Rome: The Cars of Rome

Being a car guy, I just have to show you a few of the cars I saw in Rome. We'll start with the "taxi" we took from the Rome airport to our hotel...a very nice Mercedes van just like this one. Actually, another left the airport at the exact same time, and the two drivers dueled each other in traffic all the way through central Rome. It was quite intense.

 We saw it for the first time in London, but also all over Rome hooligans have altered "do not enter" signs to look like a surfer with board. heh.

 Here is a more unusual alteration of a "do not enter" sign...

 And Alfa Romeos! Oh my, the Alfas! They were everywhere and are very gorgeous automobiles!

 They are even used as police cars in Rome.

Another Alfa with trees giving a beautiful hue to the paint.

 We saw a number of Chrysler products in Rome, including this Town & Country. They were all diesels, too.

 One day across the street from the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, there was a car display of some sort, all with the same sticker on the doors. I never did figure it out, but took a few photos. Here is a Jag XJ.

 A Jag XF.

 A few Fords.

  With a few more in the second row. I wish I knew why they were there.

A regal looking little Fiat 500.

 Another spectacular Alfa.

 A nice looking little Fiat.

 Luigi! An original Fiat 500 from the 60s. Look how big that Toyota looks in front of it.

 A Peugot. Looks good, but maybe I took the pic because of the Jag in front of it!

 We only saw one car booted the whole time we were in Rome. And this was it...parked on the edge of Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.

 A nice little Alfa hatchback.
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 A diesel Jeep about a block from the Vatican

 Since I've been cherry-picking nice cars for the pics above, I thought I'd show you a random street with random cars. Nothing special in this row of cars, just wanted you to see a typical Rome street.

 I have no idea what this is, but it sure is small!

 A Rolls Royce used to accent the Westin hotel.

T

 his is an Opel. Just this year, they have been rebadging them and bringing them to the US as Buicks.

 Note the great sunroof.

 Fiat 500.

 Great little Fiat on the edge of Roma Termini.

 Colorful line of cars.

 Another original Fiat 500 I found at night.

 At our favorite little nightcap spot on Via Cavour, we noticed how the double-parking started late on Saturday night.

 The rotund man who owned this gray Alfa checked to see if anyone was looking before he left the scene on foot while he was double parked. As luck would have it, the minivan owner soon appeared and laid heavy on the horn until the Alfa man reappeared.

 The Alfa man let him out, then took his spot.

 Sorta. Not the greatest parking job...

...as you can see from this pic! The Alfa man had returned to his nightspot, thinking this was a perfectly acceptable way to park. Rome!

Daisy's Birthday Party - The Photos

This weekend was the birthday party for a good friend of ours, Daisy. It was a beautiful afternoon for a party, and we all had an excellent time. Here is a photo of the birthday girl here.

Troy (along with his mother Lucy) were there also.

Even though he is 18 months old, he still has only four teeth. Here he is finishing off a tortilla chip.

Both our sons, Ron and David, used to pack their cheeks full of food when they were eating. We always theorized that they did it to ensure their dad (me) didn't eat all the food before they had a chance. But even Troy packs his cheeks...maybe he worries about his dad?

A good side view of that full mouth.

Somehow he decided that it was a good time for a big belly laugh...that kept Troy occupied for about 5 minutes!

Okay, back to playing with the motorcycle...

Here is Lucy, 4.5 months with our second grandchild.

A very sleepy party-goer.

As soon as the music started, Troy started dancing! It is very obvious that he's been watching Lucy's sisters who do the Mexican Ballet.

Troy and the rest of the male kids fished ice cubes out of the cooler every chance they had.

And then it was time for cake!

Daisy with her closest friends.f

Daisy's Birthday Party - Troy Dances!

Lucy's sisters do the Mexican Ballet and have very beautiful outfits that they perform in. Troy has very obviously been watching them perform, because when the music came on at Daisy's party, Troy started to dance!

Here he is, right when the music came on...you can almost see the desire to dance come across his face...



You can see the moves Troy does below in this video link.







And then, Troy started dancing with his cousins:



Look at them spin! Just like the Mexican Ballet dancers here:

Daisy's Birthday Party - The Movies

Troy and the other little boys would raid the cooler for ice every so often....here he is rubbing a bit of it on my leg...




Daisy's sister introduced Troy to her son also:




The boys shared a toy very nicely:



And Daisy gets a taste of her birthday cake:

Difference between UK, Great Britain, and England

Okay, my friends, today we are going to take a close look at this area of the world. Recognize it? I would have, but the next few questions I would have answered fairly poorly. Before you look at the rest of the text in this post, take a stab at identifying the following on this first map:

• England



• Scotland



• Wales



• Ireland



• Northern Ireland



• Britain



• Great Britain



• United Kingdom
  

Taken a guess? Good. Now read the rest of this post for the answers.


The country of England is shown on the map to the right.

Scotland is shown in red on this map.

This is the country of Wales.

Let's go the other other island. This is Ireland.

Here is Northern Ireland.










Most of us could have used process elimination to get the above correct, I think. But now the going gets rough...

Britain is a term that can mean several things. It can be used to reference just England and Wales (as shown to the right), or all of Great Britain, or the UK.









England, Scotland, and Wales together can be referred to as Great Britain.

Add Northern Ireland to Great Britain and you get the United Kingdom.

And finally, everything on all the related islands (shown in green) is referred to as the British Isles.











Now for extra, extra credit, pat yourself on the back if you knew that this little island between the two big islands is called the Isle of Man. I had heard the term before, but had no idea where it was on the globe.

And finally, the little islands to the north of Scotland are the Shetland Islands. Class dismissed.

Carlsbad Flower Fields

 If you find yourself in Southern California in the spring, you should definitely take and hour or two and tour the Carlsbad Flower Fields. They are located on a hillside in Carlsbad that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It is a gorgeous way to spend some time - and bring your camera!There used to be many flower fields in Carlsbad. Over time, the city has moved in and the flower fields have disappeared. But the city worked with one rancher and together they have preserved this area.

 Ten years or so ago when we first toured these fields, it was not well known in the San Diego area. Well from our tour this year, word has gotten out. There were many folks enjoying this beautiful display.

 The fields are easy access as right on the other side of the windmill is Interstate 5. If you're interested in touring, take the Palomar Airport Road exit and head one block east.

  Admission is $10 per person and includes free activities such as this tractor ride.

 Just over the hill to the left of this shot is Legoland.

 A shot that emphasizes just how close the fields are to the Pacific Ocean...probably 2 or so miles away. The cool ocean breeze was very much appreciated on that cloud free California day.

 The Ecke farm in this area was well known for growing Poinsettias, so there was a large display of these beautiful plants also.

 More Poinsettias in various colors...

...and one shot of my wife.