"Xenial" means "hospitable, especially to visiting strangers or foreigners." The other day I visited my friend, Olja (OHL-ya), who had traveled with me to India last December. Like all Serbs, she's definitely hospitable, or xenial. For my visit she'd prepared Serbian plum dumplings, which I hadn't eaten for a long time.
Hold still is what I wanted this dragonfly (I think it is, but it may be something else....) to do. It flitted all around, hardly touching down for a second. But I got him...and he's looking at the camera, too. 
At the end of the school year a short while back there was a garage sale. I cannot resist garage sales. I bought the 'waiter and customer at the table' salt and pepper shakers, which I of course do not need. I brought them home to join some other pigs I remembered I had.
I'm counting on our blogger friend's sense of humor to allow me to post these two 'bridges' upon which I rest my reading glasses. They're called Picasso's Noses. Click on that link to see many more! I think the one on the left looks more like Picasso's real nose, while the one on the right looks like Salvador Dali's. Or maybe Mrs. Dali's, given the lips. The National Museum of Serbia houses two of Picasso's works, 'Interior with Three Figures' (1929) and 'Head of a Woman' (1909).
We've had so much rain recently....nearly all spring was rainy and the first few days of summer, well, ditto.... All this makes for flooding. Above you see the reflection of a houseboat/cafe. The two cement structures in the foreground are the backs of benches, which of course are too wet to sit on.... If I were to stand in the water, the tops of the bench would reach my waist, and I'm about 5'7" (170 cm.) The whole lower sidewalk between the benches and the usually short bridge to the houseboat has been flooded.
They say it's summer, but I'm not sure. Aside from a few days recently, it's been rain and clouds. This fellow along the Danube in Zemun (ZAY-moon) is risking painting his boat between storms...
Yum. I love raspberries, and Serbian raspberries are the best. They're exported far and wide. To read more, have a look at this site. Currently, they're about $1.70 a pound.
I have to admit I hesitated before posting this, but this girl looked so fantastic in her bikini I had to 'treat' you to her. I don't think, no, I know I never looked even half this good. I'm glad the girl on the bike can't see her boyfriend's expression. "Wow" is the word.
This is certainly not one of Belgrade's more attractive fountains (or even one of its more refreshing ones like this one, but it IS doing its duty as a fountain by spouting water.
I have no green thumb. The only plants that do well for me are those that need either a lot of water or no water. I am always pleased when one of my cacti blooms like this one did. If you remember, I 'deflowered' one of my cacti last year when my tripod fell over on it. I took no chances with this one; used a long lens and no tripod.
The old drinking song goes "Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun...." Here is a delivery man carrying out a barrel while another one rolls one in. Imagine the diners on the floating restaurants had a barrel of fun anyway, if in no other way than crossing these impromptu bridges, since recent high waters on both the Danube and the Sava rivers have caused some flooding.
Sneaked a photo (a hip shot) of this little girl down by the Sava River where she was waiting for the shuttle boat to the island in the river.
This huge sun said 'Good night' to me when I went out the other evening to take Bibi for her walk.
When I was growing up in Pennsylvania, this plant was considered a weed. We kids used to make a loop of them stem and shoot the tops off at each other. However, plantago lanceolata , also called ribwort plantain, is a plant often used in herbal remedies.
I don't collect rocks...or then again, perhaps I do. I have two baskets full of stones I've picked up here and there during my travels. Variegated they are, or at least most of them.
This past weekend the men were all watching the World Cup, so if ladies wanted anything handy done, it was do-it-yourself time. This young woman is assembling a fan, a much-needed item to ease the heat we've been having.
Yes, these are cupcakes, or rather 'cup cakes,' since the World Cup started this past weekend in South Africa. This post goes out for all cake lovers and especially for Marie-Noyale of Larchmont Daily Photo, who posted mouthwatering cupcakes last Saturday.
A family of geese has temporarily taken over this dilapidated bridge that once led to a platform in the Sava River. The gander was quite concerned when I took his photo....
This post is for James' Reflections Weekend. Last March I took this photo of a flooded bench, which is now dry and usable. The above photo shows an upside-down metal something-or-other that someone junked...in the river....oh.
I've seen 0-24 hour signs indicating that businesses work round the clock, but this car wash in New Belgrade really does offer uninterrupted service, even adding an extra hour for you! You get an extra U here with 'ulaz,' which means 'entrance.'
For the most part, cats make me nervous. This is my friend's cat, and I think it knows I prefer dogs...gosh, I don't even know if it is a he or a she...
Yesterday on Nikola Pasic square a wedding dress race was held. Although these three girls look like they could be off to the church, they were actually three of the 120 participants ready to compete in the what-will-probably-turn-out-to-be annual 'Wedding Dress Race." Wedding dresses were supplied by the race's organizers. The lucky first-prize winner won a trip for two to Slovenia and a subscription to 
While waiting for my friend and while sitting upwind of the two smoking gentlemen the other day, I snapped this photo for James' Reflections Weekend. Notice how there's an ashtray on every table, no matter what.... I like how they put the receipt for the mineral water in a little glass so it won't blow away.
In New Belgrade there is a heating plant with two tall and two medium-sized red and white towers. Here they are under a dramatic sky. Sorry to say our rain continues, but it does yield some great skies and clouds.
It was only after I enlarged this photo to make a more attractive composition that I noticed the fly!
Belgrade's main downtown tunnel is often really, really crowded and stinky and I hold my breath when I go through, if possible. There wasn't much traffic when I passed through the other day, and while waiting for the light to change at the other end, I snapped this photo of a motorcyclist in her high heels.
I wear Falsies! Maybelline Falsies, that is. This mascara is a far cry from what falsies were when I was growing up. Some have chosen to replace those by silicon implants...A well-fitting beret can protect our heads from the rain and the umbrella protects THEM from the rain. Seen in Lyon, France, and no, I didn...
