summer in the city

just another photo dump, because it's easier to do it like this. chronologically. there's no unifying thread in my life right now...there's spanish, then there is avoidance (unphotographabble), waiting to go on holiday, and then there's the summer bits.
only my third summer here. and just a beginning so far. and i'm, paradoxically, a bit too busy for it right now (have just finished complaining that i'm going to miss "shakespeare in the park"). but the good parts are always worth it, even if just seen in passing.

arepas at the areperia, with leticia and maria

public piano at st denis/ marie anne. that day i think i stayed there on a bench like half an hour listening to this guy, it was great

bad picture of an inspired move: blowing bubbles from the car in motion, on rue duluth

just in front of a normal house, on a normal street. because yes.

also, advertising at its best. on st laurent.

such spectacular flowers

these little things always get to me: how people (at least in my neighbourhood? but in the plateau too, lots of places) pile up flowers around every tree on the street. to each their own tiny garden. (as i pass by, i sometimes see kids watering them with little hoses, but i feel it would be too creepy to take pics. but i would like to see those pics if someone else took them)

i think the irises are gone now, now it's mostly roses. and different sorts of lilies)

i wish these street front views photographed better. to me this (in this pic) is the perfect combination of wildness and tender care and piling up the stuff that i want in a garden. 

picture taken for the food too (patacones, tortilla and cornbread, which i titled "pan de fracaso", because it stuck to the pan) but mostly for the amazing tablecloth and plates. 

this is a patacon: smushed plantain, fried, with meat and salsa

and coffee in the morning, with cherries (sadly eaten before photos) and a bunch of happy selfies triggered by the realization that yay, summertime means dresses! all the time! 

and then this afternoon: a weird vehicle stopped in front of our building, with people playing guitar inside.

i came back from my walk (like 1 hour later) and they were parked around the corner and kept on playing. it's like the neighbourhood travelling music brigade? no idea. 

icecream shop! with the mention (on the board) that today is fathers'day in north america. (happy season 4 finale of `"game of thrones"!)
(another thing that's happening right now is soccer games-watching, on every patio and in every bar and also in probably 3/4 of the homes. there are flags on cars and balconies, way more diverse than hockey ones, because this place has representatives of every damn continent and country so you never know.
hm, i still dunno which countries are playing. probably needn't know at this stage though. but it distinctly reminds me of 4 years ago, and rooting for serbia one night, and then there was an octopus that was a bit of a melisandre. ok.)

and i've long wanted to mention this little library. a few houses up the street from me. i've seen others too sprinkled around, they're not very many, but they exist.

and walking in the back streets. it really feels like a village, until you hit a cul-de-sac.