“Summer-induced stupidity. That was the diagnosis…”
Sea Change
Unpredictability has been this years motto since spring started: a time of uncertainties, changes, variations. From hot to cold, dry to wet, sad to happy, sunny to cloudy…
Nothing seemed reassuring anymore, just as if nature had lost that cyclic habit we had grown used to.
I’ve read somewhere about Earth’s wandering magnetic poles… Not really sure what their role in all this is, the only sure thing is that spring was quite moody in Geneva and I almost started to believe summer was never start.
No real choice in the end, but that of going with the flow and be prepared for a rainy storm on what seemed a beautiful and sunny day or for the opposite: the hot and warm sun forcing his way out between the gray clouds.
And with the flow I went, up to the beginning of this week: finally three consecutive days of sunshine… The beginning of summer just few days before the summer solstice. Or at least an impression!
Whatever it is and however it will turn, Geneva has already started to change. The metamorphosis of this city leaves me astonished every year when summer finally approaches.
The days get longer and hotter. The temperature increases as the day goes by giving rise to lusty summer afternoons. The wind carries the lightness of the season taking over people’s minds and souls. The sunshine illuminates the Salève, reflects in the lake creating surprising effects, traverses the drops of the Jet d’Eau creating rainbows.
And here I am, after a day of work, sitting on a spot by the lake where I feel capable to stop time and just immerse myself in a sparkling atmosphere!
A loud splash on my right, as he just dared to dive from the trampoline…
A thunderous and innocent laughter and a silly discussion going on in the background…
A group of people walking by looking for a free spot to lay in the sun…
He changes nonchalantly into his bathing suit putting a towel around his waist…
Friend cheering with a nice and fresh beer…
A boy jumps in the lake to get the bottle of wine that he had carefully left on the bottom of the lake to keep it cool…
Lost faces trying to find the group of friends between the multitude of people…
The smell of a cigarette that the bored lady next to me just lit…
The voices of the kids, playing and running around…
All this is how my summer 2019 begun! All this is Bains des Pâquis!
P.S.: more pictures and videos on my instagram profile…
Praise of Folly 