Texans abroad...

While not a life-long Texan I "got here as soon as I could" so to speak and have spent most of my life within the confines of Texas State lines.  As such, I always find it amusing to see so much attention paid to Texas in other corners of the globe.

There's the Texas Embassy (an underwhelming Tex-Mex joint) in London, there are several restaurants in Paris offering "Texas" style steaks and, to my surprise, this picture on a street corner in Anchorage, Alaska:

We didn't bow.

The obvious point of the sign is Alaska's geographic size advantage over the Lone Star State and that, once Alaska became the 50th State, the fact that Texas was no longer the largest State in the Union. (Most) Texans have learned to live with this, being instead satisfied that our economic indicators are stronger than other States and that our State Fair is the fried food capitol of the world.  All in all they're amusing little regional spats that remind you, as a Texan, that even though you may be travelling outside of the Lone Star State, you're still on everyone's minds to some degree.

I will say this for Alaska, not only are they bigger geographically but they also have a huge advantage in the size of their produce:

Giant Zucchini

Giant Cabbage

We discovered this gigantic produce at the Anchorage farmer's market.  The zucchini pictured was longer than my arm and the cabbage that was on display was bigger than an average person's head.

The farmer's market in Anchorage was great, but it's got nothing on the street markets in Paris:

Note the large leeks

Street cheese in Paris

The Olive Ciabatta was amazing