Take a walk down my street

You're on a busy street. It's reasonably early on a weekday, around eight a.m. Cars are honking, trying to merge into the main lane from one-way side streets, motorcycles are revving their engines as they zigzag through traffic, large trucks are slowly trudging along, something loud and mysterious banging in their beds, delivery drivers are hurrying on their bikes with other people's coffees and snacks. You're just happy to see most of them wearing helmets.

As you stand observing the street, bright rays of sun warming your face, right behind you there's a coffee shop. It's quite small, but always busy; two minutes can't pass without someone popping in for a fredo espresso. Most customers are regulars, so the girls behind the counter know their order as soon as they enter through the door. You take a peak inside; you're in the mood for breakfast, but the coffee shop doesn't have a big selection of pastries, so you decide to turn right and head down the street.

Right after the coffee shop, there's a small supermarket specialising mostly in fruit and vegetables; a froutaria. It opens its doors at half past eight, so it's already full of customers tenderly squeezing peaches and rigorously inspecting cucumbers. Maybe you'll stop to get some apples or a juicy watermelon on your way back. For now, you keep walking.

You pass a furniture store, a Red Cross point, a daycare centre, and a bakery, which makes you stop and admire the cakes proudly displayed behind a glass window. You do want a coffee though, too; this might be a good place to get a custom birthday cake, but not breakfast.

You carefully cross a small side street and walk past a gas station. It also functions as a car wash, so there is a row of cars in various states of cleanliness awaiting their turn. You pass a construction site, which will probably add enough tall residential building to the city's skyline, cross another small side street with the same care, and hesitate in front of a Pan-Asian restaurant. It's still early, but there's soft music coming from the inside; you decide that it's probably for the staff cleaning up before another busy day, and keep walking.