
u/SteO153

Midweek dinner: wholewheat tortiglioni with fresh chanterelle and strawberries with chantilly cream
TIL about the Altamura bread war, a commercial dispute between McDonald's and a local bakery in Altamura, Italy. Despite having more resources, McDonald's was obligated to cease operations in the city after a year due to lack of profitability, as clients preferred to eat the local focaccia
en.wikipedia.orgRequalify for Gold (with SAF) or downgrade to Silver?
I'm currently Gold, and I have until November to requalify for it. I will need to buy SAF to reach Gold, but I'm considering not requalifying and carrying over the extra XP to make it easier next year. I also don't plan to travel much with AF/KL next year (I only have one trip planned, in Business), so I won't really benefit from Gold.
The point is that I have 2 intercontinental flights in December in Business (75 XP) that will make me requalify for Silver in a month (including the carried over XP). Will this reset my requalification period? That is, instead of remaining Dec 2026 - Nov 2027, will it become Jan - Dec 2027, since I will have already requalified for Silver in December?
The impact is that next year I won't be able to requalify for Gold without the 75 XP, while if the requalification period stays the same, I will be able to requalify for Gold even if I don't fly much (ie reach Silver/100+ by December 2026 and then have until November 2027 to reach 180).
Thanks
Black (rye) bread and varškės sūris cheese that a friend of mine brought me from Lithuania
Happy birthday Switzerland! Luganighetta sausage to celebrate the Swiss National Day
of a watermelon (and winner of Miss Watermelon 2026). 125 kg!
Insalata di riso (cold rice salad), a quintessential Italian summer dish
There isn't really a fixed recipe, just a framework. Boiled rice, cold, mixed with vegetables and other ingredients like mozzarella, tuna, olives, ham, hard boiled eggs,... You just put whatever you like. Served cold or at room temperature, better after resting some hours in the fridge. And this is why it is a popular dish for a beach day or a picnic, you prepare it the night before, and just bring with you the day after, ready to eat. This one prepared to get rid of some open jars of vegetables in oil and other cans I had at home.
TIL that in Dante's Inferno, Dante invents a final journey for Odysseus. Restless in old age, he persuades his crew with a speech urging them to pursue virtue and knowledge, not live as brutes. They sail past the Pillars of Hercules until they sight Mount Purgatory. Then a storm sinks the ship
en.wikipedia.orgTIL that for almost 200 years there were no carnival celebrations in Venice. The festival was outlawed in 1797 by Emperor Francis II and only returned in 1979, when the Italian Government brought it back
en.wikipedia.orgThe "Bolanaki" flag, one of the earliest Olympic flags (at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland)
This is one of the earliest Olympic flags to be made. Pierre de Coubertin entrusted Angelo Bolanaki with this flag. It was first flown on 5th April 1914 in Alexandria (Egypt) for a sport event organized for celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Olympic Games renovation. The five interlocked rings of the Olympic symbol at its centre had previously been designed by Pierre de Coubertin to represent the 5 continents, and the gathering of athletes from all over the world. The colours of the five rings plus the background of the Olympic flag were chosen because they could be found in the different national flags at the time and not because they were meant to correspond to specific continents.
https://olympic-museum-artefacts.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/120448/