enjoyed watching a Food Safari episode on Mauritian food which in influenced by all the cultures listed above.
The girls were interested and sad to read about the Dodo bird, native to Mauritius and now extinct due to hunting and a naturally slow reproduction rate. Did you know that Mauritius is tiny? It has about 140km of coastline but it has 700 different native plant species. Apparently Charles Darwin had a great time there!
The thing we didn't get to do during our time in Mauritius was to go to a Mauritian restaurant. One that we want to try is on the other side of the city, so perhaps the next time we are out that way we may drop in for a tasty treat.
Hey Jet setters!
ReplyDeleteYour trip sounded fantastic! We have a Mauritian friend who does speak French but he actually grew up speaking Creole (a dialect of French).
Also, Nanny Kerry went there a few years ago for a wedding and had a lovely time. When she's next in town I'm sure she'd love to tell you about it.
Happy Travelling!
Clarabel College