Mood

I woke up in a bit of a mood. It might have been because I was stuck n a hotel far from home on my birthday. This is hardly the first time this has happened, so I thought it unlikely to be that. I also had a cough, and a sore throat, and yet this isn't an airconditioned hotel.

I eventually decided it was probably the weather. But that wasn't until after we'd got absolutely drenched to the skin walking up the hill to the Institute where I have been visiting for a couple of days. This seems to have been the natural resolution of yesterday's heat and wind.

Around lunchtime it did start to ease off (as did my feeling of bleurgh), and the mountains began to appear out of the clouds. By the time we left, after a busy day of meetings, it was a clear as a bell, so eventually I got a chance to photograph the rather interesting buildings I had been working in all day. They are called the "petals" because that is what their footprint looks like, but that's not what they look like from the outside (more like cylinders) or indeed when you are inside. Perhaps the most interesting part of the buildings was the library, where not one single surface is not curved.

Back to the hotel, and after a short rest I met up with my friend, Sybilla, who works at the WTO which is just across the way. Great to see her looking and sounding so much better than in March when I stayed with her and the family, since she started her new job. We enjoyed a glass of champagne and a light early supper before she drove back to France (admittedly only a few kilometres away) back to the family.