A BIT OF PROVENCE

 No, I am not in Provence....but wish I were.  This is some lavendar which thrives in a nearby park. I love the scent.

MORNING COFFEE ALL GONE....

 Two empty cups of thick, Serbian, black coffee remain, along with a sugar dispenser, two glasses of water and a typical brandy glass. I find it significant that in a country where nearly everybody smokes the ashtray is empty.

BACK IN STYLE?

 I haven't seen this hairdo in quite some time. Looks a bit retro to me, but maybe mohawks (contemporary version) are back in style.

FIT FOR A PRESIDENT

 I think the sambar, a south Indian dish, that I just made would be fit for a president. When I went out a few minutes ago to walk the dog, I saw Indian and Serbian flags on the lamp posts.  It appears that the president of India, DROUPADI MURMU, is visiting Serbia until the 9th....  

Oh, had I known...I have enough for two.

THERE ARE DAYS WHEN I FEEL LIKE THIS...

 There are days when I feel like this, and today is one of them. Nothing wrong, just slightly bewildered. This sculpture is located on Ada Ciganlija, Belgrade's large river island.

SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--PENSIVE

 Caught this man in a pensive moment overlooking the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers here in Belgrade.

See other shadows on SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY.

HOMEMADE WITH LOVE

 That's what it says on these two cups of strong Turkish coffee, served with a Turkish Delight. A friend and I went shopping in a far suburb near the Danube and stopped for coffee at a place I'll return to:  old school (as you can see by the wrinkled but clean tablecloth) fish restaurant with a lovely but humble terrace and a great view on a small marina. I felt like I was in Belgrade of the 70s.

THE BOSS...AND HIS PIT BULL

 I wonder who really IS boss.

THEME DAY--JUNE--SMILE

 And smiling they are.  This is from my archive since I have not found many people smiling at all the rain we've been having.  This group of folk dancers was performing at HRTKOVCI, a village not far from Belgrade, where Roman ruins were found about 25 years ago. They created a festival called Roman Days, even though this group is not sporting togas.

See other Theme Day smiles on THEME DAY.

MACHO MAN

 We had one decent sunny day recently, just enough apparently for this guy to sport shots and show off his muscles.  He had great tattoos on his left arm that I saw when I passed him; no photo.

TRIBUTE TO RUSKIN BOND

RUSKIN BOND is an Indian author whom I had the pleasure of meeting while on my last trip to India. A delightful man, and his stories and books have captivated readers for many years.

One such, written in 1980 and made into a film in 2005, is THE BLUE UMBRELLA and so of course I could not help but think of him when I saw this big one in Kalemegdan Park overlooking New Belgrade.