Good Times At Gaisano

This is where Capiz folks let the good times roll or have a leisurely, airconditioned stroll: Gaisano City Mall in Roxas City. There are movie theaters, fastfood joints, a supermarket, a department store and various stalls and shops for shoppers to engage themselves in.

Gaisano is a shopping mall chain in the Philippines located in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

Thousand Islands International Bridge (And The Story Behind The Dressing)

From above the Thousand Islands Skydeck in Ontario, Canada, Miss Iggy saw the Thousand Islands International Bridge which "extends from Collins Landing near Alexandria Bay, New York to Ivy Lea near Gananoque, Ontario covering a distance of 8.5 miles and provides direct connection between US Interstate Rt. 81 and Canada Highway 401."



And where there's a U.S.-Canada border, there's a duty-free shop! Guess what Miss Iggy bought as a souvenir? Well...a bottle of original Thousand Islands dressing (Vinaigrette Mille-Iles), of course! The bottle's label tells the origin of this famous dressing:

"Legend has it that the Thousand Islands dressing was created on board the magnificent steam yacht the "Louise" belonging to millionaire proprietor George Boldt of Waldorf Astoria fame. One day, while George and his wife Louise sailed amongst the beautiful 1000 Islands, Boldt requested their steward on board create a dish in honour of the area. A very special dish indeed, today almost 100 years later people around the world enjoy his creation, the distinctive legendary Thousand Islands Dressing. The diced cucumbers in it are meant to represent the 1000 Islands, or more accurately 1864 islands. The steward on board the "Louise" rose to international fame and became known as "Oscar of the Waldorf."

The "Oscar" immortalized by this dressing is Oscar Tschirky.

SM...Shopping Much?

Jersey Iggy almost forgot about this photo from December 2008 in Manila. She was at SM "Clearance Outlet" Mall in Carriedo St., Quiapo, Manila, Philippines--close to Quiapo Church. This is said to be the original SM shopping mall branch, the first of many in a chain of department stores all over the country bearing the same initials owned by Filipino-Chinese business magnate Henry Sy.

Bonjour from Byward Market!

"The ByWard Market is where Ottawa was born. Established by Lt-Col. John By in 1826, the ByWard Market is one of Canada’s oldest and largest public markets. The legendary builder of the Rideau Canal; Lt-Col. By himself laid out the street plan of the Market, designating George and York Streets to be extra wide to accommodate the horse-drawn carriages that brought foodstuffs to the market every day."

Miss Iggy made sure to drop by this popular tourist attraction in Ottawa. There's a lot to learn about a city's culture and lifestyle just by visiting their public markets.

Canadian Souvenir Shop

Jersey Iggy was looking around the souvenir shops in Ottawa for...what else? Postcards!

Shopping at Woodbury Common

After visiting West Point, Miss Iggy dropped by the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, located in Central Valley, New York, which wasn't too far. This outlet shopping area is so vast that the shops are grouped according to color-coded areas and you need a map from the Information Center (above) to help navigate your way in this maze of designer shops.

Coach, Gucci, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, J. Crew, just to name a few, are there to "cure" your shopaholic fix. If you're diligent enough, you might find some super bargains, sometimes up to 75% off or more.

Tourists come here by the busful just to shop! Don't believe me? Just look at the welcome sign posted everywhere: they're in multiple languages. So are the announcements you keep hearing throughout the area. It's like being in an international airport!

savannah's river street

savannah, georgia is right by the river, and you shouldn't miss river street. it's lined with shops that sell local products such as glazed pecans and other sweets.

if you're not in the mood for shopping, there are street performers that keep you entertained as you stroll along the park by the river. you can also cruise along savannah river on one of their ferry boats, if you wish. it's worth waiting for the sunset by the river.

miss iggy at the wagwagan

wagwagan usually refers to stores in baguio that sell second-hand clothing from overseas. "wagwag" is a filipino word meaning "to shake", and people in wagwagans usually shake the dust off the clothes before perusing how they actually look. these sort of stores are said to originate from baguio city. when the fad reached manila, "wagwagan" became "ukay-ukay", ukay coming from the filipino word "hukay" meaning "dig", as customers dig around boxes of used clothing in search of that perfect ukay find.

these days, clothes are not the only things sold in these shops. here one can find toys, beddings, bags, shoes and in cubao, one can find household items too! miss iggy predicts that with the worsening economic crisis, more and more people will come back to the ukay-ukay rather than to the shopping malls for a speedy shopping fix.

miss iggy visits the iggy store

and helps gingmaganda replenish the doll stash. yay!



it's labor day in the philippines! long live the workers!

mr. iggy and megamall

the ortigas business district's prime mall. it is one of the largest in the country!

if the shoe fits!

this little iggy went to market--that is, polomolok public market in south cotabato, philippines. (december 2008)

what amused miss iggy at this particular market was that it had a huge inventory of second-hand shoes more than anything else that you'd normally see in a public market. these used shoes were imported from various countries, most notably the neighboring ones such as taiwan, hongkong, and korea. this is the countryside version of salvation army-type thrift stores. generally, filipinos call these "ukay-ukay", from the root word "ukay" which means to dig into a pile to search for your second-hand treasure. as they say, "one person's trash is another one's treasure!"

it seems the people of polomolok have a foot fetish! (warning: not for the faint of nose and germaphobes!) good luck finding your size!

muji-moto!

jersey iggy found herself ogling at the goods inside the muji store at the new york times building on 8th ave., one of six stores of this japanese franchise--all of which are located in new york.

muji is like a japanese ikea, but with pricier items. the stuff sold is functional, earth-toned and mostly earth-friendly, with some basic apparel, too. the paper products are must-haves, and there are quirky souvenirs like the "new york in a bag" wooden pieces.

mr. iggy at sta. lucia east grand mall

mr. iggy at the sta. lucia east grand mall--cainta, rizal's first ever shopping mall.

sta. lucia east grandmall is at the crossroads of cainta, pasig, marikina, and antipolo and is a favorite transit point for commuters from these places on their way to quezon city. hopefully it will have its very own train station in the near future. loyal mallgoers refer to the place simply as, "santa lu".

the magic of macy's

jersey iggy lives close to a macy's department store which is located at the rockaway townsquare mall in new jersey. macy's is an american department store chain whose flagship store is at herald square in manhattan. macy's prides itself for its annual thanksgiving day parade at herald square which features extravagant and fun character floats.

macy's was founded by rowland h. macy in 1858. last year, macy's celebrated its 150th anniversary. it declares itself as "the world's largest store" (referring to the one at herald square), but wikipedia states that it's now tied with harrod's in london in terms of store size.

macy's signature color is red, and its signature logo is the red star. february is american heart month, and macy's is a proud national sponsor of the "go red for women" movement which aims to promote heart disease awareness.

movie trivia: the original film "miracle on 34th street" was set in macy's store at herald square (because it literally is on 34th street in new york city), but its 1994 remake was set in a fictional "cole's department store" when macy's refused the filmmakers to use its name.

p.s. those are birds perched on the letters of the macy's sign.

recession short-circuits circuit city for good

"recession" is a bitter word that's gripping the whole world.

jersey iggy was sad to see circuit city, one of the electronics store giants (or used to be) in the US, (second to best buy) succumb to bankruptcy when it announced on january 16th this year that it was closing its remaining 567 stores across the country.

this store has been around for 60 years, but is now undergoing liquidation such as this store above in ledgewood mall, new jersey.

the camera's flash obliterated the sign which announced "store closing sale." (if you look a little more closely, though, you'll see.) the store offers an extra 20% discount on all of its merchandise, but they're all regarded as "final sale," meaning they're non-returnable once purchased.

fortuitous faery's current digital camera (a sony cybershot) was bought from this store's website. circuitcity.com used to offer free shipping for orders worth $25 and up.

so long, circuit city....thanks for the memory sticks.

going beyond borders

jersey iggy exclaims: "to literacy and beyond!"

she was at fortuitous faery's favorite bookstore, borders, last night. although she lives close to one (two, actually) in her own neighborhood, she decided to drop by this branch in livingston, new jersey.

this store is not just for book-lovers, but also for people looking to buy DVDs, music, cards and stationery, games and gift items. inside almost every borders store is a seattle's best coffee nook where people can read and sip a hot cup of coffee...with wi-fi provided by t-mobile.

borders is based in ann arbor, michigan and operates around 1,100 stores worldwide, in countries such as australia, singapore, malaysia, oman, the UK & UAE.

miss iggy was browsing her favorite aisle: the travel section. she wants to go to mexico.

miss iggy came home happy because she snagged bargain postcard booklets of new jersey and atlantic lighthouses. miss iggy loves bargains!

this little iggy went to market

this is where miss iggy shops for filipino as well as other asian food items when she can't find them at her local supermarket. top quality food market is an asian grocery store located on route 46 in parsippany, new jersey. here, you'll find everything from green tea to kimchi to fresh fish to bok choi.

miss iggy was drawn to the oodles of noodles section on aisle 4.

...especially towards the cute food packaging of the korean products. hey look, kimchi-flavored noodles!

it's not very often that miss iggy gets to see a pretty lady on a noodle packaging. usually it's just the noodles themselves. haha.

Dinner at Tiffany's

While Kohlmarkt literally means cabbage market, this shopping street in the Vienna city center has anything but cabbage to sell. With premiere jewelers and high-end fashion labels, it is Vienna's address for luxury goods. 

A special store there took Miss Iggy's fancy:

Miss Iggy channelling Holly Golightly, Aubrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's character

How charming!

How lovely!

Miss Iggy goes shopcrazy

Being the savvy shopper that Miss Iggy is, she's excited to score some bargains at the year-end sales. In Vienna, the year-end sales start two days after Christmas (St. Stephen's Day is celebrated on 26th of December and is an official holiday). While most stores offer 30% to 50% discounts, some stores' prices even drop down to minus 80%. 

At fashion boutiques like Mango and H&M, you can expect long lines at the dressing rooms AND the cashiers. Patience is key in getting good bargains. For Miss Iggy, it's worth the wait.

Miss Iggy in front of H&M on Am Graben

While finding a the perfect purchase can be stressful, just walking on Vienna's festive shopping streets at night is entertaining.

Am Graben where Miss Iggy usually goes to the H&M flagship store for fashion finds, Tchibo for nice practical stuff and Accessorize for accessories

Rotenturm Straße, where she likes going to Lush and B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful (but never really buys stuff, haha) and in the summer gets her ice cream fill at Zanoni & Zanoni

Kärntner Straße, where Miss Iggy loves window shopping

"COD" christmas show lives on at greenhills shopping center

miss iggy felt like a kid again watching the traditional animated christmas display at the greenhills shopping center in san juan city.

this show was originally conceived by alex rosario, sr. to attract shoppers into his department store called COD ("cash on delivery") in manila 51 years ago. this free holiday spectacle easily became a hit with people that he continued doing this until he transferred his store to its more popular location in cubao's araneta center.

many a filipino child remembers trooping to cubao on a cold december night (some even came from the provinces) to watch this 15-minute display of moving mannequins set in themes that either change or occasionally recur every year.

the COD department store may long be gone in its familiar spot in cubao, but the tradition lives on for new generations, and hopefully, for more to come. the christmas show now has a new home at the greenhills shopping center, where people can conveniently do their christmas shopping (at their christmas "night market") and haggle for the final price after watching the show.

exempli gratia, hello kitty items for the hello kitty lover in the family:

or imitation havaianas flipflops:

here are a couple snippets of the show from this year which features a horse-drawn carriage ("calesa") and a musical band playing a christmas song. the theme was environmental and even used the voice of a beauty pageant winner.

to read more about the COD christmas show, click on this inquirer story.