Travelin' Tuesday: Massachusetts

On 5 Oct 1818 the Essex Agricultural Society held a cattle show in Topsfield, Massachusetts. What grew into the Topsfield Fair has been held every year since then, except for three years during the Civil War and three years during World War II.

It's similar to most agricultural fairs in the US - county, state and otherwise - with exhibitions and competitions for animals, produce and farm crafts (such as canning, baking and quilting), and of course a midway. The All New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off has been held at the fair since 1984, when the winning entry weighed 433 pounds; the current record was set in 2012 by a 2009-lb monster.

Pictures taken 8 Oct 05 (middle) and 7 Oct 06 (top and bottom).

Travelin' Tuesday: Thailand

Pattaya, on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, is a popular tourist city. One thing that struck me was the number of German restaurants there.  (They even had a newspaper printed in German.) The blue pickups with benches in the back are songthaews; commonly known as "baht buses," they're the Thai equivalent of Filipino jeepneys.

Picture taken 24 Jul 88.

Travelin' Tuesday: Slovenia

Slovenia is the northwesternmost piece of what used to be Yugoslavia. Piran is a lovely little town (pop 4092 in 2012) at the western tip of the Slovenian coast; that's the Gulf of Trieste in the background, and Venice, on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, is somewhere over the horizon near the left edge of the picture.  Most of the wall built across the base of the peninsula in the late 15th and early 16th centuries is still there; this is the view from the top of it. Visible near the centre of the photo is Tartini Square, with its statue of violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), who was born in Piran. The large building on the right side of the town is the Church of St George, completed in 1637.

Picture taken 2 Jun 03.

Travelin' Tuesday: Portugal

The Royal Monastery of Saint Mary of Bethlehem (commonly known as the Jerónimos Monastery), in Lisbon, was built in the 16th century. Originally a home for the Order of Saint Jerome, it is also the site of the tombs of various members of the Portuguese royal family, the explorer Vasco da Gama, and others. The Naval Museum is also located on its grounds.

Picture taken 12 Jun 91.