Looking down a traditional Tuscan alleyway in the city of Pistoia. In the background, one can see the church San Giovanni Fuoricivitas, with its distinctive white and green (marble and serpentine) façade.
Day 125 - Switzerland
Today I am posting three photos is a row, as I got to take a photo a day, but not upload them the same day. It seems (gasp!), there are places with limited Internet connectivity left on the globe.
These are three "Switzerland" caps I saw in a store in the German-speaking part of the country. Wondering if something is a tourist gimmick or something any self-respecting local would wear? The fact that they feature the English spelling (in a country with four official languages, none of which is English) is a dead giveaway :)
Day 124 - Boar Fountain (Eberbrunnen)
This is the landmark of my home village: The boar fountain. Built in 1992, it honors the history of the town as a farming village. Once upon a time, the farmers took their pigs to the nearby forest to have them feast on the acorns, earning the locals the nickname "the boars".
Unsurprisingly, farming has since receded in importance, and most residents are white-collar workers commuting to the nearby bigger cities now. The affectionate nickname, however, stuck.
Day 123 - German Beer
Step 1: Get to Germany. Step 2: Have German beer. Step 3: Profit!
Check out the head! Why can American beers (even the good ones) never look like this?
Day 122 - Sardine Can 747-400
Maybe it's just me, but do passenger airplanes keep getting smaller every time you travel? At any rate, this flight, with its shared entertainment system and nonexistent leg room was the finest the early 90s have to offer. Oh air travel, what a delight you can be.
Day 121 - In-n-Out
You know how the old saying goes, right? The only thing better than an In-n-Out milk shake is two In-n-Out milkshakes ;)
Day 120 - Pet-a-what?
Haha, you've got to be kidding me. A pet carrier in front of your belly? "Order now! Now you too can be at the receiving end of jokes all over your community!"
I mean, this thing is probably imitating a baby sling, but unlike babies, animals can actually walk.
Which reminds me of a pet peeve of mine (how punny, I know): doggie strollers. Chances are, if you take your dog on walks more than, say, twice a year, and unless your dog is disabled or very, very old, it will easily be able to walk further than you. Even if not: Stop being so egocentric to take your dog on trips that exceed its stamina. Depriving a dog of the pleasure of running around and sniffing to its heart's content just so you can treat it like a baby is just sad.
So what's up with that?
Day 119 - Rebate, ca. anno 1987
Unlike 100 days ago, today's mail-in rebate (of a whopping 5 dollars) came with as this ancient technology known as a "check". On the upside, my bank let me use one of these elaborate workarounds for incredibly outdated systems: Scanning and uploading the check to the website.
If it worked out, rebate plus gas savings should add up to almost two coffees! Woah!
Day 118 - Caltrain
Those Caltrain Baby Bullet trains look mighty sleek there -- if they run. After the recent budget woes threatened to keep most of these "babies" in the depot, some recently-found funding will at least keep them running for another year. Then what? Only time will tell :)
Day 117 - (Not so) Green Thumb
I am proud to report this is how I cut the plants in my "yard" -- though, really only the kinds of plants that can easily survive on their owns. The ones that need daily care have a tendency to die quickly under my "supervision" (and it's not even summer yet!)... so, sadly, the "green thumb" is sadly not a characteristic I can claim for myself.