Home » Posts tagged 'parks'

Tag Archives: parks

The Great Book Giveaway

Posted on by

Today I took another walk to the (on weekends, anyway) deserted office park. In my bag were three books I donated to the Little Free Library box at 26th and Broadway in Santa Monica. Then I sat down at a park bench and read the last forty pages of Georges Simenon’s The Hotel Majestic, in which Superintendent Maigret of the Paris Police Judiciaire solves a double murder that takes place in the cellars of the Hotel Majestic. When I finished the last page, I donated that book as well.

While I was reading, a very bossy young male voice emanated from the nearby tennis courts where Pickle Ball was being played. Somebody was carrying on a running commentary on the game with frequent snatches of advice. I cannot believe that the voice’s opponent enjoyed the outing.

Although much of the country is mired in a heat wave, there was a delightful sea breeze the whole time which was quite comfortable.

Let me see: At the rate of 10-12 books a week, it will take upwards of ten years to donate all my books. And I haven’t even gotten to the heart of the collection yet. Let’s face it, I probably never will as I am still buying books. I am totally incorrigible, On the other hand, I am living the bookworm’s dream that I dreamed from my earliest years. Never mind that it is not a dream shared by most of my fellow Americans, but it means a lot to me.

Plotting a Holiday Picnic

Posted on by | 2 Comments

Tongva Park Santa Monica from the Air

Now that Governor Newsom of California has come down hard on people doing any kind of celebratory activities, I am plotting a picnic for Saturday (July 4) or Sunday. At some point in the late morning, I will pick up two Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches with French fries, get a couple of cold beverages, and head with Martine to Tongva Park in Santa Monica, where I understand there are some benches and picnic tables. I hope to have a short picnic while we eat our lunch and enjoy the sea air (we will be across the street from the Santa Monica Pier).

If the local constabulary forbids us to use the park for fear of spreading virus to the plants, tables, and benches, we will look for another grassy place—I know several—and head to the alternates. There will just be the two of us. If anyone wants to join us, we will just have to throw rocks at them until they go away. We hardy survivors in the era of coronavirus don’t cotton to strangers.

 

 

 

Public Spaces

Posted on by | 2 Comments

There Are Some Things at Which Latin Americans Excel

There Are Some Things at Which Latin Americans Excel

American planners stink when it comes to designing comfortable spaces for the public. A classic example is Los Angeles’s Pershing Square, which is essentially an underground parking garage. Do Angelenos want a place where they could sit down, read the paper, get their shoes shined, perhaps listen to an impromptu concert? Well, they’re out of luck: American planners design facilities primarily for hypothetical people who don’t really exist.

Compare that with Quito’s Plaza de la Independencia (see above), where one could sit and pass an hour or two without getting hassled. You can even feed the pigeons if you want. Take the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, Peru (see below). Instead of chasing you away for feeding the pigeons, there are native women who will sell you some birdseed for a nueva sol or two.

The Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, Peru

The Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, Peru

Whenever I have some time to kill in Latin America, I will simply find a park bench and sit down for a while. In Cuenca’s Parque Calderón, I got into an interesting discussion with a Peruvian visiting from Cuzco. Admittedly, he was selling some pictures—and I bought some from him because I thought he was a talented artist.

I would have a hard time finding an equivalent in Los Angeles without getting panhandled or run over.

 

Kittikat Haven

Posted on by | 2 Comments

The Contented Cats of Lima’s Parque Kennedy

The Contented Cats of Lima’s Parque Kennedy

If there is a magnet to which foreign tourists are drawn in Lima, I would have to say it is Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. The triangular park is surrounded by tourist shops and restaurants, including the notorious Calle de los Pizzas. It is also full of contented cats, who were originally introduced to rid the park of rodents. But, as usually happens, the cats multiplied and became a tourist attraction in their own right. Now the city makes sure they are spayed, has an adoption program for them, and makes sure they are fed and not bothered.

Parque Kennedy reminds me of the Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays in Buenos Aires. Curiously that park is also triangular in shape; and there, too, the cats are much loved and well cared for. (I begin to detect a pattern here.)

Uniformed Gardeners and Sanitation Workers in Parque Kennedy

Uniformed Gardeners and Sanitation Workers in Parque Kennedy

In parks and other public places around Peru, one finds uniformed gardeners and sanitation workers (shown above) keeping the place clean and beautiful. I believe they also feed the cats and make sure they have water to drink.Throughout Peru, the public places were like oases that drew people who wanted to rest, read a newspaper, or get their shoes shined. The day I left for Arequipa, I spent several hours there petting the cats and relaxing before having a great lunch at La Lucha Sangucheria across the street.