Misc.

It occurred that you might be interested in the flora and fauna of southern Europe.  Today, I was riding in a bus to Taormina.  That’s in Sicily.  What am I doing in Sicily?  Well, the Greek ports are closed due to strikes and demonstrations.  I am sure that the shopkeepers were not happy.  Somehow an alternative port was found. 

 

So, back to flora and fauna.  We saw a fair amount of cactus in southern Spain and Sicily.  We also saw birds of paradise and bougainvillea.  Those were the exceptions.  Most of the plants were similar to what we grow in Sacramento/Elk Grove.  We found a beautiful wild flower.  I am bringing a seed pod home to see if I can grow it.  Today, we saw a carob tree.  You know, like fake chocolate.  I will be sneaking a couple of those seeds also.  We were told that a carob seed was used to define a carat.  The weight of one carob seed is a carat.  Thought that would get the ladies attention.

 

They don’t have a lot of candy stores.  This is a serious flaw.  I finally found a couple today.  I bought a slab of something that is a cross between fudge and fruit cake.  Since I like both of these, I thought I would give it a go.  I was right.