This week marked the end of my enforced vacation following my surgery. I went back to work on Tuesday. But there are still restrictions on what I can and cannot do, so most of the images are from places that I can reach on foot or that are on the way to and from work (since I am still not allowed to drive, they also have to be along the route taken by public transport). I present the images chronologically.
Main
On Saturday, while walking the dog, I saw this nice scene in a nearby park. Some teenage boys were playing drums, and the small children from the playground visible in the background immediately congregated around them:
The alternates:
Alternate 1
The boys did not consider the little kids a nuisance, as one could expect. On the contrary, they even let them have a go at the drumming:
Alternate 2
Sunday I went for a long walk along the beach promenade, about 5 km or so. It got really hot, so I sat down to have a bottle of water before taking the tram back. While waiting, I was attracted to the shape and colours of the umbrella at my table:
Alternate 3
Young people in Spain (at least some of them) have adopted the binge drinking habit from Northern European visitors during the past couple of decades. It is known here as a botellón, meaning that you buy some cheap booze, find a good spot and get smashed. This abandoned bar is evidently used for this purpose:
Alternate 4
Sunday afternoon one of my co-workers, a Lithuanian girl called Egle, invited us for a barbecue. Egle has two delightful daughters, who at this point speak Lithuanian, English and Spanish:
Alternate 5
Monday was the last day of my sick leave. I decided that I had had enough of sitting at home and that being at the office was not particularly physically challenging. So I used this last day as a continuation of the weekend, starting with a long morning walk. Here is some contre-jour with a mailbox and pretty flowers:
Alternate 6
Morning delivery to a local butcher shop:
Alternate 7
Then the big day arrived. Tuesday I went back to the office after a two-week absence, the longest period of sick leave I have ever experienced. It was good to be back, and in the afternoon I stopped at the Puerta del Mar, where I had to change from a bus to a tram anyway, to enjoy a pint of Guinness at O’Hara and watch the human traffic on the Esplanada de España:
Alternate 8
Clearly, I was not the only one looking at the passing señoritas:
Alternate 9
A father and his daughter briefly swap roles:
Alternate 10
One man, three doggies:
Alternate 11
Platform shoes:
The last four images are from my immediate neighbourhood.
Alternate 12
Morning coffee:
Alternate 13
Little men:
Alternate 14
Canine social life:
Alternate 15
The preceding picture and this one were taken Friday afternoon (in Spain, “afternoon” means until 8-9 p.m.) while enjoying life with my wife at our favourite watering hole, El Sitio. Here are some cool guys with a cute dog:
During my beach walks, I of course also took a lot of pictures of the beach itself. You can see some of them here.