Another week spent at home, working and cycling in the usual places. In fact, many of the images in this blog were made at home or within 1 km of home.
One morning, I photographed the golf course from my kitchen terrace before sunrise, partly because I liked the light of the full moon and partly to test my camera in truly marginal light conditions. The light source was this:
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And this is more or less what the eye could see:
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A bit later in the morning, one of the inhabitants of the golf course passes by. There are fewer cats now, and now that I no longer have a dog to walk in the morning, my feeding of them is not as regular as it used to be. But occasionally I put some food out in the backyard, so the cats come and visit. They also like the armchairs and sofa we have down there:
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Staying with the feline theme, I see this cat almost every day along my cycling route, resting in his people’s front yard. When I pass this modest house, I always slow down (I am going downhill at this point) to check if the kitty is there:
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Last week I showed some photos of my late mother’s “magic cactus” and its six blooms. This week, the cactus babies, which live at the other end of the house, next to the front door, also got into the act. I just cannot stop myself from recording the periodic flowering and wilting of these amazing flowers. This is Tuesday afternoon:
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Wednesday afternoon:
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Thursday afternoon:
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And almost all over, Friday afternoon:
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A second flowerly theme. The main thoroughfare of our neighbourhood, Avenida Vicente Ramos, is lined with trees with pretty little flowers in the spring:
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Around this time of the year, as the temperature rises, the flowers fall off those trees. I try to photograph them in some interesting ways, for example by using the parked cars as the canvas of sorts:
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One day during the week I had to go to the town hall with my daughter to take care of some business. The service has improved quite a bit since I last had to go there; nowadays you get an appointment online, thus eliminating the long waits in queues that were common earlier. We had our appointment at 11:20, and afterwards we walked a bit through the barrio and had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, Mish Mish. Both the walk and the lunch provided photo opportunities.
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Alicante city hall with fluffy clouds:
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Working on the infrastructure:
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Wall art:
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Flowery door:
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Just like in Barcelona, people living in the old part of Alicante protest the noise and drunkenness that is one of the by-products of living in a lively area with lots of bars and restaurants:
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Approaching Mish Mish, I made eye contact:
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Some more wall art:
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Finally seated, and with a spread of delicious mezze:
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We sat outside, and of course I watched the human traffic passing by:
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As well as the urban fauna:
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2018 had been proclaimed as the European year of cultural heritage. One can take the cynical view that it is just another top-down EU initiative, but the idea is nice. At our office, a corner in the main hall has been set aside for staff members to post images and text describing their home countries:
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Of course, I take advantage of the resulting photo opportunities when I pass by:
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One of the more curious postings:
The last eight images are from Aigües, the inland village that is almost always a stop on my cycling escapades. On the square there is the church, two bars, and a small supermarket where I usually buy a Coke Zero for my 5-10 minute break. And I photograph the life that goes on there.
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The road to Aigües:
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Typical Sunday morning scene. Inside the church the mass is being said. Meanwhile, children play outside (and behind me, some of the men are having a beer in the bar–it seems from my casual observation that many more women than men go to church):
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This is the season for first communions, an important family event in what is still a strongly Catholic country, especially in a small town like Aigües:
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Returning from reconaissance:
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Showing off her dress:
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The main street of Aigües is semi-pedestrian and only about 150 m long. Still, it is called Calle Mayor. At the top end there is a small art gallery, I think owned by Dutch people:
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Looking inside:
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A poem by José Martí, Cuba’s independence hero:
Another week gone by.