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This is no. 11 in a series of posts that is about funny names or clever business signs. From time to time during our travels, we come across names in the English language that makes us smile.

You can find the other posts in this series by the tag “names”, see for example #1, and #10.

I tried to note down where we saw the shop or sign.

Rich & Royal, Kiev
Loved, Hong Kong
Hotel Million, Albertville
The Boil, New York
SHOP, can’t remember where we saw this
Madness, Beijing
Funk you, Berlin

Due to the lack of travel opportunities in 2020, the selection is limited and admittedly not as crazy as the earlier ones in this series. Check out Hilarity in names #1, #2, #3#4#5, and #6.

Dear Readers, Happy 2021 !

What a nightmarish year we had.  Glad that it is the beginning of a new year.  Although the problems are not going away immediately, it is however symbolic that we are all moving on, to a better tomorrow. And we will …

It is a tradition on this blog to take a look back at some of the places we visited last year. Because of the pandemic, we traveled very little, Morocco in January and the Eastern side of Switzerland in September, plus a day trip to Bern.

Marrakesh, Morocco – Jemaa el-Fna and Kotoubia

Dar Darma, Marrakesh

Merzouga – the edge of Sahara

Essaouira on the Atlantic coast of Morocco

Grimselsee at 1,908 m (6,260 ft), Switzerland

Muottas Muragl at 8,051 feet (2,454 m) above St Moritz

A night in a yurt at Tgalucas, Alp Flix at 6,463 feet (1,970 m)

Staring at Piz Bernina 4,049 m (13,283 ft)

A night on the Pilatus summit at 6,801 feet (2,073 m) to see sunrise before 7 am.

Sunrise from Esel at 6,949 feet (2,118 m), Mount Pilatus

Oberhaupt at 6,906 feet (2,105 m), Mount Pilatus

The Parliament Building, Bundesplatz, Bern

For 2021, I(Chris) bought a new camera by Olympus with 2 lenses – the pictures above (and many others on the blog) were taken using a Lumix LX7 or a Lumix TZ101.  The photo below was snapped by an iPhone XR –  it is not from an advertisement. We will have a separate post about the camera system later.

Testing the new camera around town – Lausanne.

We also upgraded our software from Lightroom 6 to Lightroom Classic.

Hope to make more black & white photos in 2021.

 

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #396 – gathering – penang

gathering-1.jpg

random photo  #397 – moonlight – ortigia

moonlight-1.jpg

random photo #398 – street life – catania

table-1.jpg

random photo #399 – wings of desire – taorminawings-1.jpg

random photo #400 – ascension – giardini-naxos

ascension-1.jpg

random photo #401 – relics – siracusa

relic-1.jpg

 

random photo #402 – coded – budapest

holes-1.jpg

 

random photo #403 – oh! – penang

comparison-1.jpg

random photo #404 – ends – miami

ends-1.jpg

random photo #405 – toad – penang

 

toad-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #386 – high rise – penang

highrise-1.jpg

random photo  #387 – decibels – penang

loud-1.jpg

 

random photo #388 – hive – abu dhabi

hive-1.jpg

random photo #389 – waves – milano

waves-1.jpg

random photo #390 – untitled 3 – sao paulo

Cannot be found.

random photo #391 – 250 more or less

about250-1.jpg

random photo #392 – conflagration

conflagration-1.jpg

random photo #393 – camouflaged – langkawi

seat-1.jpg

random photo #394 – shine – kuala lumpur

shine-1.jpg

random photo #395 – spring time – lausanne

spring-2.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

 

random photo #376 – dolphins – penang

dolphin pool-1.jpg

 

random photo  #377 – haxen – cologne

haxen-1.jpg

 

random photo #378 – rain – langkawi

rain-1.jpg

 

random photo #379 – shutters – chateaux d’oex

shutters-1.jpg

 

random photo #380 – secure – penang

secure-1.jpg

random photo #381 – plan – aosta

plan-1.jpg

 

random photo #382 – not trees – penang

trees-1.jpg

random photo #383 – shutters 2 – cologne

shutters-2.jpg

 

random photo #384 – calming – langkawi

calming-1.jpg

 

random photo #385 – IXIXIXI – orleans

xhouses-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

This is no. 10 in a series of posts that is about funny business names or signs that we captured on film. From time to time during our travels, we come across English name or signage that makes us smile.

Check out Hilarity in names #1, #2, #3#4#5, #6#7, #8, and #9.

Like Shoes in Amman, Jordan

Mall in Beijing

Uniqlo on Ginza, Tokyo, 4F – Womens Clean ?

And on 5F – Womens Bottoms

On the same street in Kiev, Ukraine – two eateries named after famous people …

Quentin’s

Haruki’s

“,” in ladies fashion

“super superficial” – we saw this in London, no idea what they do

Hope you smiled too, more to come …

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #366 – giant – munich

whitegiant-1.jpg

random photo  #367 – dessert – langkawi

dessert-1.jpg

random photo #368 – “new york style” – seoul

cupcakes-1.jpg

random photo #369 – tree – penang

tree-2.jpg

random photo #370 – pattern – villandry

garden-1.jpg

random photo #371 – shower – penang

drain-1.jpg

 

random photo #372 – bloom – aosta

bloom-1.jpg

random photo #373 – celebrate – kuala lumpur

celebrate-1.jpg

random photo #374 – lanterns – gyeonju

lanterns-1.jpg

random photo #375 – islets – cologne

islets-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #356 – blue green – penang

aqua-2.jpg

random photo  #357 – coy – london

coy-1.jpg

random photo #358 – options – hong kong

options-1.jpg

random photo #359 – tall mural – sao paulo

mural-1.jpg

random photo #360 – buns -penang

buns-1.jpg

random photo #361 – chimney – orleans

chimney-1.jpg

random photo #362 – cats – penang

cats-1.jpg

random photo #363 – triangles – budapest

triangles-1.jpg

random photo #364 – corner – troyes

colors-1.jpg

random photo #365 – rest – langkawi

rest-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

We have not posted on this theme for quite a while.

Well, here is no. 9 in a series of posts that is about funny business names or signs that we saw. From time to time during our travels, we came across English names that makes us laugh. This post will focus on English language signs we saw in the United Kingdom that are cute or humorous.

Check out Hilarity in names #1, #2, #3#4#5, #6#7 and #8.

Fatface

King of Bling

Relatively Painless (sorry, it is a bit out of focus)

art pistol

Seriously Fishy

Procaffeination

Murphy’s Law

AI Pets –  you mean smart robots ?

Pastel restaurant

Criminal – Made with Conviction

Fleshmarket Close – an alley in Edinburgh’s old town, not a shop

There are more to come …

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #346 – perform – new york

perform-1.jpg

random photo  #347 – lima bias – kuala lumpur

limablas-1.jpg

random photo #348 – feeka – kuala lumpur

feeka-1.jpg

random photo #349 – gaze – penang

gaze-1.jpg

random photo #350 – bend – geneve

turn-1.jpg

random photo #350 bis – twist – geneve

bend-2.jpg

random photo #351 – long – budapst

long-1.jpg

random photo #352 – birds 2- kuala lumpur

birds-2.jpg

random photo #353 – peranakan – penang

nyonya-1.jpg

random photo #354 – hung over – aosta

stbernard-1.jpg

random photo #355 – lunch – new york

foodtruck-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #336 – veins

veins-1.jpg

random photo  #337 – backstage – neuchatel

party-1.jpg

random photo #338 – contours – munich

carpet-1.jpg

random photo #339 – loire

loire-1.jpg

random photo #340 – relativity – budapest

relativity-1.jpg

random photo #341 – timeless

timeless-1.jpg

random photo #342 – nonstop – london

nonstop-1.jpg

random photo #343 – “fork over” – geneva

fork over-1.jpg

random photo #344 – swarm – munich

swarm-1.jpg

random photo #345 – matings – basel

matings-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #326 – cubicles no. 1 & 2 – budapest

cubicles-1.jpg

random photo  #327 – early – aosta

early-1.jpg

random photo #328 – big wheel – budapest

big wheel-1.jpg

random photo #329 – alpine

road to alps-1.jpg

random photo #330 – double trap
trap-1

random photo #331 – baconized

baconized-1.jpg

random photo #332 – view – chexbres

view-1.jpg

random photo #333 – sent – budapest

mailbox-1.jpg

random photo #334 – partitions – milano

partitions-1.jpg

random photo #335 – coast – san juan

seaview-1.jpg

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #316 – well-heeled – Budapest

goldshoes-1

random photo #317 – thought control – Miami

think-1

random photo #318 – blurry danube – Budapest

blurrydanube-1

 

random photo #319 – white – Lausanne

white-1

andom photo #320 – nurture – Budapest

nurture-1

random photo #321 – follow – near Asti
follow-1

random photo #322 – strings – miami

and-1.jpg

random photo #323 – covered – alba

covered-1.jpg

random photo #324 – fresh – budapest

school-1.jpg

random photos #325 – new cart / old building – san juan

cart-1.jpg

 

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #306 – portraits – Miami

portraits-1

random photo #307 – chaos – Milano

chaos-1

random photo #308 – terroir
vines-1

random photo #309 – escape – Sao Paulo
escape-1

random photo #310 – west – Pully
sunset-2

random photo #311 – migraine – Milano

migrane-1

random photo #312 – minor triffid – Chenonceau

triffid-1

random photo #313 – salon – Köln

salon-1

random photo #314 – big funnel – Orleans
watertower-1

random photo #315 – go & no go – Bern

go-nogo-1

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

This is no. 8 in a series of posts that is about funny business names or signs that we captured on film. From time to time during our travels, we come across English names that makes us laugh.

Check out Hilarity in names #1, #2, #3#4#5, #6 and #7.

Gentle Monster – Authorized Lens Service Store in Seoul

 

Xray at Zurich airport sells specs – these eyewear shops have imaginative names !

 

Meat Stop – a fast food joint in Moscow – bonus : there is a “pre-party bar” next door – I couldn’t decipher the cyrillic name.

 

iCracked – a store that repairs phone and tablet screens and sell protectors in Tokyo

 

This bar in Madrid is brutal.

 

“WELLMADE” in Seoul – something “for our work & life balance with Indian” ?  I cannot remember what it sells. The Korean sign above is advertising for a place called Geneva which provides cosmetic and dermatologic treatment including hair growth.

 

Lefties in Madrid

 

In the end, there is “anal” in Bilbao or perhaps it is “anai” or “ana1”  …

There are more to come …

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #296 – the place – Milanotheplace-1

random photo #297 – untitled – Lac Léman

sunset-1

random photo #298 – hands up, no violence – Barcelona
handsup-1

random photo #299 – boca no.12 – Buenos Aires

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random photo #300 – fishes – Punta Cana

fishes-1

random photo #301 – this way

escalate-1

 

random photo #302 – old guards – Saõ Paulo

old-guards-1

random photo #303 – pots – London

pots-1

random photo #304 – azure – Asti

 

azure-1

random photo #305 – repent – Chenonceau

repent-1

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

icberlin2017-3

For the new year, I got myself a new pair of glasses – another ic! Berlin – the fourth.

It came in the brand’s original iconic screw-shaped container, except this time it is in black opaque.

icberlin2017-9

I am not a brand-loyal consumer except when it comes to eyewear. In the past, it had been difficult when it is time for changing prescription strength and frame. I have bounced between unbranded frames to traditional brand (e.g., Silouhette), to eyewear that licensed a designer’s name (e.g., CD for Christian Dior).

icberlin2017-4

My last pair of ic! Berlin is a non-metal frame – see earlier post about the harmonic oscillator. This year I am back to wearing a minimalist metal frame. The style is very classical, some might say boring.

icberlin2017-5

More than 10 years ago, I tried ic! Berlin the first time and really liked the weight, the screw-less hinge and the wide range of styles it offered.

icberlin2017-2

It has something contemporary about it without being over-fashionable or techno. The model is “cinja s.” and in marine blue/pearl.

icberlin2017-6

The frame and the limbs are of different colors and finishes. The frame is dark blue and matt, while the limbs are metallic and greyish. The orange background here might have made the matt dark blue to appear black.

icberlin2017-7

Is this a QR code ? Must be the smallest I have seen. My iphone cannot focus close enough to test it.

icberlin2017-1

Speaking about information printed on the limb of the glasses … the optical shop in Hong Kong where I bought this frame has been selling ic! Berlin for 20 years and they showed me a frame with a limb printed with a personalized congratulatory message.

icberlin2017-8

The four models I own are: roman, hotel neutor, harmonic oscillator and cinja s.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #286 – smile 2 – Miami

smile-1-2

 

random photo #287 – fire escape – Sao Paulofireescape-1

random photo #288 – dark energy – the Alps

dark-energy-1

 

random photo #289 – just do it – Serravalle

just-do-it-1

random photo #290 – green – Chenonceau
green-1

random photo #291 – curtained 4 – Turquant

curtained-4

random photo #292 – heavy – Aostaheavy-1

 

random photo #293 – sit – Barolosit-1

random photo #294 – under – Cologne

 under-1

random photo #295 – geometry – Asti

geometry-1
If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #276 – books – Köln

books-1

 

random photo #277 – escheresque – Miami

 

escheresque-1

 

random photo #278 – characters – Milano

characters-1

 

random photo #279 – weeds – London

weeds-1

 

random photo #280 – remembrance – Colle del Gran San Bernardo
cross-1
random photo #281 – roses 2 – Milano

roses-2

 

random photo #282 – chakrams – Sao Paulo

 

tiles-2

random photo #283 – lamp – Cologny

lamp-1

 

random photo #284 – self-portrait – Asti

 

me-2

random photo #285 – chop – Chenonceau

 

chop-1

 If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.

These are the photos I (Chris) took and posted on Facebook. The series was started in March of 2013. There is no theme – just something random and visually interesting. We gave each a title and noted where it was taken (to the extent we could remember the city).

random photo #266 – signs – Orleans

signs-1

 

random photo #267 – curtained 3
curtained-3

 

random photo #268 – spotted path – London

path-1

random photo #269 – no escape – St Thomas

no-escape-1

random photo #270 – double U – Barcelona
doubleu-1
random photo #271 – Manhattan – Chambord
manhattan-1
 random photo #272 – l’Île mystérieuse

li%cc%82le-mysterieuse-1

random photo #273 – soup – Miami

soup-1

random photo #274 – ducking ducks – Chillon

swans-1

random photo #275 – metro – Parismetropolitain-1

If you are interested in seeing other Random Photos, click on the  random  tag on the left.
We have nothing to do with the ads below.