Ray invited me to go out with him and the driver to walk along for a while, find a cafe and drink some coffee. That sounded more pleasant that just lying on the bed watching movies, so I accepted. I had some dinner in the restaurant and looked out on the fearsome wind-lashed waves crashing on the rocks across the Corniche from the hotel. It was a quite wild night. Back in my room, the wildness continued as I heard firecrackers going off. I have to admit that I did wonder if it was actually gunfire, but I satisfied myself it was firecrackers.
At the duly appointed hour, Ray arrived and we drove off. He confirmed that it was firecrackers, apparently from a wedding, and that such behaviour was quite customary. After some uncertainty about where we would go, we ended up right around the harbour and walked out to the Fort. The wind was fair whistling across the water and the walkway but we were far from alone with many people in groups out promenading.
The walk was brief because of the wind. We went back to a cafe and sat drinking tea and talking. I tried to take some night-time photos of Alexandria's skyline with my phone. In spite of using the appropriate settings, the pictures didn't really work.
I had to cross the road to get the photos and when I got back, Ray and the driver were playing backgammon. They are quite competitive, apparently, and it was interesting to keep up with their game-play while watching Alexandria walk by. They drove me back to the hotel and I retired in good order for another fitful night's sleep.
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