It has been a long and brutal winter in Toronto. So when I was invited to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in early March, I took only a few minutes to respond with an eager yes. It’s not that I knew much about Dubai or had harboured a desire […]
On the Road with Ann
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Dubai Slideshow 2014
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Religion in Dubai
[Editor’s note – Ann has been sending dispatches on her experiences in Dubai, and I am compiling these into blog posts and putting them on Facebook and Twitter. We’d love to hear your thoughts on her trip. – Melanie Blake] The Emirates Literary Festival is wrapping up, and as I […]
Beyond the Glitz of Dubai, Lots of Questions
‘s note – Ann has been sending dispatches on her experiences in Dubai, and I am compiling these into blog posts and putting them on Facebook and Twitter. We’d love to hear your thoughts on her trip. – Melanie Blake] In this latest update, just a few words about my […]
Impressions of a Multicultural Dubai
[Editor’s note – Ann has been sending dispatches on her experiences in Dubai, and I am compiling these into blog posts and putting them on Facebook and Twitter. We’d love to hear your thoughts on her trip. – Melanie Blake] I thought Toronto was a diverse city. But it is […]
TRAVEL PURSUITS – Melanie Blake se rapelle la Belle Epoque Paris en septembre
The leaves were showing their first golden tinge when we arrived in the Luxembourg Gardens, and a few had begun to fall on beds still bright with summer flowers. The city’s springtime glories are undeniable, but for me the best time to visit Paris has always been September. It’s […]
TRAVEL PURSUITS – The Camino offers respite and refreshment. Really? Really!
“For a man that goes on a pilgrimage does best of all if he starts out with the heart of a wanderer, eager for the world as it is, forgetful of maps or descriptions, but hungry for real colours and men and the seeming of things.” -Hilaire Belloc As it […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Reflections on Reading Chicago
We read. We saw. We heard. We tasted. Reading Chicago. READ While our some of Chicago’s most imaginative literary witnesses revealed its cultural contrasts, I was even more struck by a distinctive composite portrait of an astonishing city, characterized by muscular momentum, unpretentious pride and, sometimes, seamy realness. “City of […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Early reflections on Vietnam and Cambodia, pt. 1 of 2
Our last days in Cambodia were packed with magnificent and mysterious Angkor temples and local culture. Heat and humidity sapped my remaining energy, so I am now composing a final post from the comfort of home. Click on thumbnail images to enlarge. CAVEAT: Please understand that a trip of several […]
ON THE ROAD WITH ANN – Early reflections on Vietnam and Cambodia, pt. 2 of 2
Click here to see pt. 1 of this post. And double click on images to enlarge. Ingenuity – People in poorer countries have, of necessity, highly developed ingenuity to use what’s at hand for multiple purposes. We saw many examples in both countries, none perhaps more impressive than the traditional […]