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Where I relived the adventures of Phileas Fogg, Passepartout and Captain Nemo. In 1882 Jules Verne and his wife Honorine moved into the whimsical, turreted house with the glorious spiral staircase. “At my wife’s wishes I settled in Amiens, a sober, civilised town whose society is cordial and cultured. We are close enough to Paris to see its reflection without the unbearable noise and the futile bustle." So wrote Jules Verne to his friend Charles Wallut. They lived here for 18 years and this was where he wrote most of his 62 novels and numerous short stories. Nowadays the house is a museum and somewhere visitors can relive the adventures of his heroes including Phileas Fogg, Passepartout and Captain Nemo. Verne’s most famous novels are Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, A Journey to the Center of the Earth and From the Earth to the Moon. It goes without saying he had an incredible imagination and talent and being a great travel writer, he could easily describe whole territories of countries he had never visited. When he started writing Five Weeks in a Balloon the author had no knowledge of ballooning nor had he been to Africa. He probably drew on the writings of others and referred to magazines like Louis Hachette's Le Tour du Monde-Nouveau Journal des Voyages which featured articles on worldwide explorations and included maps and illustrations. The author wrote remarkably knowledgeably about space, the moon landing, air travel, skyscrapers and underwater travel before navigable aircraft, practical submarines or any means of space travel had been invented. This is why he is often referred to as the ‘father of science fiction’ together with H. G. Wells. The house is dedicated to his life and memories and is full of the writer’s personal objects, posters, original copies, magic lanterns, letters, manuscripts and a model of the Nautilus, the submarine in '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'. Do visit when you are in the area. Jules Verne Museum, 2 rue Charles Dubois, 80000 Amiens
images courtesy of Jules Verne house Air Astana has once again been recognised as a winner in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards for Airlines, ranking in two categories - Travellers' Choice Regional Airline Asia and Travellers' Choice Passenger Comfort Asia. The airline retained the award for Regional Airline Asia in recognition of its customer service, cabin cleanliness, food & beverage, seat comfort, value for money, check-in and In-flight entertainment.  Air Astana has also been recognised as the best in a new category: the Travellers Choice for Passenger Comfort, which reflects ratings travellers have given for seat comfort and legroom. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of airline reviews and ratings submitted by travellers worldwide over a 12-month period (Jan-Dec 2018).
“Air Astana has always been dedicated to delivering the very highest standards of service to its passengers and I’m naturally delighted we have been named a Travellers’ Choice Airlines winner again this year,” said Peter Foster, President and CEO of Air Astana. “I’d like to sincerely thank every one of our passengers around the globe, who submitted a review to TripAdvisor following their flight. We look forward to your continued support for Air Astana.”. image (c) Air Astana |
