La Fontana

La Fontana (the fountain (at right))

La Fontana is Italian or Spanish for fountain. It's also a block of flats in Glenhuntly Rd, Elsternwick with a fountain out the front. La Fontana's water feature is middle right, though it's difficult to make out in this photo. The fountain was working the day I took this snap - several thin streams of water curve approximately a metre and a half into the air from a sprinkler centred in a concrete pond around 4m in diameter. I ride past La Fontana's fontana three mornings a week and always check if she's on. Lately no.

Joie de Vivre

Joie de Vivre as it once was

Joie de vivre is French for corps d'esprit, the joy of living, the very essence of existence, and is probably the name of a perfume. It's also a block of flats in the Avenue, Windsor. In the photo, taken from a real estate website archive, you can see the sign affixed to the steel picket fence. The sign reads Joie de Vivre. I used to walk past this block of flats most days and look at the sign and wonder about joie de vivre. I remember there was also big cursive lettering on the flats' front in brassy plastic that read the same. But the other day when I went to take a photo there were no signs. The flats had been given a paint job and the signs removed. Joie de vivre is no more for joie de vivre has gone.