Europe: This and that

Ted and I had a great time on our 50th anniversary European trip. I decided to put together a little collection of interesting and amusing things we observed while we traveled for a month.

I have to start with my favorite travel buddy.
London. Sidewalk sign.
London. Get it? One of the top 5 bookstores I’ve been in. So many subject areas! Example: over 20 sub-categories of history!
Paris. Bookshelf wallpaper above the bed.

Do you know what a Shakespeare stop is? Hint: To pee or not to pee, . . .

London. Window display in a local art shop.
Rome, Zürich, Paris. My favorite thing in Europe: Neighborhood sidewalk cafés everywhere.

What’s the most popular tourist destination in France? Wrong. It’s Disneyland Paris.

Zürich. Cattle above and within cafés.

In Geneva, there is a restaurant called Au Carnivore. It’s for meat lovers. Really.

Rome. Most interesting shoe store displays.
Rome. Most unusual public trash cans. But at least they have them. Many places seem to agree with what we saw in England: A trash can with a sign that said “Please take your litter home.”
Zürich. Interesting shop signage. There are a lot of smokers and ashtrays in France and Switzerland. It made us realize how much smoking has declined in the U.S.
Gornergrat. Tackiest way to take a photo of the Matterhorn.
River cruise. So hot that no one made use of the ship’s outdoor decks. On our previous river cruise, vacant deck chairs were hard to find.
Shore of Lake Zürich. God’s gift to women?
Zürich. What happens at a lethargy festival? Who cares? Not even the guy on the poster.
Rome. Site of the first McDonald’s in Italy. No free water or ketchup. Twenty-five cents a package for ketchup; bottled water for sale.
Rome. Pharmacies are easy to find everywhere in Europe. They always have a green cross.
Favorite excursions: Cabaret in Paris; bicycling along the Moselle; Matterhorn on a perfect day.
Zürich. I love watching the kids when we travel. They are the same everywhere we go.