Sorry you don't like them, Lew. I like to try things other than nature/landscape when I get a chance, but I'm not a natural street-shooter, nor experienced at it. In this case it was all the bright colours which attracted me. I wonder if you mean flat as in lacking contrast, or flat as in lacking interest, or both?
Oh, no - I do like them, I just think that the colors are a little lacking in punch.
I understand that the day was overcast but since we do lots of things to improve the impact of hours pictures, adding contrast here seems a small sin, if any.
In regards the OOF of the last.
The main impact of this image would be the close-up sharpness of the foreground against the OOF background.
The OOF part doesn't add anything and doesn't seem to be an artistic choice.
It only hurts the one source of impact for me.
Sorry.
Lew