Red Light

My hotel is in the middle of the red light district which, being Switzerland, is very tame and well-behaved, but very very noisy. I should have a lovely view of lakes, mountains and so on, but I've been in a conference all day, so here's the street outside my hotel room.

My organisation raises money from the public so we are very careful about not wasting it and getting the cheapest travel options. So here I am in a grim tatty hotel, and as I walk out the door there are drug dealers, prostitutes and their pimps on every corner. What bothers me is the noise - they stand on the corner all night and shout to each other. I did not get much sleep last night and really felt it by late afternoon when I sat through a technical legal presentation and had to jab my pen into my hand to stop myself dropping off.

On my way back I bought earplugs then met colleagues Ellie and Paul for raclette and football in a Geneva pub. Let's hope the earplugs work because I'm a real grump if I don't get enough sleep!