I'm celebrating the Fourth of July for the following reasons:
1) I studied Australian History as one of my Year 12 subjects. The title was bland but the course certainly wasn't. It molded me into a very strong republican. The course also left me with a huge amount of gratitude for the USA and the role they played in pulling Australia out of a sinking ship during the later years of the second world war.
2) Both my Bisnonnos (great-grandfather's) immigrated to North America from Italy, spending over ten years working there only to both turn around and head to Australia. Nobody in my family knows why both men changed their minds as their families were all in New York and Italy. Neither Bisnonno knew a living soul in Australia. I like to think that I came pretty close to being American.
3) The United States of America is one of my top 5 travel destinations. Yes I know that I've fallen prey to most countries and cities that I've been lucky enough to travel to. There is just something about the USA that I can't quite pinpoint. LA felt like home: the big blue skies, the coastline, the wide roads and the palm trees. I swear black and blue that I lived in Seattle in a past life. Red Velvet cake is an obssession of mine that keeps on growing and I live for hotdogs. I've been lucky to visit the USA twice and can't wait to go back.
I started my Fourth of July off with a nice buttermilk pancake stack, smothered in maple syrup and topped with strawberries.
