More Things Italian

 Buongiorno, from sunny Abano Terme in the Veneto.

Those spectacles you see me wearing are now a thing of the past.  72 years ago my mother saw to it that I could see better.  Another 10 years I started contacts.

I am so used to contact lenses now that every night when I take my medicine I feel like taking my contacts out of my eyes.  That's a habit.  My glasses were like coke bottle glass, that is how my real vision is.  Now I am seeing perfectly after a lazer treatment on the right eye (cataract).  That eye had become cloudy and the lazer blasted it back to perfect  Modern Science.  That is a long way from B Flat Major, another type of science.

Since I am writing about amazing sight, I think I will pull out some photos of other amazing things.  46 countries/78 years.  Let's see what I can find.  Some might not seem interesting, but remember I see things as an artist.  Once while studying with my teacher we were setting up to paint a scene, and he remarked that the angles of the roofs made a painting.  I had a lot to learn!  

So here goes.

In the northeast top of the small country of Slovenia, there is a road called the Jerusalem Road, and all long it are the country's  best wineries I spent a week there painting, and went back several times.  In a tiny village I found these old doors, worn down by years of weather, and sun.  I have learn to stop and look at doorways in Europe.  All different and hand made by some carpenter years ago, now much appreciated.  I hope the owner of this building refrains from a redo of these doors.

Just a bit east of this place I looked up on top of a house and saw these storks.  After that I began to see platforms on poles where the farmers had created a place for storks to nest.  There are no storks in New Mexico or Colorado, or maybe even in the USA.  So seeing these large birds was an outstanding find.  Slovenia is amazing.

We went down to Sicily and stayed in Palermo.  The market had those vendors crying out to buyers just like in the movies.  We took a bus further west to a village hanging on the side of a small mountain.  I am always dragging my wife into shops to see Italian curios, but she is quite bored, just like I would be in America with their souvenir shops.  However,  I saw these plates, huge.  I want one on a wall in our home, but yes, how to stuff one of those in a suitcase. 

 

I am a sucker for souvenirs.  Some day I will get that wild boar's head and mount it on my front door.  (They do have these for sale in Tuscany, maybe that is why we don't go there anymore. :-)

Let's go over to Hungary.  Budapest is so beautiful, There are so many things to see there, plus a great market of two floors.  Across the water you take a tram up to see the view of the city.  The parliament building really sets it off nicely.  Hollywood uses this scene when they want you to believe the spy is in Budapest.

But there are small things to appreciate.  Their food is some of the best in Europe, and with some research we found this place far from the tourist zone, in a basement where the cooking is worthy of stars in a Michelin Guide.  This is where we were introduced to the Hungarian way to produce sparkling water at your table.  I seriously did research on how to find one of these old water bottles for sale.  However  I found the problem was that in Italy there would be no way to recharge the gas to make the water fizzy.  

If you ever go to Budapest, send me a message and I will tell you where to find this hidden restaurant. We have referred others and they came away with the same respect for this place.  Awesome.

You don't need Niagara Falls, Old Faithful, or the Eifel Tower to see awesome.  Small things count.  For me it even might be a visit to a local market in another country.  We make a point to go and look to see what other people have available food wise.  

In Italy, one will not  find hot sauce of any type to buy.  They are clueless of Mexican cuisine, and the heat of chili pappers is foreign and distasteful to them.  We buy ours in a Chinese market, of all places.  

So when we went to visit my son in Sacramento, we made a visit to a big supermarket.  There were so  many types, sizes and brands of chili sauce there that I just  had to take a video.  I wanted to show my friends here in Italy what they are missing.  I am not sure they were impressed, but for me, I was reminded... Food Matters!  Always seek out local foods and be adventurous.  What you see here are hot sauces.

I am sure I have bored you enough, but I hope you will be encouraged to find even the small things amazing when you travel.  Start a diary and write things down.  When you are 78 you will appreciate it and more able to remember things.

small things

Happy Day,

Ciao!