Telegraph Avenue

Saturday is still scorching hot and moreover we are pretty tired of last week. Therefore, it will be a rather lazy day…

In the morning I went shopping for running gear. A pair of trainers is only half as expensive as in Belgium (exactly the same brand and model) so I just left mine at home and bought new ones here. I plan to go running in the hills east of Berkeley.

In the afternoon I went for a stroll along Telegraph Avenue:

According to my Lonely Planet travel guide this is “undeniably the throbbing heart of studentville in Berkeley, pumping out a sidewalk-flow of students and shoppers, vagrants and vendors, brisk walkers and sluggish strollers, those trying to squeeze their way out an those who never seem to leave.” On a Saturday during summer however, the place is pretty calm:

Noticed the carillon tower in the back? This avenue indeed runs more or less from our place to the university campus. It is known for its ‘alternative’ shops – often second-hand places like this bookstore

where I found a second-hand copy of ‘Atonement’, ‘One hundred years of solitude’, ‘One flew over the cuckoo’s nest’ and ‘Lolita’. I indeed resumed my plan to tackle Time Magazine’s top 100 all-time novels…

I also got a shirt at ‘Buffalo Exchange’, a store where you can buy, sell and exchange clothes. The odds are high that Evi is going to spend a couple of hours here when she comes to visit me in August! The second-hand trade also applies to music, the most famous store being ‘Rasputin Music’:

Not really my cup of tea though. Finally this street has some charming typical brick buildings like this one:

All in all indeed an enjoyable avenue for a leisurely stroll!