Postcard from London, England: Sunflowers bloom amidst Shoreditch street art

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Sunflowers are heliotropic. To obtain their brilliant golden hue, their stalks turn, embracing the sun as it crosses the sky. Symbols of optimism and hope.

In 2014, a florist in Taiwan donated 1,000 sunflowers to students protesting a trade agreement between Taiwan and China. The Taiwanese students adopted the flower for their namesake – the Sunflower Student Movement.

Of course, the students cannot publicize their objections in China. But in 2022, some 17,000 tourists from China visited Great Britain. So what better spot to slap them in the face with symbolic murals they will recognize instantly – the trendy Shoreditch district in East London – its streets not shirking away from international protest art.

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Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Operatic backdrop fit for explosive finale

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Above: Scene from The Godfather III shot on the steps of Teatro Massimo

Even if you have never seen The Godfather III, a spoiler alert scarcely seems necessary when revealing lots of bodies fall during the last few scenes of the film. You’d expect no less in any of Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy of films revolving around the Corleone family.

But who knew a silent scream could be rendered so powerfully as Michael Corleone’s? The unheard-scream scene was rendered on the steps of Palermo’s Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, the largest opera house in Italy.

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Dangling horse dominates, but you’ve a hearty appetite as well

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Above: Skyline of downtown Austin, 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2023

Smoking mezcal cocktail delivered in Palermo, Sicily

Readers of this blog seem drawn to the embalmed horse, of course, suspended by artist Maurizio Cattelan from a dome in a former castle above Turin, Italy. And any mention of the Alamo always attracts a crowd, even when I’m drawing no line in the sand but waving a flag of truce. But you also seem drawn to photos of food, or cocktails, no matter the country of origin; street art; ghosts; and saintly tales not taught by nuns.

The following list represents the biannual results of the most-read postcards on this ever-rambling blog, with the numbers in parentheses indicating rankings from six months ago when applicable.

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