A few years ago, after travelling around Europe for a bit, I began noticing that McDonald's was everywhere! Or were they??? I made it a point to pay closer attention everywhere I went. Soon, it even became a mission to take a picture of every McDonald's I came across. Eventually, I wanted to tabulate all the countries with a McDonald's and publish my findings in a nice little coffee table book. (Yes, I had intended to traverse the entire globe for this project!!! ) True that one could just Google search the number of countries with a McDonald's but I thought snapping a picture was a little more fun. The reason for this 'obsession', you ask? I think it stemmed from feeling a little lost, frustrated with the language / people / customs or a little homesick at times, and when I found a McDonald's around the corner, everything just seemed ok again. Note that most of the time I never actually went inside but knowing that they had the same foods as Home brought a little bit of comfort. Although, there were those days that I just needed to bite into a Big Mac instead of stomaching another spoonful of refried beans. Sometimes the sight of a McDonald's was a godsent - free washrooms! I didn't care if they were as clean as home but it was usually much better than the country's fly infested, dirty washrooms ... which sometimes could be only a hole in the ground! Somehow between taking a photo of the restaurant's logo, eating familiar french fries or sitting on a real toilet bowl, McDonald's became a symbol of normalcy. For those few minutes, everyone spoke the same language - a Coke was a Coke, no matter the language. We are One under the Golden Arches! Today, I started my coffee table book! I have 79 McDonald stores to write about. ( Oh, Wikipedia lists 123 countries with McDonald's, 7 former countries, and 33,000 outlets worldwide. I have a llllllllong way to go.) And, if you remember taking a McDonald's photo when we travelled together, can you email me a copy in case I don't have it? Thanks!