Friday, May 22, 2009

Night Games on Rothschild Boulevard

Every evening, even before Rothschild Boulevard got "upscaled" with plantings, benches, pavements, and bike lanes, people have gathered to play bolles or bocce or whatever it's called in your country, and I see them doing it on my evening dog walk (top photo). The bright lights were added as part of the "upscaling," which I think happened when Tel Aviv -The White City - became a UNESCO heritage site a few years ago, but people used to play by ordinary streetlights enhanced by car headlights. I am always reminded of my youthful visits to Washington Square in New York's Greenwich Village, where certain corners were reserved for Italian guys playing this same game. I also remember seeing the game played in the Basque region and various other villages in the Pyrenees. I think there were even tournaments in Connecticut. Last October, while waiting to pick up Mermaid Girl after school, I even spied a group of men and women playing in Confederation Park in Burnaby, BC. (lower photo)

So much cozier and more environmentally friendly than golf...

5 comments:

Mongrel said...

Are they playing a game named jeu de boulles?

SavtaDotty said...

They are playing pétanque.

Mongrel said...

According to Wikipedia it's the same like jeu de boulles.
In this village of mine they do play on monday evenings.

Fred said...

Either way, I've never heard of the game. I'll need to head on over to Wikipedia to find out what they're playing.

SavtaDotty said...

Fred, I think it could be called Poor Man's Golf...or Green Person's Golf, if you're of the politically correct persuasion.