A mixed bag this week. Early in the week I hosted a visit of 4 people from the OECD at the office. In mid-week we had strong wind which combined with a high tide made for some spectacular sea views. And still later in the week we said goodbye to a dear colleague who is taking up a post in the EU representation in Bangkok.
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An amusing scene during a morning walk with Mochi (the photo is somewhat unsharp but I find it sufficiently amusing to include here):
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Another early morning seascape:
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On Tuesday morning our colleagues from the OECD arrived, and we sat down in a meeting room for a full working day together, basically planning our joint work in the coming year:
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Our four guests from Paris reflected the international staff of the OECD–Leonor from Chile, Camila from Colombia, Noga from Israel and Piotr from Poland. The big photo in the background is Warsaw’s old centre. Most of our meeting rooms are named after capitals of EU member states, and we were meeting in the Warsaw Room:
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In the evening we took our visitors for dinner at the Teselas restaurant on the Esplanada:
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Noga:
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Leonor:
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A bit of food porn. One of my favourite dishes at Teselas is the steak tartare:
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We have had some very windy days recently. On Wednesday those winds were combined with an extremely high tide, leading to rather spectacular views of the shore on my way home from work:
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Our own beach, Playa Muchavista, was a mess:
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But the surfers had a good time:
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On Thursday we had a drink in my former department at work to say good bye to Claire, a dear colleague who is leaving us for a great adventure. From February 1st she will be working on intellectual property matters at the EU representation in Thailand. So we got together to give her a nice send-off:
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The director of the Observatory department was away for medical reasons, so it fell to me to give a short speech. Afterwards, Eri (who has been working closely with Claire for the past several years) gave the various gifts to Claire:
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Funny face:
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Claire is very well-liked, so the card that we all signed had to be large to accommodate everyone:
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The gifts have been given, and a hug ends that part of the proceedings:
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Afterwards, we had a picoteo in the kitchen where we used to have the “last Friday of the month” drinks. Stephanie:
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Carolina and Véronique:
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Another funny face:
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The main character:
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On my way home on Friday I stopped in the centre to have a look at Espacio Seneca, an exhibition hall that used to house Alicante’s main bus station. There are often interesting exhibitions there. This time it was an exhibition of photographs documenting traditional occupations in Alicante, such as fishing, weaving and so on:
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Pointing out a poem to his granddaughter:
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A wall painting depicting one of Alicante’s most important traditions:
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On Saturday morning the cleanup of the beach after the storm was about to start:
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Seascapes come in many shapes:
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Later on Saturday, I cycled to Agost, as I do every weekend. The town is 25 km from my house. This time, while taking my usual drink break on the square, I watched the people gathering for some kind of local fiesta:
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Then this young woman appeared, dressed in a traditional outfit. I assume that she had been elected as “queen of the grapes” or “queen of the ceramics”, reflecting the two main industries in Agost:
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The marching band getting ready to start marching:
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The procession began, I got back on my bike and cycled home:
