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| Enough of this! |
We're well into the month of February. This morning (February 16) the sun is shining ... and the temperature is -2°.
Why would we want to leave Syracuse?
Because we've had enough of the snow and the cold!
Our bags are packed. Let's go.
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A few days later in the sunny south
When we fly to Italy, we fly in and out of Washington DC so we can visit family members for a few days before we leave and a few days after we return.
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| The solar snow plow is not working well |
It snowed here a week ago and by now the snow would have melted. Relying on the sun for snow removal is sound fiscally and practically since cold snaps are brief. Normally.
This cold snap, however, has lingered and the solar snow plow is not working well.
After the last snow storm the plows made one pass down the side streets and now there is a clear path down the middle of the street and piles of frozen-hard snow and ice in the road on both sides. Since most people park on the street here, the parking is interesting since you have to maneuver around piles of ice and snow.
The white stain you see on the street is probably salt brine. We understand that the salt brine they spray works well for the first half inch or so of snow.
Will the weather be better at our destination?
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We've arrived in Florence
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| Magnolia and former gate to the city |
We arrived late in the afternoon on Thursday. The weather was much more pleasant. There was an important weather indicator near our apartment that we wanted to check as soon as possible.
The large piazza near our apartment is Piazza Beccaria. The piazza has one of the medieval gates to the city smack in the middle and the traffic, which is heavy, circles the ancient tower. Small green spaces are in the middle around the tower and on either side of the busy roadway.
There is a magnolia tree on one side of the piazza. Each year we take this tree to be an indicator of how the winter has treated Florence. This year it appears that Florence has been treated kindly. At the end of February the magnolia is coming into bloom, the temperature are touching 60 degrees, and the ground is dry.Florence is at about the same latitude as Syracuse but Syracuse lacks a mountain range (i.e., the Alps) to the north to keep the cold, continental air away.
Thank you, Florence!
