Tag Archives: rain

Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign~ “Signs”

Posted on by
20

Hi everyone!  Today’s weekly photo challenge is “Foreign”.  One of the dictionary’s definitions is: unfamiliar or strange.  That just about describes my post perfectly.
As you know, we returned from beautiful Italy ten days ago, and we had a wonderful time.  I must say…every Italian we met was extremely helpful and kind, they did not make us feel foreign.

We rented a car to drive the autostrada through Tuscany….from Florence to Rome, with visits in San Gimignano, Siena and Assisi along the way.  This was where we had a deep feeling of being foreign!  We were definitely in unfamiliar territory with some strange highway signs.  But we had no trouble arriving at each of our destinations.

The Italians, like other countries, are making more universal signs, appealing to visitors and natives alike.  However, when traveling 70-80 km in the rain….the signs seem to appear out of nowhere and fly past you in a nano-second!   The signs also have many towns listed with arrows going in opposite directions!  The conversation in our car: “Did you see Assisi on that sign?”  “No, did you?”  

I started taking photos of the signs so I could refer to it after we’d passed them by!  I apologize for blurriness…as the rain and speed didn’t help!
I love to take photos of road signs in other countries, anyway…here’s my example of FOREIGN.  Enjoy!

Above….
We start out easy.  Lots of towns listed here.  All are going in the same direction.  Universal signs at the bottom.  Piece of cake.

Above…
A little trickier.  At first sight it can confuse you. Some universal signage combined with foreign words.  Tutte means “ALL”, so everyone needs to veer in the left direction for Parking.  It’s not good to go straight. 😉

EEEEK!   I couldn’t get my camera to snap fast enough!  Some universal signage and several towns…but going in different directions.  If you were driving in the rain..as we were…this was definitely a whopper!  I still can’t figure out the middle two triangles…but we made it to Assisi just fine!  We saw beautiful countryside all along the way…even in the rain!

I recommend the drive to anyone.  (but avoid the cities!) 😉

Judy

Advertisement

She’s a Survivor

Posted on by
35

She’s a survivor.  She was born in the cold weather and left to die.  She has endured more than many of her kind, but still lives on.  Fragile?  Not her.  She shows her strength every day in many ways.  Her family did not live to see her attain this stage of life.   They died soon after she was born.  Growing against all odds, she stretches taller, fighting for air, warmth and companionship.  She is lonely, but she does not let that stop her from continuing to persevere.  She is a dreamer.  She dreams of beauty one day…..and to dance in the sun.

Some would say she is ugly, grotesque even.  True, she shows scars from her battles with raging forces.  Scars where there is usually smooth softness.  Mottled color where a lovely palette of color should be.  But she is not ugly, she is beautiful.

The scars are all on the outside.  But inside, is she so different than her sisters, cousins, or those like her anywhere in the world?  Not in the least.  Inside she is as perfect as any of her kind, anywhere in the world.  For her inner beauty is what is important when she opens her arms to the sun.   She stands strong, resilient against the forces.  Waiting for the warmth and the sun.  She’s a survivor.

............

This is a rosebud (and my story character!) found Saturday, December 31st, 2011.  She’s made it through 10″ of heavy snow, ice storms, high wind and torrents of rain.   She’s made it this far.  I know she’ll make it well into 2012!  What tenacity!  We can learn from this little rosebud that won’t give up!

...........................

Good night dear bloggers!
Happy first day of 2012!! ❤
Judy