Vatican's nativity scene

The above photo shows the Vatican's nativity scene that was unveiled on the 15th of  December in St. Peter Square.

The nativity scene is surrounded by Vatican police officers, who are responsible for public order and crime prevention. If someone wanted to visit Vatican square and St. Peter Basilica, he/she would  have to pass through Vatican police security checkpoints.

The Christmas tree set up in Vatican square comes from Norther Italy. It is 25 meters tall and weighing 8,000 Kilograms.

Happy Christmas 🎄🎀🎁

Russian frozen assets

I'd like to share Hungarian President's point of view about Russia's frozen assets. Mr. Orban has just said that "there are two countries which are at war. It's not the EU, it's Russia and Ukraine, and somebody, the EU , would like to take away the money of one of the warring parties, and to give it to the other one. It's a marching into the war, so the Belgian Prime Minister is right. We should not do that."  

The above photo shows the Hungarian Parliament building on the eastern bank of the Danube river. I took the picture of that neo-gothic landmark in April this year. 

Greetings

Rome's Christmas decoration

 

Rome's Christmas 20-metre tree was unveiled on the 2nd of December this year. I saw it yesterday. Many locals and tourists were walking and shopping close to the Spanish steps, named after the Spanish Embassy located there. That place is famous for the monumental staircase and its elegant baroque architecture.

People were also enjoying Christmas decoretion.

                 

There were a lot of Christmas decoretions hanging on the front doors of older Rome's residential buildings.

I noticed that some holiday decorations had nothing to do with Christmas, such as the Wolksvagen Bettle, produced by the German company Wolksvagen from 1938 to 2003, 

... and the polar bear. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature reports that the global population of polar bears is 22,000 to 31,000.

Have a nice weekend 🌲

U.S. tariffs on EU's wine & spirits

 

Glad to hear that pasta, cheese, wine and spirits, as well as olive oil and sunglasses, are among the priority sectors of Italy's goods that the European Union wants Washington to shield from higher tariffs.

Major Irish whishey distillery owners are also hopeful U.S. customs duties will be reduced. 

It seems higher tariffs continue to impact negatively on U.S. sales and jobs, although they generate government revenue.  

The weather has been too cold since the 27th of November ... it's perfect for a glass of red wine 🍷❄🙂

In the meanwhile, on the geopolitical front, the 49-year-old Ukrainian man, Serhii Kuznietsov, arrived in Germany two days ago, after Italy's highest court approved his extradition later last week. That man is suspected of setting off explosions that damaged the EU Nord Stream pipelines in 2022. I clearly know that a very small number of blogging friends don't like such news, as they have been shaped to believe that Ukrainians can never be guilty parties. But we are talking about a German criminal court, not a Belarusian or Russian one. Not to mention that EU, UK and US' newspapers don't highlight this news as it should.

Have a nice weekend 🍁🍷🌰

Scandals that were once overlooked

The machinery of Ukraine war's support begins to slow. And Western media begins to expose Kyiv government's scandals that were once overlooked.

The more Western investigators and journalists uncover about corruption and mismanagement in Ukraine, the easier it becomes for Washington & EU to justify a gradual disengagement without admitting strategic defeat to Russia.   

I don't forget 2022 Pope Francis' interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. He said "Transatlantic military alliance "barking" at Russia's door may have led to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine". In other words, he said Ukraine war was perhaps somehow provoked.

The stupidity is that if someone were to understand how Russia-Ukraine war was provoked, he/she would be labelled as pro-Putin. 

Valerij Zaluzhnyj

Just a few thoughts about money that we, EU's taxpayers, have been sending to Zelensky since 2022.

According to the German prosecutor's office, the Supreme Commander of Ukraine's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyj, is behind the explosions on the Nord Steam 1 and 2 EU's gas pipelines (Wall Street Journal also reported this news early this week). This means there are evidence that President Zelensky, who blamed repeatedly the Russian government, knew that the Supreme Commander of Ukraine's armed forces had carried out the attack on the EU's pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

In other words, since 2022 we, EU's taxpayers, have been sending money to Zelensky, who orchestrated a terrorist attack on EU's energy infrastuctures.

Congratulations to the EU leaders who still continue to send money to Zelensky. 

Old front door

Just trying to be back in touch with our lovely blogging community. Sorry for delay.  Thanks to all the blogger friends who have asked me to write down a post again. 

I'd like to show that man who was quietly painting his front door in the historic part of the town on a sunny Saturday, on the 1st of November.

Have a nice Weekend.

Away from the blog for a bit.

 

Just a quick note to say I'm taking a short break from blogging. I'll be back soon. Take care.

The house of terror

As soon as tourists and visitors get into the House of terror in Budapest there is a strong initial attraction to them: their sight is immediately attracted by an old Soviet tank. 

Located at Andrassi utca 60, the House of terror is a museum now, but the historic building was witness to two shameful and tragic periods in Hungary's 20th century history. Between 1945 and 1956, in peacetime, 487 peole were executed on political grounds. After the 1956 Revolution, nearly 230 freedom fighters were executed. The minimum age at which people could be sentenced to death was lowered to sixteen. 

Now transformed into a museum, the building is a monument to the victims, due to the fact that many died there during the most unimaginable and horrific interrogation lasting for weeks. Other received long prison sentences. 

After the fall of  communism in 1989-1990, the hanging judges and prosecutors who had served the communist regime were not held to account. They were not punished, but the museum serves as a means to denunce many of them.

 

This post today lacks of pictures as visitors were not allowed to take photos inside the House of Terror Museum. I managed to take only two photos of the Soviet tank. The third photo shows Szabadság híd in Hungarian translates into Freedom bridge in English. It's a majestic bridge in Budapest, that crosses the Danube river, connecting the two sides of the Hungarian capital. 

Have a nice weekend ☀

Vegetables out of season's disadvantages

During this first week of September the weather was still warm. Consequently, we haven't to forget to maintain good fluid balance in our body. Many fruit and vegetables that grow in late summer contain high percentage of water. They can contribute to our daily fluid intake, alongside drinking water. Obviously I'm talking about in-season fruit and vegetables that haven't been shipped from other continents.

Producing vegetables out of season presents several disadvantages, such as high up-front costs to build the structure an no natural pollination. 

Furthermore, production is limited to high-value crops and significant knowledge level is required.  Not to mention of awful landscape and visual impact , special permitting and expensive cost of production. 

Last week I was so glad to see young people enjoying donkeys.

 

Donkey remains useful in many parts of the world today. In some Italian villages, located in mountainous ares, those marvelous creatures are used for sheperding and for waste collection due to narrow ancient alleys, where motorized vehicle is impractical.

 

Have a nice weekend🌻☀🚴‍♂️  

Typhon kajiki

Just two photos sent by my daughter who is visiting Vietnam right now. 

Unfortunately, a tropical storm battered coastal Northern Vietnam this week  unleashing dangerous wind and torrential rains. It damaged thousands of homes. My daugher had already left the Northern part of Vietnam while the typhon was triggering the flooding. Now she's in South Vietnam. 

She will come back to Italy on the 1st of September.

                                                                                                                                     Have a nice Sunday ☀

Egg's origins

After I had published my previous post, I got interesting comments by some blogging friends. They shared information about their favourite breakfast. Thank you for that. It allows me the opportunity to understand which food can be included in the typical international breakfast. 

I've noticed that most Anglo-Saxon people eat eggs at breakfast, in addition to fresh fruit, yogurt or cereals accompanied by beverage like coffee, tea and juice.   

            

How to select good eggs at the supermarket? With the aim to ensure food protection with the EU member states, European Regulations mandate specific requirements for eggs marking and labelling. Consequently, eggs must be labelled at the place of production, and this  enables the possibility to know whether the eggs are organic, free range, barn farming or cage farming.

The first digit on the left side on an egg indicates the farming method used of the hens that produced them. In other words, if you notice "0", your egg comes from an organic farm. If you notice "1", it comes from free-range farm. "2" and "3" indicate barn farming or cage farming, respectively.

The two letters indicate the country of origins of the eggs, e.g. in the above photo  "IT" stands for Italy. And the three digits refer to the municipality of origin. Then there's the indication of the province and the code ascribed by the Ministry to the farmer's company. 

Enjoy your scrambled eggs.

               

Well balanced breakfast

 

I have noticed that tourists who come from North Europe, Australia and American continent don't like the typical Italian and French breakfast.  They say our breakfast is not well balanced as their, due to the fact that it lacks protein. That's why they always ask us to serve them scrambled eggs or yogurt. 

It's fair to say that the Italian cappuccino, which is a hot beverage consisting of espresso coffee with steamed milk, contains protein, primarily from the milk used in its preparation. On the contrary, croissants contain carbohydrates.

Meanwhile many tourists continue to flock to the Italian peninsula. The good news for them is that the weather is not too hot and humid this month.

Have a nice Sunday  🍉☀️🍹

Two grasshoppers

This post was inspired by our Scottish blogging friend Ananka, as she sometimes shows marvelous creatures on her blog. I've just taken two pictures in my Mother's garden. 

Have a nice 2nd weekend of August  🚴‍♂️ ☀  🌻

Gazans lives are not seen equivalent to others

First of all I would like to thank those members of our blogging community who left their thoughts regarding my previous post.

Regarding the ethnic cleansing of poor Palestinians this is the last post I write. The global dictatorship, who holds power over the world, has already decided to annex Gaza to Israel. The truth is that on the continental shelf  belonging to Gaza there are huge gas fields.

Many multinational companies are interested in the two gas fields located 36 kilometers off the coast of Gaza. On the 23rd of March I  already  wrote a post about the de facto annexation of all Palestinian maritime areas. Israel is carrying out ethinic cleansing and starvation due to the fact that Tel Aviv's next step will the annexation of the whole Gaza strip. 

Huge congrats to the Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, who early this week announced that not a single Tonne of coal will be exported to Israel, as Tel Aviv's soldiers are sistematically dropping bombs on innocent people. 

Colombians are not accomplices in genocide and ethnic cleansing. The EU, US, UK, India, China, etc. haven't done the same yet.

Direct participants in Israel war crimes

With regards to the ongoing massacre carried out by Israel, I think it is not a coincidence the fact that since October 7th, 2023, at least 227 journalists have been killed in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and West Bank. Israel's war on Gaza is the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded. And it is not a coincidence that Israel's stock market has broken record this year amid raging multifront wars, outperforming the world mayor stock markets. As recently mentioned by the United Nations special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, Tel Aviv's stock exchange has increased by 179 % "since the war in Gaza began" in October 2023. She also specified that Israel has set up an economy of genocide and ethnic cleansing. 

Obviously our media system doesn't spread these news. 

              

In addition, leaders of the so called civilized world are not neutral observers to the genocide in Gaza. They are direct participants in Israel war crimes, providing them with the weapons, intelligence and diplomatic cover to carry out a systematic massacre of Palestinian women and children. Needless to point out that the US is the Israel military's biggest supplier. That's how would be dangerous an unipolar world, where one state holds a dominant position of power, potentially leading to instability and conflict.

In the meanwhile, the EU decided not to suspend its association agreement with Israel at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on the 15th July, 2025. This means the EU gives Israel the green light for more genocide and ethnic cleansing. 

Regarding on the EU's position on the Russia-Ukraine war, we are witnessing the celebration of Brussels' hypocritical double standard. 

Old railway carriages

The photo below shows old talian railway carriages, which will be sent to the railway museum soon. They are so colourful and in good condition, considering those railway carriages were built more than hundred years ago. 

Over the last 100 years Italian trains have been changed from this

to this

Have a nice Sunday ☀

Text neck

Yesterday on the way back from Rome the train was so crowded.  I noticed that most people where using their mobile phone for extended periods.

The term text neck is mainly referred to mobile phone neck problems. Prolonging forward head posture while using mobile phones may cause neck pain and headaches.

This posture strains the neck muscles and spine, potentially causing long-term damage if not addressed. 

In addition to this, I saw that no one had a book or a newpaper in their hands.

The above picture shows a man who sent messages while his poor dog was patiently waiting. He can't say that he loves his dog.

I hope you'll have a nice weekend ☕☀🥐