Canal du Midi

Advantages: architectural wonder
Disadvantages: cost many human lives to build

...The Canal du Midi, is a man dug canal, situated in the south of France, and joins the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean sea, via the Canal Garonne. The water sources which allow the canal to be constantly navigable, come from the Montagne Noire, (situated in the south west of the Massif Central, near Mazamet, in the Tarn area), by three lakes, and the Saint Ferréol dam. This technical challenge, first imagined in 1539, stayed a project on paper for almost a century, until 1636. ¤ø,¸¸,◊,¸¸ ,ø It was Paul Riquet, an ingenious engineer, born in Béziers in 1604, who started the first portion of the Canal in 1636, under the reign of Louis XIV. The Saint Ferréol dam was built in 1667, and in 1680, the locks at Béziers, called "Les écluses de Fonseranne" were built. Pierre Paul Riquet died that year, and the very first navigation...

bodsquidge 25.06.2007 (09.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of Canal du Midi, Languedoc

Tribute to a Golf

Advantages: Great car, good fuel economy, well built - and extremely safe
Disadvantages: No real huge disadvantages

...I've owned my Golf TDI S for almost 5 years now, and I've been really pleased with it. Unfortunately my insurance company have purchased the car back from me following a 7 vehicle pile up (not my fault!). However, I thought I'd put the experience to good use and tell you not only about how great the car is as a drive, but also show how well it can stand up to a battering. The car looks good. There's no getting away from it: when VW bring out a new shape of the Golf I invariably don't like it, but given a few weeks to get used to it, and it really grows on you. On the outside the car comes in a range of colours (I'd opted for a nice metallic blue on mine), with the mirrors and part of the bumper finished in the same colour. There are no front foglights as standard, but there are fog lights fitted to the rear. There's also...

sally.jenkins 05.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Golf IV 1.9 TDI

Hotel Noelia Sur, Tenerife

Advantages: Quality, Family Friendly Hotel
Disadvantages: Non really, just needs to sort out the sunbed situation

...I have just got back from Tenerife and staying at the Hotel Noelia Sur. My family go to Tenerife every year and this is the second time we have stayed at the Noelia. It has always been known as a quality hotel, but like many hotels it has its blips. Our flight was with Monarch airlines and to be honest it did leave certain things to be desired. I was told to expect to pay £10.00 for the inflight meals, which basicaly are crap, but Monarch tried to hit us with a £15.00 bill for them.As there were 7 in my party, this would have been an extra £105.00. I honestly do not think there is a need for such a price, as this would bring in more than £5000 revenue for the company, just for the inflight meals. They already charge a price of £3.00 for a 330 ml can of beer that costs 60p in an off license. On top of this there is a hire charge of £1...

jacksback40 15.07.2007 · Read review
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Hotel du Nord

Advantages: Beautifully filmed, poetic, magnificently acted masterpiece of cinema rarely matched today
Disadvantages: Nothing... genuinely nothing

...I first saw Hotel du Nord as part of a double bill with a film by Jean Renoir (I forget which - though I think the brilliant Le Crime De Monsieur Lange) and I was frankly going to see the Renoir film and thought, hmmm, I'll just have to sit through Hotel du Nord and grin and bear it. Something about the film just really didn't appeal. Then right from the opening shot that tracks down from the bridge over the canal Saint Martin and along the side of the canal to where the two lovers, played by Annabella and Jean-Pierre Aumont, settle against one another on a bench, despairing and apparently doomed I simply didn't look back. I couldn't. Since that Sunday afternoon I have always had something of a soft spot for Hotel du Nord. It is firmly placed in the traditional of French cinema of the thirties. Like his contemporaries, Renoir...

No_name 11.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Du Nord (Subtitled) (DVD)

Wonderfuel Golf

Advantages: Economy with performance
Disadvantages: Limited rear legroom

...VW Golf TDi Over the years, many enthusiasts have come to regard the Volkswagen Golf as the ultimate in hatchback design – the latest golf is no exception. In its Tdi guise, the Mk IV is able to offer excellent performance that is combined with fantastic economy and emissions that will make the plants smile! We all know that when you buy Golf, you get a basic car, well engineered and built, but a bit lacking in the extra comforts. Well, not any more. The latest version is packed with creature comforts such as front and rear electric windows, electrically adjustable and heated mirrors, electric sunroof, brilliant radio (the faster you go the louder it gets – its also programmable so that traffic programmes can be stored in memory and played back to help avoid the jams) – and air conditioning. There are also...

croabh 16.03.2001 (17.03.2001) · Read review
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Reserve choice of the Cono-Sur

Advantages: Elegant, widely available
Disadvantages: No strawberry flavours !

...I'm a huge fan of Pinot Noir wines and their sexy and easy going red berry charms. Frequently Cono Sur of Chile have come to the rescue when I craved an inexpensive fix of this delightful substance. Having extolled the virtues of Cono Sur's basic Pinot Noir I jumped at the chance of sampling of their Reserve Pinot Noir which promised an even greater level of sensual delight. I purchased my bottle, vintage 2006, from Tesco on offer at £4.99 (full price of £6.99) and it can also be found residing at Somerfield. Further delight ensued when I spied the emblem of a 2006 International Wine Challenge gold medal slapped on the bottle. Hopefully happy days would follow when the bottle was cracked at home ! Pinot Noir has began to excel in the cooler regions of Chile and this indeed come from the more temperate Casablanca valley which is...

zallin 07.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Cono Sur Pinot Noir Reserve

Why I keep going back to the Sur Menorca

Advantages: Excellent place for young children.
Disadvantages: Quite a way from the main village, but reflected in the price.

...My children and I have been to the Sur Menorca 4 times and currently trying to book for next year. It's a basic hotel, it isn't 5-star, so don't expect luxuries, but it's clean and comfortable. The staff are friendly, especially the receptionists. The pool areas are generally very clean, although in the summer it is often very busy at the main pool. However, just behind the apartment block is a very big toddler's pool, very safe for the young children, and right next to the play area. My children spend most days in that area and I can relax while they find plenty to do. The food is a bit repetitive, especially if you're there for 2 weeks, but it's clean, fresh and the platters are replaced regularly during meal times. Again, don't expect gormet food, it's basic, there's a big selection of salad, and usually one or two meat...

MummyLou 22.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Sur Menorca, Minorca

Cirque du Freak - The Vampires Assistant

Advantages: Nothing to shout at really
Disadvantages: Not as good as the book.

...Film details: Genre: Horror Film running length: 105 min Language: English Based on the Cirque du Freak vampire chronicles by UK Darren Shan. The film is a fantasy adventure. It tells the story of Darren, an ordinary teenager but things begin to change for him when a vampire named Larten Crepsley gets his teeth into him. Now a vampire Darren joins the Cirque Du Freak, a touring freak show, and unwittingly breaks a 200-year truce between two warring factions of vampires. Suddenly, the now not so ordinary teenager, has to somehow stop creatures from feasting on what?s left of his humanity. Its not a great a great plot, it seems rather disjointed and stumbles from one scene to the next. I found the film hard going( particulary after reading the book, its somewhere in the middle of an adult and childrens film. Some...

Falstaff100 31.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Cirque Du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant

Death du Jour - Death of the day

Advantages: More exciting than the last
Disadvantages: Technicality distracts from the story at times

...Death du Jour is the second book in the series starring Dr Brennan, and is just as good, if not better. This book starts with a bit more excitement that the last book, with Brennan exhuming (digging up) a body from the 1800?s. Shortly after this there is a fire in a house where five bodies are found, including two small children who were only eighteen months old. These two stories run along side each other for a while, which does get a bit confusing at times. This book also details Brennan?s life as a tutor of a class in a small town called Charlotte in America and again, she goes back and forth between here and Quebec, in Canada throughout the book, making it slightly confusing. Whilst in Charlotte, Brennans daughter comes to visit and they go to a small island which is owned by one of Brennan?s friends. He is breeding monkeys...

wolfey59 08.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Death Du Jour - Kathy Reichs

Musee du Louvre

Advantages: Only place to see the Mona Lisa
Disadvantages: Very busy all the time

...Musee du Louvre (Louvre Museum) Background The Louvre is the most visited and one of the oldest, largest and most famous art galleries and museums in the world. The first royal ?Castle of the Louvre? was founded in what was then the western edge of Paris by Philip Augustus in 1190, as a fortified royal palace to defend Paris on its west against Plantagenet attacks. The first building in the existing Louvre was begun in 1535, after demolition of the Old Castle (foundations of the Old Castle are now an exhibition). The architect Pierre Lescot introduced to Paris the new design vocabulary of the Renaissance, which had been developed in the chateaux of the Loire. During his reign (1589 ? 1610), King Henry IV added the Grande Galerie. Henry IV, a promoter of the arts, invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work...

pricey1980 06.08.2007 (07.08.2007) · Read review
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