One of the things I enjoy most about travelling is reading, or attempting to read signs. I like trying to figure out what the signs are indicating, other times the signs just make me smile either because they are clever, or because reading the signs literally is hillarious. For example, on the way to dinner on our first night in Madrid I saw this restaraunt:
The restaruant is called “Fatigas del Querer”. When I saw the sign I knew enough Spanish to realize the first word meant fatigue and the last word had something to do with desire. So when I got home I went on Google Translator, began typing and had a good laugh. I laughed because as I typed and Google instantly translated I got this:
typed: fatigas, Google: fatigue; I was right!
typed: fatigas del, Google: fatigue of; right again!
typed: fatigas del quer, Google: fatigue of poker; HA!
typed: fatigas del querer, Google: labors of love; Holy cow, conjugation does matter.
I was proud to figure out that this shop had something to do with renting bicycles; the graphic helped 🙂
This one is great because you don’t need to speak a language to know what the place offers:
The incorrect grammar and claim of street cred on this one got me, oh, and the dog bowls, very thoughtful as there were lots of people con perros in Spain:
On the way to the Churh of the Holy Family we passed this:
which made me crave carne asada tacos from Taqueria San Jose by my house. Then I thought, “Wait, what? A taqueria in Spain?”
In Avignon I appreciated the directness of the signage
Not exactly sure what the cow is advertising; does the place cater to, or serve cow? Maybe I should clarify. Does it cater to cows as patrons or serve them as food?
These next two I found clever:
Must be a town with lots of mathemeticians.
Wholly unoccupied.
Interpreting the sign for this place in English rather than Spanish could steer people away from tasty treats.
Adventuring in Europe 