On my last night in D.C., I stayed home, and watched "Tea with Mussolini", the recent movie starring Dames Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith and those two commoners Lily Tomlin and Cher :). It was touching and hilarious - you gotta rent it when it comes out.

In the morning, the rain was beating on the windows bright and early. I started packing. It was touch and go whether I'd be able to close my suitcase once I'd packed it, but I did the deed finally, on the stroke of midday.

By noon, the rain was largely gone, apart from the occasional light shower. It was extremely humid again. I decided to spend my last afternoon on Massachussets Avenue, looking at the different styles of the Embassy Buildings. It was interesting how some of the poorest countries had the nicest embassies.

The Finns, of course, have to have a cool embassy

The dissapointingly dowdy British Embassy

Those Brazilians really know architecture

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho - looks more like a dilapidated frat-house, poor guys

India's embassy was surprisingly small, but loved the elephants!

Jeez, you'd think Turkey still had an Empire

The faceless embassy of the Republic of Korea

Republic of Ireland

Zambia has a lovely building, but a parking lot full of early 80s Buicks

Wow - Croatia comes on strong!

Who owns this majestic castle? Cameroon. Who?

Finally, it was time to call a wrap on my latest DC adventure, and check in for my flight from Ronny Reagan Airport. It was my first time in Terminal B there, and it was quite a stunning space, despite the almost tackiness of the design detail.

In Ronald Reagan Airport Terminal B

The flights were uneventful, as most flights are. We were delayed over an hour getting out of Washington, due to rain in Dallas. The flight was at least entertaining as it was filled with a tour group of cheerful, chatty old ladies. One after another, they exclaimed at my height as if they were the first to discover it.

In the end, I got to San Francisco only about half an hour late. It was nice to pick up my trusty black jeep in the parking lot and return to my own life again - for how long will I be privileged to stay home this time?

Once home, I immediately realized that my worst fears about the new neighbor had been realized. They had obviously already moved in - a woman and three small children. The worst I'd anticipated was shouting children and the thump of little feet on the hardwood floors below. What I hadn't anticipated was screaming parents yelling at their children. Time for the ear plugs.