Having worked through lunch today (let me hear the violins!), I popped out for a late sandwich and decided to walk the half mile from the D Magazine studios (way cooler than “office”) to the 7-Eleven in One Arts Plaza. On my return, on this beautiful, sunny day, I took the following pictures for you as I strolled down Flora Street. As you look at them, imagine seeing downtown’s cultural gem through the eyes of a visitor to our fair city.

Workers at the Winspear jackhammer away at concrete, allowing you to really BREATHE in the arts.

At the bustling Center Café, you’ll be lucky to find an al fresco seat.

Cafe tables in dappled sunlight provide the perfect spot to have a snack and people-watch.

The Hall Arts Residences and Hall Arts Hotel are bustling with workers. No sidewalk for you!

The hustle and bustle of the street life will really give you a sense of the city’s cosmopolitan charm. Did we mention the bustle? Or the hustle?

The Italians call it sprezzatura, a studied carelessness.

If you brought a tree with you, feel free to plant it in one of the many available spots in the beautifully maintained walkways!

This is so Italian that it’s almost smoking a filterless cigarette while drinking an espresso and gesticulating wildly as it holds forth on the play of Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini.

A bounty of chairs means that you never have to ask the embarrassing question “Is this seat taken?”

The Dallas Arts District: not for the superstitious!