ABC Wednesday "Z" is for "zima"

"Zima" (ZEE-ma) means "winter," and it's not over yet! I came across these beautifully embroidered gloves last Sunday in Kalemegdan Park where there are lots of souvenir sellers. It was then a bit warmer and sunny, but as they say here when it's sunny and sort of warm in the winter, "The sun has teeth."

I like the darker gloves with the purple flowers. Which pair would you choose?

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And now, by special request....

In December I received an email request from a father in California, whose daughter is currently living and working in Belgrade. He and his wife wanted a few photos of Kapetan Mišina (KAH-pay-tahn MEE-shee-na) street where she lives, so California Parents, this is for you!

Ugly art

I am not sure I should have entitled this post like I did, since undoubtedly this artwork is to someone's taste...but not to mine. Here you can choose your sign of the zodiac, and even a clock in the shape of Serbia, and of course there's that blazing orange canvas behind the artist....

See anything you like?

Pastel pink

Just peeking down a passageway...saw these pastel pink squares and rectangles.

More bells....

Since my posting yesterday, I have bells in my mind, so it's a good time to post a photo of these little clay bells you can buy on Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova. They make good souvenirs!

I hear wedding bells...

My son and his girlfriend of several years got engaged on New Year's Eve on the Champs-Elysees in Paris! I'm so happy for them, and though they haven't set a date yet, I can hear wedding bells...or at least gypsy brass band music. Check out the postingfrom my daughter's wedding last September. My son was jumping for joy then, so now it's my daughter's turn to jump! :)

P.S. Notice that engagement and wedding rings are worn on the right hand here.

Ooops! See Alexa's comment and mine....

Merry Christmas Part 2

Srećan Božić (SREH-chan-BOW-zheech) or Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate Serbian Orthodox Christmas, which is today. I took this photo at the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade a short while ago. It shows a typical village Christmas table with the oak branch, nuts, prunes, candle, and the straw and corn, which is usually scattered under the table. There's also a flask of Serbian plum brandy! The round cake is not actually a cake, but rather a bread called a česnica (CHESS-neet-sa), which you can read more about right here. Basically, there's a coin inside that will bring good health and happiness to the finder. Bite carefully.

ABC Wednesday--Y is for Year-round hardships, or Traces of India in Belgrade

I'm back, safe and sound, and it's a bit cooler here than in India and Qatar..

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that Belgrade has quite a large Gypsy or 'Roma' population. Most sources agree that Gypsies originated in India and migrated to Europe and beyond. The Roma population here in Belgrade lives primarily on the outskirts of the city and prefers not to integrate into society. You can see from the above photo that they lead a rough life year-round, scavenging for firewood and recycling paper and scrap iron, for example.

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Dhow boat in Doha

The first evening I was in Doha, my friends took me down to the corniche to view the city center from across the bay. It's worth enlarging the photo (click on it) to admire the detail in the ultra-modern buildings. On this side of the bay from where I took this photo are docked a number of dhow boats like the one on the right, some of which are still used for fishing, while others take tourists for short rides across the bay. This we did. It was windy, and of course it's even windier on the water, making the air quite cold.

Back to Belgrade tomorrow.... It's been a fantastic trip, and as Marco Polo wrote, "I've not even told you half of what I've seen."

Ebrahim and Radovan

Today I went into the dunes outside of Doha with seven other tourists! Above you can see Radovan posing with our guide, Ebrahim, who took us on a hair-raising roller coaster thrill ride up and down super steep dunes in his Land Cruiser. As it turned out, I had the front seat right beside his, which enhanced my experience...and intensified my fear. Ebrahim went down zigzagging, straightforward, and backwards! I am not the roller coaster type, and for the first three dunes I shut my eyes. Then I realized I wasn't going to be able to enjoy anything with my eyes shut and figured he probably didn't want to die or wreck his car either, so I relaxed and went with the flow.

We stopped for a camel ride, a view of several lakes, and were treated to a Bedouin camp meal beside the Persian Gulf. The water was warm, crystal-clear, and an inviting shade of pale green.

I forgot my sun screen and got a bit burned on my face...I hear it is snowing in Belgrade....

Doha, Venice, Paris

Greetings from Qatar! Contrary to what it might seem in the photo, I am not in Paris or Venice. This photo was taken in the Villagio Mall in Doha, which is designed like an Italian city, perhaps even Venice, since there is a canal running through part of it and you can take a gondola ride! These two gentlemen are enjoying a coffee at Paul, a French bakery serving all kinds of breads and other foods. My friends and I had a cream of mushroom soup in a bread bowl.

The trompe l'oeil 'houses' painted on the walls above the shops are enhanced by a blue sky with clouds. My friends tell me that locals and expats spend hours here, especially in the summer, when it is so hot. Right now, it's quite pleasant, windy, and I slept with socks on...