Tag Archives: Bill Bryson

Mad About Malls

Bill Bryson once wrote “Where once we created civilizations, now we create shopping malls.” Nowhere is this more apparent than in Metro Manila, where new shopping malls seem to pop up daily, and like the Once-ler they ‘are figuring on … Continue reading

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Being Australian

Australia’s national Day is January 26th. It is also the same day that the First Fleet landed in Australia in 1788, holds laden with convicted felons, to establish a penal colony far from the rectitude of upper class Britons. Perhaps … Continue reading

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Creating a Cuisine from Scratch

Cuisine.  As it is in the Philippines, so it is in Australia: difficult to define. And like the Philippines, it comes in two parts: Before and After Colonization.  In the beginning there was a vast southern continent on which dwelt … Continue reading

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Growing Pains…

Every parent has buckets full of stories to tell about funny moments with their children: quirky conversations, mispronunciations, misunderstandings, that make us shriek with laughter and race to share the latest tale with friends and family. My mother collects anecdotes … Continue reading

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An End to the Affair

I first went to Florence on a decidedly pedestrian bus tour in the mid-1980s. We struck it lucky with the most magical tour guide, however, an English expatriate who was besotted with Florentine art. Sadly, I don’t even remember her … Continue reading

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