Foto's and more foto's

I'm not sure of the grammatical rule, but foto's (with an apostrophe) is the correct spelling of photos in Dutch.

I've taken well over 10,000 pictures in the last two years. Mostly of places, many of people, and some like this . . .

This is an Asian boy with his very own camera, of course. This is what he thought was worth remembering about his trip to Dusseldorf, Germany.

These are sardines on our grill. They're bigger than the ones usually in a can, and no, I did not eat one.

This is the one and only piece of art in our dentist's waiting room. I thought it was funny as well as unique waiting room decor.

Hundreds of these little brass plates are in nearly every city - if you look for them. They symbolize something significant about the city. These owls are in Dijon. I asked a souvenir shop owner why so many souvenirs in Dijon had images of owls. He explained that one of the sculptures on the Notre Dame Cathedral had an owl on it and was considered a good-luck charm. When we were in Dijon, I looked and looked, but never found that owl.

This one is from Aachen, Germany and unfortunately I have no idea what it symbolizes.

This is from Tongeren, Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest city in Belgium, founded in 15 BC as a base and supply station for Roman troops. Pictured on this brass plate is Ambiorix, a rebel leader against Roman invaders. He is the local hero although it is unknown where he lived exactly and perhaps if he really existed. The only source to mention him is Julius Caesar's own Commentarii de Bello Gallico (1st century BC).

These are the brass plates in Hasselt. The symbol of Hasselt, an "H" in a hazelnut. Hasselt comes from Hasaluth, meaning hazel wood.

There are many legends about hazel wood and hazelnuts. They are said to inspire poetry and wisdom. An ancient Gaelic tale is that nine hazel trees grew around a sacred pool, dropping nuts in to the water to be eaten by some salmon which thereby absorbed the wisdom.

Hazel wood is often used to make shepherd's staffs and walking canes due to its pliancy.

I took this outside a souvenir shop in Hameln, Germany. These are bumper stickers with popular German names. Stephan/Steffen and Sascha didn't make the German top 10 names in 2010. Sofie & Maximilian were at the top. And in Belgium: Emma & Noah and America: Isabella & Jacob.

This foto is taken from our patio. Just in front of that huge willow is a pear tree.

Close-up. This tree is loaded, but they're all about 50 ft. up.

This is my collection of postcards of most everywhere we've visited since moving to Belgium. We've been lucky enough to see so many wonderful cities and little towns. I started this collection because I learned that, Corey, a friend of Randi's collected postcards. From that point on I always got one for me and one for him. Thanks, Corey for this great idea.

Every once in a while when I'm at a souvenir shop I also buy a magnet so I always have one for those special art projects I sometimes get :)

And also while in Dijon, France, we came upon this sign in a pharmacy window. It got our attention. That's all I'm saying.