A change in scenery

After a prolonged period of way too much winter in the UK (snow in March and definitely snow flakes in April!), we decided that it was time for a change of scenery. As an easter getaway, we had planned to hang out in Italy, escaping the cold and enjoying good food. C was actually on a field trip there collecting rocks while I stayed at home for the first few days, but then I met the geologist crowd at a great B&B place in Piasco, Cuneo Province, Italy.
The weather, well, we had miscalculated that. Snow above 1000m (less on north-facing slopes), so that any hikes invariably ended up slogging through knee deep snow at some point or other.

Well, ok, maybe that was suppposed to be a jumping photo, but you get the picture. A bit lower, when it was sunny, we did manage to hang out with the local wildlife. Mostly dogs announcing the arrival of strangers, but also some more quiet species:

The food was at least as great as expected, we were travelling with an almost-local Italian who went out of his way to find the best places to eat and best things to buy for lunch. I will definitely remember our evening meal on Saturday for some time to come: 9 courses all told, copious quantities of good wine, grappa, and something else I don't remember, all for 26 EUR per person. Available here, if you ever get over that way.

Less than a week later, it looks like it was time for another change of scenery. Yesterday I had a very excessively long morning: I got picked up at home around 4am, to make it into Chicago by 10.20 am. That's eternal morning light for you ... Somewhere, I saw this idea for an inside garden - quite intriguing. It was billed as an eco-friendly alternative, but maybe they forgot that it requires extra lighting and apparently also has its own air-conditioning:

Nevertheless, vertical growing seems an interesting thing to try if space is at a premium.

Finally, last night, I found myself in a place where it's finally warm for once and I could leave my coat behind.