Getting Out of Town

Been on the road…and, in the air--A LOT.
The wife and I thought it was time to see Europe up close and personal since we have reached that point in life when people say things like "better do it now while you still can".

My take?
First of all, it's always a treat to be overseas when zealots decide to burn our embassies and kill our ambassadors.  If you're an American, it's always open season.
Then there is the problem of too damn many statues and fountains.
Frankly, I got tired of looking at them.  Far more interesting were the balconies of Italy, Greece and Spain.  The denizens of southern Europe  actually use their little slice of sky for drying their clothes,  growing potted things and just watching the passing parade.  Remember  the smell of clothesline dried duds?  Over here they never forgot.

"Honey, your shorts are done."

Cool shadows in Tuscany

Drawers dryin' in the Italian sun.

Nice window box in Corfu, Greece

When in Rome, do as the Pope does.

Old cats watch the tourists

A dog's eye view of the Spanish Steps in Rome.

I don't know why Italian laundry fascinates me, but it does.

Just shoot the morons who do this!

No, not NYC.  It's Manarola, Italy

Santorini, Greece: a place of stunning beauty.

Unfortunately graffiti has become commonplace on the continent.  Like Americans the people of Europe have come to accept it.  It is NOT "street art" dammit!   It is a disgrace and let me be the first to suggest that instant public executions for those responsible may be a handy deterrent.  A society willing to tolerate this nonsense is most certainly circling the drain.  It has to stop NOW.

The food, especially in Italy, is exceptional.  I'm sure that at least a couple of pounds of pasta has found a home around my equator.  The Greeks have some good ideas about what to do with food too.  Spain--the whole tapas thing has a lot of appeal--but, who wants to wait around to dine at nine or ten PM?

Okay, check that trip off the old bucket list.  It's time to make plans for the next venture.  I'm excluding Africa and Antarctica because I simply have zero interest in either.  (I get National Geographic to cover that base.)  But after another ten or twelve months of recovery time I should be ready to tackle the world once again with camera at the ready.  Zanzibar anyone?

Yesterday, after eighteen hours in the air and four trips through the airport security of two different countries, we touched down on U.S. soil.  As our plane began its approach, Chuck Berry's "Back In the U.S.A." played on my ipod.

                  "Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today,
                    We touched ground on an international runway
                     Jet propelled back home, from overseas to the U.S.A.

                    Well, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the U.S.A.
                     Yes, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the U.S.A.
                     Anything you want, we got it right here in the U.S.A."

Nailed it Chuck!   Sometimes you have to leave to remind yourself.