Blog Reviews by Bloggeries

Here is another blog that will have you counting down the days to your next vacation, it is Paradise Philippines. This blog you will find to be an informational resource about the Pearl of the Orient of Asia known as the Republic of the Philippines. The blogger clearly shows the significance of the meaning of the word Paradise in terms of this native country by referring to the paradise of not only the beauty of the environment, but also of the people as well. The blogger is using Paradise Phililppines as a resource for places to visit or stay, information on schools and transportation, as well as dining and vacation get-aways information. The blogger hopes to show you the best of what the Philippines has to offer which you can see through any of the recent bloggeries: Travel to Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Philippine Fiesta, Philippine Travel Guide, Doing Business in the Philippines, Wowowee, Metro Manila Guide, Offshore Retirement – Philippines, and Online Marketing.

The site is very easy to navigate and contains a wealth of information and navigation systems that will make your stay in Paradise Philippines very pleasant. Bloggeries are black text on white background with links highlighted in blue. There is a very simple grey and black geometric print header that contains the blog title. You will find posts right marginalized with a left navigation bar, and you will also find a top navigation bar as well. In the top bar are the links to Home, About, Advertisements, Contact Us, Photo Gallery, Places of Interest, Services, and the Sitemap. In the left navigation system you find a Recent Posts Menu, Blogroll, Archives, and Categories Menu that contains everything on Philippine life that you will want to know. You will find links there to Business, Entertainment, Government, News, Recreation, Society, Events, and so much more.

I will go with a 3 for this blog but think with a few minor changes it could do very well. The blog scores well for navigation and uniqueness criteria but needs some work with content and appearance. I think the blog would benefit from some pictures associated with every post, just to add additional appeal to the bloggeries. The blog does have pictures on most posts from what I can tell, but the bloggeries are fairly lengthy and pictures would break up the blog posts a little bit more and sustain the readers interest for longer periods. The blog is currently updated at about a rate from every couple of days to every couple of weeks and could use some more frequent posting. A suggestion to combat this would be to break down the longer posts into smaller posts and spread them out over a few days. Overall however, this blog provides exactly what it intends to and would be an excellent resource for anyone researching the Philippines.

-Chrissie

Have you ever been to Italy? Or are you one of those that has always wanted to but never really got the opportunity? If you take a minute to visit Italian Insight. You will come as close as you can to catching a fresh breath of Italian air without actually being there. David is your blogger and tour guide to all that is Italian on this website. He has recently moved back to the United States after having spent 20 years in Italy. He has worked and lived extensively all over Italy and his blog is designed to help you get the most out of any Italian experience you may have. This includes various aspects of vacationing and living in Italy from how to not be seen as a typical tourist to how to deal with security personnel. You can discover from David’s experiences all that Italy has to offer from food, wine, fashion, hotels, art, culture, and what he describes as the greatest people in the world. Have a look at some of his most recent bloggeries to see what I am talking about: Travel Tips – Medical Care while on Vacation in Italy, The Nights of San Lorenzo – Wine, Food, and Fireworks in the Squares of Italy, Barolo Ravera 2003 DOCG Elvio Cogno, Armani Prive – Women’s Fashion Fall Winter 2007 2008, Risotto with the flavor of Springtime – Risotto Primavera, Italian Garden Gnome Goes Missing – Save the Gnomes, and Fantini Club – Spa and Vacation Destinations to the Adriatic Riviera.

Navigation on this site is very straightforward and easily laid out. The posts are centralized with black posts on white background and there are both left and right navigation bars. In the left navigation bar you can find an archive pull-down menu where posts are sorted monthly, advertising, an Expats Italy Menu, and the Categories Menu. In the Categories Menu you will see how easily Italian information is sorted by Shopping, Fashion, Restaurants, Hotels, Recipes, Wine, and so much more. The right navigation system will give you the About Me page; advertising; Italian destinations, restaurants, cheese, and wine links; Blog Friends, book recommendations, and photo blog recommendations. Each posts is accompanied by relevant pictures that give a true feel for the Italian experience, and the blog is very appealing to read and look through.

This blog will get a 4.9/5 from me. I have no suggestions for this blogger, he seems to be doing an excellent job. The advertising is incorporated beautifully without being distracting. He also offers daily content that is excellently written and flows perfectly with his very easy navigation system. The blog is unique and appealing to the eye with all that it has to offer. I think this blog has excellent merits for both quality and quantity of his bloggeries, and would guess this blog will have continued success. If you are thinking about visiting Italy, or just want to know more about it, this blog comes highly recommended and is definitely one you want to bookmark.
-Chrissie