Month: November 2020

Schoelcher Library, Fort-de-France, Martinique

rose Leave a comment

The Schoelcher Library, located in Fort-de-France in Martinique, is a public library. It is located at the corner of Liberté St. and Victor Sévère St., facing the north corner of Savane Square. Victor Schoelcher, deputy of Guadeloupe and Martinique (1848-1850) had a collection of 10,000 books and 250 musical scores but since he had no descendants, he left his collection to the General Council of Martinique under condition of create a public library. The building was built by Pierre Henri Picq. The building was built in the garden of the Tuileries in Paris and was first presented to the Parisians (1886-1887), before being dismantled and shipped by boat to Fort-de-France to be rebuilt. Unfortunately, most of the original books disappeared with a large fire in 1890. The library finally opened in 1893. The building, built on a square plan, has a large dome that illuminates the reading room. There is a mix of art nouveau, western classical and Egyptian art and some Byzantine influences. Names of great French writers decorate friezes. There is a very colorful mosaic exterior pediment.

Tips

If you visit Fort-de-France, it’s worth some time to see the library and its building.

If you are lucky, you will find exhibits on site.

Innisfil, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada

rose Leave a comment

Innisfil is a town on the western shore of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada; 80 kilometres north of Toronto. Historically it was a rural area but being near Toronto changed it and now we find an important residential development there; there are lots of cottages all along the lake shore with permanent residents. The name Innisfil comes from the Irish, it’s an ancient mythological name for Ireland. The town comprises a lot of communities who were added along the years. One of them, Cookstown, is a hub of antique specialty stores and outlet shopping. The town has a number of beach ends and small parks throughout Innisfil that have access to Lake Simcoe for swimming.

Tips

I you like summer activities, visit Innisfil Beach Park where you can access to Lake Simcoe for swimming, boating, fishing and winter recreation. You also will find three soccer fields, two baseball diamonds, a public boat launch and accessible playground facilities and during the winter, ice fishers may use the boat launch to drop off and pick up their fishing huts.
Another interesting places to visit are Leonard’s Beach or Centennial Park where you can find covered pavilions, accessible playground equipment and a small pond. Both places are open all year long.
If you like picnics, visit the South Innisfil Arboretum, you can also do bird watching, walking and snowshoeing.