Under foot

I didn't feel up to a long blog post so I thought I would just write about sidewalks.  As I do before each post I did some looking around, which made me realize the idea of, "just writing about sidewalks," was not as simple as it sounds.

For a thorough and historical look at sidewalks take a look at this site , and this one may also be of interest.  One of them even lists a place to go sidewalk tile spotting, which sounds like my kind of activity.

In our town the most common sidewalk tiles, squares that are 20cm x 20cm, are in the 9 x 9 pattern ( 2 x 2 lines perpendicular to each other).  Often at intersections there are tiles with parallel lines and then bumpy tiles at the curb.  It seems fine unless they are covered with leaves and you can't see where a tile is missing.

The flower tile, or panot, is so famous in Barcelona

that you can buy it as a souvenir, along with mouse pads, scarves, placemats, and more!

I had not noticed the circle tiles until I started reading about them,

and also hadn't realized the 1 x 1 (single perpendicular lines) tiles existed.

These caught my eye since they were so different from everything else.

I have yet to see these, but I am looking.

A lot has been written by these Guadi tiles, which used
to be greenish-bluish and were attractive to thieves and collectors.

Of course there are still cobblestones, which are probably as durable as they are uncomfortable.