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Scene Setter

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Host's View

Who, I'd like to know, is the PR guy for Australia? I mean, first there were the Olympics. Now it's "Survivor Two," set somewhere in the Outback. Ever since Crocodile Dundee, that country has captivated Americans. Everything Australian these days is cool -whether it's movies, beer, wine or slang. I think the country appeals to America's love of anything larger than life. And Australia's laid-back, apparently devil-may-care ethos doesn't hurt either.

Want a sure way to make a lot of money? Take a page from those who have become wealthy writing about a couple of places Americans love: Provence and Tuscany. Move to Australia, maybe to the wine country outside Melbourne. Refurbish a farmhouse and then write about your idyllic life for an American audience. I thought Peter Mayle had mined that vein out with "A Year in Provence." But then along came Frances Mayes with her best selling book, "Under The Tuscan Sun," doing the same thing-renovating a farmhouse and finding peace amidst sun-dappled vineyards...only in Italy. Mark my words-Australia is next. And if you don't go and write that bestseller, I just might.

 

{ Rudy's View: 1999 Archive | 2000 Archive }

 

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