'THE NAME IS POPOV, DUSKO POPOV"

This may seem hard to believe, but it is true.  Please read THIS LINK.  You will learn that Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books, was inspired by the flamboyant Serbian counterspy, Dušan "Duško" Popov.  Popov came from a well-established Serbian family and this entire building at #5 Francuska Street belonged to them.  If you'd like to read the book he wrote (and shell  out big bucks since it is  out of print in English), check THIS LINK.

THE PAINTER

 There is a painter who lives in one of the long, concrete, drab Brutalist-style apartment buildings in New Belgrade. apartments near me. For years he's taken it upon himself to beautify the colorless walls separating the building's entrances. Here is an example. 

NO PIROSHKY FOR ME

I adore piroshky, but not in 90-degree weather. The little stand selling same is closed....wondering why, ha.

OPEN YOUR MOMENT OF JOY

The sign reads, "OPEN YOUR MOMENT OF JOY".  Somebody should go and boy these girls a bottle of this juice.

DOG DAYS

 

The Dog Days of summer are in full swing and my dog and her cousin are dog-tired from the heat.

AI EDIT

 I went to Gemini Photo Editor to arrange my TWO separate photos so that the walkers would be facing each other. I imagined a bit of cropping, but still keeping two photos. However, Gemini did better. It combined both photos into one single photo. Not bad; it outsmarted me. Handy, but kind of scary, though this creation is innocent enough.

I wanted to simply ask viewers "Is there also so much graffiti in your town?"

ELDERLY, BUT MIGHTY

 As I sat sipping my lemonade under a cafe umbrella in 35 Celsius heat, I had to hand it to these two older ladies plugging along at a good clip. It is even hotter downtown with all  that stone and cement. 

READING

 Despite the major heat wave here, this girl  looked very cool (both senses of the word) while reading at this outdoor cafe.

ALL READY FOR THE DANCE!

 

Had to chuckle at blogger Jack Keane's ( Hartford Daily Photo ) comment on my post yesterday where he wrote that the girls appeared more like 25 than 15. 100% right, BUT not because of their shoes! Older girls would wear fancier shoes, heels at least, but 8th grade girls go for tennis shoes, albeit new and jazzed-up ones. And here's a matching purse! 

EIGHTH GRADE GRADUATION

 My granddaughter here in Serbia on the left and her friend walk toward their middle school to wait for a bus that will take them for an evening at a restaurant on Belgrade's River Island to celebrate their completion of eighth grade.  We never had a big deal like that when I finished middle school!

ACROSS THE STREET

 

Phone shot while I was waiting in the car while son was buying a watermelon.