Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegowina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia...Your country not on my list? Tell me!
Travel Log
I recently moved from Canada to Germany. As such, I still notice the differences, little things, really, but fun just the same. Let’s call them Pretty Rocks (I’m known to fill the house with them). As I eat, photograph, and generally bumble my way through Europe, the little things I notice will end up here, on this page. Why, you ask? Because I can.
Pretty Rock #10
Ever wondered what the Eiffel Tower’s underskirt looked like? Wonder no more. Here it is. Cool, huh?
Paris, Nov 06
Pretty rock #9
Do you know why English admiral George Rooke capture Gibraltar from the “hordes” of French ships? Because of his fabulous, fabulous shoes. That’s why. Here he is, in all his glorious footwear, ready to lay waste to the hated French and Spaniards, armed with some 3 and a half inch heels, and oh-so-chic stockings to match. And by golly, how dashing he must have looked!
Gibraltar, United Kingdom (Spanish soil, but hey!), Dec 06
Pretty rock #8
Okay folks, if someone HAD to put up a sign declaring the ladies’ bathroom hand-dryer free of charge, there must have been some entrepreneurial gal in the past who was waiting for suckers to pay them for the infinite honor of using...AIR. I just thought it was hilarious. But not a couple of chicks who were washing their hands right in front of the mirror and who thought I was taking pictures of them. Pfft! As if!
Antalya Airport, Turkey, Oct 06
Pretty rock #7
On a recent trip to Bavaria, we climbed atop Germany’s highest peak, Mount Zugspitze (took me a day to learn to pronounce it...all together now, Tss-oog-shpit-zah) and filled our lungs with all that clean air, filled our eyes with all that blue sky and had a grand time having a snowballs fight in July (did our Canadian hearts proud). Until my husband felt the need to point out that the terrace on which we sat at 2,900 meters (about 6,000 feet) was only held by four of these steel cables. Thanks Dear...
Mount Zugspitze, Germany, Jul 06
Pretty rock #6
There is more than meets the eye in this picture. Clearly, the designers of these contraptions had ulterior motives. Ah, yes, my pets, for these are urinals cleverly disguised as phone booths. Maybe that’s why you never see any locals in them. Don’t believe me? Think I’m just a rabid tourist with a bad case of the “mine is better than yours”? Go ahead. Take a whiff. I got into that thing and came out so fast that I went back in time and gave a big smack upside the head to the last guy who was in there. Pig...
London, England, Feb 06
Pretty rock #5
The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Don’t these steps look nice and polished and inviting you to pop a disc or even better, break your dentition and roll ungracefully down the whole 200 of them? Before I coughed up a lung climbing these suckers, I took a picture. And if you think the stairs are scary, wait ‘til you get to the top. They should call it the “OHMYGOD-IT’S FALLING-ARGHHH” Tower of Pisa.
Pisa (duh!), Italy, Jul 05
Pretty rock #4
The ancestor of all safes. Now look at those fancy locks and that metal top. Wouldn’t you feel safe knowing your stuff is in there...especially considering the rest of it is made of simple wood...?
Dubrovnik, Croatia, Oct 05
Pretty rock #3
View from inside the Bridge of Sighs, in Venice...no wonder the poor buggers sighed, you should’ve seen the dungy cells waiting for them! For those who like green slime and mussels with grand expansion designs, go to Venice! And for the ladies (and gents so inclined), I swear the gondoliers are genetically altered to fulfill every visual requirement for beauty. Eye candy like you wouldn’t believe.
Venice, Italy, Oct 05
Pretty rock #2
The Greeks have a very inventive way to protect a parking spot. Depending on your browser, you may (or not) see the pic clearly. But yes, that *is* a padlock bolted to the asphalt...see lower right corner for closer image.
Corfu, Greece, Oct 05
Pretty Rock #1
When Dutch kids are finished school for the year, they hang their backpacks outside their windows, books and everything still in. No picture, you’ll just have to take my word on it.
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