Touche vendor, touche

There were so many beautiful earrings were sold on an umbrella at the main terrace of Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain. Park Güell is Barcelona's very popular garden complex with full of unique architectures which were designed by Antoni Gaudí. Hence the park is a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site which is known as Works of Antoni Gaudí. I found this display umbrella in a sea of people. I thought the umbrella seemed like a good idea to catch the attention of a whole bunch of tourists. Touche.

Egészségére

I took this photo at Heroes' Square (Hundarian: Hősök tere) in Budapest, Hungary. The historical square is also known as a part of an extensive UNESCO World Heritage Site. To get there, I used yellow line of Budapest Metro. You can't miss it because the station lied just under the square and was named Hősök tere, also there was no other crowded place around there. Before my trip, one of my Hungarian acquaintances told me a story about Heroes' Square. It was a long time ago, seven tribe's leaders cut their wrist and dropped their blood into the Holy Grail. Then poured wine into the Grail and the seven tribe's leaders drank it to united. That one became Hungary.

Coated with plastic, wrapped with newspaper

The photo shows a traditional lunch packet of Sri Lankan rice and curry. I bought the packet at a cozy curry place in Chilaw, Sri Lanka and returned to my hotel. My hotel room had a spacious ocean view balcony, so I opened the lunch packet on the table of the balcony. The rice and curry was coated with plastic and was wrapped in newspaper. Also, curry soup was put in a bag, so I just poured the curry onto the rice and took this photo before I ate it with a cool bottle of beer Lion. It tasted like heaven, you can imagine.

Break the ice

I took this photo in Florence, Italy nearby the Duomo (a.k.a. Florence Cathedral or Brunelleschi's dome). I had hours to walk around the city, take some photos, have Italian lunch at a nice local restaurant somewhere in the city, and then some. You know I just enjoyed being a tourist in this picturesque Italian city. Before I got there, one of my Italian acquaintances told me that I may find communication difficult with the locals, but it was all much ado about nothing. I must admit that my very poor Italian have helped to break the ice with some locals, though. Thanks for my travel experiences.

Joined at the hip

I took this photo at the City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. The City Hall Square is situated right in the middle of Copenhagen and also I'd say it's a gateway to the pedestrian zone of the city. The Lue Blowers statue was in between Palace hotel and the city hall. The bronzy two guys were joined at the hip and were blowing curved lurs in the air. They made me realize where I was. The statue was on the top of a column which was about 20 meters high and stood out in the busy public square in front of the city hall.

Like a can of sardines

The photo shows a cockpit window of a Sri Lankan tuk-tuk. Sri Lankan tuk-tuks look very similar to Indian rickshaws which have miniscule three wheels, a neat driver's seat, a cozy rear seat and make a cute sound like tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk... I took this photo in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. I went all the way there from Colombo on a tuk-tuk. From my point of view, tuk-tuks remain principal means of transit in Sri Lanka and I've gotten a tuk-tuk countless times. I've piled into a rear seat of a tuk-tuk with an Italian guy and a South African lady at night. We were packed in like a can of sardines.

That's just what I need

I took this photo of Israeli flag in Masada, Israel. While I was writing a check-in document at my hotel in Jerusalem, the receptionist asked me to join a one-day bus tour to visit Masada and the Dead Sea and he showed me a brochure. That was just what I need, so the next day I was on the bus with a lot of people from all walks of life. In Masada, there was a touristy souvenir shop where I could buy a nice hat, a cap, a cup, or something like that with ISRAEL logo on them, but it was my second day in Israel and somehow I thought I would be able to buy them in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, then didn't buy anything in Masada. I was wrong in hindsight. I couldn't find any touristy souvenir shops in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At least I could buy an Israeli flag like the photo shows in the Old City of Jerusalem, but I should have bought the hat and the cap and the cup and...

Walk around a town as a first-time visitor

The photo shows the entrance of the first five-star hotel in Vientiane, Laos. I haven't stayed at this hotel, but I knew about the hotel a little bit. The hotel was situated right in the middle of the city and stuck out in contrast to others. The hotel looked gorgeous, so I took a photo of it and continued to walk around the city. After visiting temple and temple I had lunch at a riverside place with a common touch and enjoyed yummy Pad Ped with a cool bottle of Beer Lao. While I was eating and drinking, I was staring into Thailand across the Mekong river.

Anybody's guess is nobody's guess

I took this photo in Wiltshire, England, the United Kingdom. It was nearly the end of my 10-day round trip in England, Scotland and Wales. In the morning, the coach departed from Plymouth. The final destination of the 10-day round trip was London, so the coach headed to the capital city of the UK via Stonehenge and Salisbury in Wiltshire. The photo shows a part of Stonehenge; one of the famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The world-famous prehistoric site was magnificent. What was the intended purpose of Stonehenge? Anybody's guess is nobody's guess, but if I put my two cents in, I personally believe that it used to be a space port many moons ago.

I am like Curious George

I took this photo at my hotel's loo in Lisbon, Portugal. There was a john it was normal, but next to the john there was a bidet and it looked pretty unusual for me, so I took a photo in the loo and this photo was actually my second photo in Lisbon, Portugal. It was something which was that much interesting. Is it just me or is everything interesting in other countries? I'm always curious to know everything. When I'm abroad, I want to enjoy the time I have not wasting one minute or second.

A fascinating poster pillar in Vienna, Austria

The photo shows a large poster pillars in Vienna, Austria. The poster pillars are also known as advertising column and are used for advertising exactly like the photo shows. I took this photo somewhere about a three to four-minute walk from Heroes' Square (a.k.a. Heldenplatz) in front of the Hofburg Palace. Heldenplatz is a famous square in front of the Hofburg Palace and the Hofburg Palace was the winter residence of the House of Habsburg (a.k.a. House of Austria). Nowadays, the place is the official residence of the President of Austria. I mean it was one of the most beautiful locations of stunning Vienna, Austria. I guessed sometimes it would be hard to put up many posters mixed up together without ruining the historical picturesque scenery, but the poster pillar looked fascinating. Well done, Vienna, well done.

How to walk on slush?

I found this cute bench beside the Church of Saint Peter (a.k.a. St Petri, Swedish: Sankt Petri Kyrka) in Malmö, Sweden. I guess I should have visited Malmö in summer and sat on the bench for a while. It looked so cosy if it was in summer. I was there in January and the square next to the church was slush and there were also piles of snow. Come to think of it, recently I talked with my English acquaintance how to walk on slush. It's said you should take small steps and don't lift your foot completely off the ground. It sounds like a penguin's walking method, but the point is penguins don't have knees. That's the difference between us.

Where do you think I was?

I took this photo of gigantic Egyptian-style statue with lots of palm trees in Las Vegas, NV, the United States. There's a world-famous unique shaped hotel named Luxor in the heart of the Vegas strip and this white statue was one of the eye-catching statues around the hotel. It was around the end of October, but it was still enough warm when I walked under the sizzling sun, but on the other hand when I walked in a shade area, it was crisp so for once at least I could imagine it was already in the autumn.

Coming right up

I took this photo at my favorite taverna in Athens, Greece. You are what you eat so I was a bottle of Amstel in Athens. I drank lots of Amstel during my stay in Athens. At that time I was waiting for my Salisbury steak was brought in. But first, beer as always. I was planning to fly to Jerusalem, Israel on the following day, so it was virtually my last day in Athens. I found this taverna by coincidence, and I was really impressed by their tasty meal, so I went to the taverna at night as well, but I was a little late to their closing time. Gee, see you next round.

Fishing by Catamarans in Negombo, Sri Lanka

I took this photo in Negombo, Sri Lanka. That sunny morning, Sri Lankan fishermen were fishing by traditional Catamarans in a little way out to the Indian Ocean. My hotel was on the beach, so I found the Catamarans through my room windows and went out to the balcony, then after that came down to the beach to see their traditional fishing style closer. Catamaran is a locally made tiny boat and is one of the must-sees in Negombo. In addition, around the end of the fishing time is the best timing to visit a fish market in town.

Doesn't it blow your mind?

I took this photo on Bahnhofstrasse which is the main street in down town of Zurich, Switzerland. Bahnhofstrasse is also known as one of the fanciest shopping avenues in the world. I didn't buy anything, but took some pictures on the street. By the way other than Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland, I've been to a few more expensive shopping avenues just to see a different world. One of the most impressive fancy avenues I've been was Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA, the United States. It blowed my mind.

On the long haul

I took this photo through the rear side window in Nepal. I was kinda stuck a few times somewhere in between Kathmandu and Chitwan due to the landslides here and there. That day my itinerary was like start from Kathmandu in the morning by car toward Chitwan National Park to go on a safari on an elephant and spend a night at a cottage in the first national park in Nepal, but actually, I needed to change my itinerary as a result of those extremely hazardous road conditions and such. When I arrived in Chitwan National Park I was too late for most of things, so I just had Nepali dinner while enjoying Nepalese dance and music then added one more night in Chitwan.

Strøget in Copenhagen, Denmark

I took this photo in Copenhagen, Denmark. I found cute pendant lights above the street and took a photo of them. The area is called Strøget in Danish and is known as pedestrian zone of the city. Copenhagen's pedestrian zone is also known as the longest pedestrian 'Shopping' zone in Europe, so is lined on either side with a wide variety of shops plus places to eat and drink as well. Lots and lots of things on the street or in the shops caught my eye, but those pendant lights above the streets were also interesting to me.

I walked around here and there all day long

I just found this photo in my hard disk. Where this place look like? There are beautiful buildings, and there are a lot of red paper lanterns at street level. Also, it seemed like people who live at higher elevations hang the laundry out to dry. Just looking at this image, it's hard to estimate the exact place, but if truth be told I was in Venice, Italy. That day was just for exploring Venice. Besides a gondola ride, I didn't have any specific plans on my itinerary, so I walked around here and there all day long. Needless to say, it was so much fun.

Water is a boon in the desert

I took this photo in Giza, Egypt. I've spent three nights at Le Meridien Pyramids to celebrate my own birthday. The hotel was situated this close to the three Pyramids of Giza, and wonderfully, the swimming pool was located in the exact position of viewing the world-famous Pyramids. Actually before I got to Giza, Egypt, I didn't know that the three Pyramids were next to the city, though. I had imagined the Pyramids must be in the middle of a desert and extremely difficult to get there.

Thanks for the heads-up

The photo shows Inner City Parish Church in Budapest, Hungary. The church is located at the foot of Elisabeth Bridge in the historic old town of flat Pest side. I took this photo from the hill town of Buda side across the river Danube. I really loved viewing Pest side from Buda side, so I took a lot of photos from the hill town and this photo was one of them. Someone told me that Inner City Parish Church was built during the era of the first king of Hungary and is known as the oldest building in flat Pest side. Thanks for the heads-up.