Step in the right direction

I took this photo while waiting for the lights to change. I was heading over to the place called La Bocca della Verità (a.k.a. the Mouth of Truth) in Rome, Italy, and the directional arrow got me moving in the right direction. I needed to turn left after crossed the street. I thought it was kinda cool idea putting directional arrows on a traffic light. I remember that my hotel was in the outskirts of exiting Rome, and it seemed a little too hard to get to La Bocca della Verità on foot, but I tried. I walked as slow as possible to not miss the great sceneries in Rome.

Beyond expectation

The photo shows a part of the Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd). I took this photo while I was crossing the River Danube (Hungarian: Duna, German: Donau). It was about five years ago, my Hungarian acquaintance and me talked about Hungary then he showed me some beautiful photos of Budapest on the Internet. One of them was stunning  night view of the Chain Bridge. He also told me a lot about Budapest. His story left a lasting impression about Budapest, so I decided to take in Budapest with my own two eyes. Finally, I crossed the Chain Bridge over the River Danube. I didn't expect the bridge was covered in graffiti, though.

Please pass my compliments on to the chef

Guess what? I had this very very yummy Italian pasta meal in Pattaya, Thailand, not in Italy. The fusilli with sausage tasted like heaven. A boiling hot day in Pattaya, Thailand I walked along the shore aimlessly then stopped by an Italian place for lunch. It was on the beach road and there were a lot of tables inside and outside of the restaurant, but at the moment there weren't so many foodies. I flipped over a menu and chose the fusilli with sausage. It was absolutely nice. I guess I overtipped, but I asked waitstaff to pass my compliments on to the chef.

Treasure every moment

The photo shows a tiny part of the largest city of Switzerland; Zurich. When I was taking a stroll around Zurich, I found a street which was lined by colorful buildings. I really love the places like that. So beautiful. I've taken my favorite kind of street photos in Prague, the Czech Republic and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany and Lisbon, Portugal, Salzburg, Austria and then some and I realized that I love European streetscape. When I walk on a street like the photo shows, I always think that I'm going to treasure every moment.

Eye-catching display

I found this on-the-street gas lamp in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was there in midwinter and it was freezing out there, so the fire was kinda eye-catching. The gas lamp was in front of a restaurant. I'm not sure, but I thought the lamp was there to indicate there's a warm and cosy place to have lunch or something like that. Yep, I was definitely looking for a place like that. There were so many Northern European eateries in Copenhagen, and it was so much fun to choose one of them at each meal.

I just couldn't wait

I took this photo somewhere around Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. I just couldn't wait to take a better photo of the Duomo (a.k.a. Florence Cathedral or Brunelleschi's dome) and already clicked the shutter. Of course I took another photos later, though. No less the square was very nice that you can enjoy sort of a panoramic view of Florence Baptistery (a.k.a. Baptistery of St. John or Battistero di San Giovanni) and Florence Cathedral. I know this is not a nice photo, but at the moment I was truly happy to be there.

Beer Lao truck

I'm a huge fan of Beer Lao; the national beer of Laos, so I found a track from the Beer Lao Factory on a street in Vientiane, Laos, I took a photo of the truck bed quickly. Luckily, I had a camera in my hand. If I kept the camera in my bag at the time, I guess it was too late to take a photo of the truck bed. Phew. The truck had a gigantic logo of Beer Lao and the logo was colored vibrant yellow. A very eye-catching cool design. By the way, upper side of the logo you can see a green ribbon and Laotian Letters in it. It says Beer Lao in Laotian letters. From my point of view, Laotian letters are quite similar to Thai letters, so I can read some of them. Generally, I could drink Beer Lao only in Laos, but somehow a couple of times I found Beer Lao in other country's Thai restaurants and I drank it. It was also nice, though.

Think out of the box

I took this picture in Malmö, Sweden. I posted a similar photo before, but this is another one. It was freezing morning, and almost everything looked like typical winter sceneries, but I found such a heartwarming place like the photo shows. The trees were decorated with illuminated gift boxes and the boxes had a various lovely color. I thought the place had a touch of Christmas and it was so cute. I like a way to think out of the box such as the idea of huge gift trees. I didn't spend long time in Malmö, Sweden, but I had a blast taking a stroll around.

Get a green light

The photo shows somewhere in between Thimphu and Dochula, Bhutan. Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan and Dochula is the place where the altitude is 3,150 meters high. Back then I headed to Punaka and Wangdue Phodrang District from the capital Thimphu via Dochula, I took this photo. There was sort of a tourist check point and I was waiting for getting a green light to go ahead. After a while, I was all set and hit the road again. Around 20 minutes later, I was on the top of Dochula and was surrounded by cloud.

Enjoy a box meal for a change

The photo shows a lunchbox from a Chinese place in Copenhagen, Denmark. There were several Chinese places in Copenhagen and one of them was kind of like a buffet corner on a pedestrian street. They prepared typical Chinese food such as fried rice, noodles, deep-fried food and then some and were all ready to eat. I bought a box of Chinese food and had them with a glass of beer at a bar. The bar was located on the inside of the buffet corner. It was kinda quick lunch, but crisp Danish beer made them look especially nice.

The Rape of the Sabine Women

I took this photo at the Loggia dei Lanzi (a.k.a. Loggia della Signoria) in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. I could see a wide variety of statues in this square and the photo shows one of them. The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. After I looked around the statues and the city itself, I chose a cosy restaurant for lunch and enjoyed some Chianti Rosso with very nice pasta arrabiata. I also had some beer and roast beef salad as well. It was kinda huge lunch, but I really love Italian cuisine, so I was totally satisfied with my choices.

Festive season

I took this photo at a huge shopping mall in Pattaya, Thailand. Pattaya is one of my most favorite cities in the world and the huge shopping mall is situated in a really fun entertainment district. I'd say the shopping mall itself is an entertainment. It's always fun to visit there. In December 2010, the area was decorated with lights arranged in the shape of reindeers and the garden had a touch of Christmas. I think Christmas isn't the most festive holiday in Thailand, but it was so nice seeing such beautiful Christmas decorations in my favorite tropical city.

In and out

My last trip was to go to Scandinavian countries; Denmark and Sweden. After spending a couple of days in Bangkok, Thailand I caught a red-eye and headed to Northern Europe. Come to think of it, I saw miniature Santa Claus climb up a ladder in Malmö, Sweden. I guessed Santa Claus got used to doing like that, and also I could imagine he was swamped at the moment, so the job looked like quite straightforward, in and out. I've never climb up a ladder, so if I need to do that, it'll be a time consuming-task. Well done, Santa Claus.

The That Dam

The photo shows the That Dam in Vientiane, Laos. It's also called the  Black Stupa. The That Dam is located around the back side of Asian Pavilion Hotel and I'd say it's also this close to famous Kua Lao restaurant that the place where you can enjoy authentic Lao cuisine with half an eye on traditional Lao dancing. Beside the That Dam there was a nice eatery and I had authentic Lao lunch, dinner with Beer Lao several times. Yep, I took this photo after had lunch at the eatery. I enjoyed a very nice Laab Moo and Beer Lao at the time.

Ho ho ho

This year is almost over. After I returned from my trip to Scandinavian countries, I didn't travel anywhere and just have been getting sucked into the daily grind. Can't do anything. My hands are tied. Putting that aside, I took this photo in Bangkok, Thailand while I was killing some time to get to my Thai Airways flight headed to Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was at the end of October, but I unexpectedly eyewitnessed Santa Claus was all set for deliver gifts for Christmas by Finair rather than a sled drawn by reindeer. Ho ho ho.

It's a mirror image

The photo shows a view of Florence, Italy with the River Arno. I loved this view due to the mirror image. Stunning buildings, a bridge, and trees reflected on the surface of the river. It was very idyllic. As well all know Florence, Italy is really picturesque place. A lot to see, and a lot to know because of its history. I've joined a half-day walking tour of Florence and looked around the beautiful historical city. City's one of the most famous sites is the Florence Cathedral (a.k.a. Brunelleschi's dome), but there are so many other sites to see in Florence include streetscapes.

Unable to take one's eyes off

I took this photo while I was waiting for the main meal in Belém district, Lisbon, Portugal. The eatery was in front of Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a.k.a. Monument to the Discoveries), so the Monument to the Discoveries was right in front of my eyes at the moment. Great location. I drank beer without eating anything, coz I was unable to take my eyes off from the Monument to the Discoveries. It was just so nice and I was really happy to be there. The next day I needed to depart to Barcelona, Spain, so it was actually my last lunch in Portugal.