Rain, Rain, go away... well, no, stay for a bit...

Rain is predicted for a few days. It's true, it can clean the air, but it is a bit of a hassle in the city. The fields need the rain, though, and the snow packs need to be rejuvenated to give us water throughout the rest of the year.

Hunker down, put on rain coats and galoshes, and just tough it out.

As my dad says, "You're not made of sugar. You won't melt."

Sugar and spice and everything nice...

Enjoy!

Spring, O Spring, wherefore art thou?

Is it like this where you are, too?

It's......More......

...gray, chilly and rainy, today...again.

Winter is just not letting go, this year.

Hey, Spring...we're waiting.

P.S., O.K., O.K., I snapped this picture on the 22nd of December at 5:30 P.M. with your personal, non-commercial viewing fun in mind...it's too cold and rainy to sit in the Piazza del Duomo "just" to snap pics.

I have just made a corporate decision...

...I'm not going out to get the groceries this morning, after all.

Milano City Marathon (not to be confused with the StraMilano marathon) and blankets

Run covered with a blanket? I guess they do have those space-age blankets. You could run covered in one of those.

You're going to need it, tomorrow (April 15), for the Milano City Marathon (because of which the center of town will be closed to car traffic until mid-afternoon...the up side is that the ATM ticket is valid for a lot longer). More rain and cold is predicted...More......

Want more info about this marathon through town (not to be confused with the StraMilano that took place last month)...in English? Here's a bank's website with helpful stuff (no plug for the bank intended, but, Cosmos bless them, they have a page in English): http://milanocitymarathon.gazzetta.it/?lang=en.

You're going to need extra blankets even if you're not running in the marathon.

Right on time with the return of the cold is the city-wide (nation-wide?) mandated shutting off of centralized heating.

So, get out your blankets, cuddle up, and watch the runners go by.

Enjoy!

Still snowy and C-O-O-O-O-LD in Milan

The snow of a number of days ago is lingering a lot longer than usual because of the unusual cold (worst winter weather in about 30 years is the televised rumor going around). Going outside feels like stepping into a freezer. Milan has been spared the worst, so I'm really not complaining. Within a few days, the streets and sidewalks were mostly clear, though there's fluffy white (and grungy) stuff piled up on higher surfaces, on the parks and along the road sides.

Here's a gray day snap of the chilly stuff piled on top of some of the information totem poles scattered throughout the Sforza Castle grounds.

May I brag a bit?

I did the English translations for these!

Enjoy!

Rainy Sunday

Weatherman had said clouds.

I took him at his word.

And got stuck out and about...More......

...without an umbrella.

Silly me.

(No complaining, though; the rain is light...have beret, will travel...and we need it badly.)

Doing a 'light painting' while snug, dry and warm on a tram headed for home on a chilly Sunday after a cozy morning at a local library with a nice friend...who even fixed me lunch!

Enjoy!

To-ing and fro-ing on a chilly misty Milanese day

A friend kindly asked me to lunch with some friends. The walk to the metro stop did me good. I do miss taking my camera for a walk. So, here's the to-ing and the...More......

...fro-ing.

The first was shot today at around 11:30 A.M., the second around 5:30 P.M.

Yes, it was a long, but delightful lunch.

Now I need to get back to work, and maybe you do, too.

Enjoy!

It's not a Lucio Fontana, though it looks like one

It's not a Lucio Fontana, though it looks like one. Thinking about coming to Milan, this summer? This snap actually is...More......

...the repeated imprint of scooter kick stands sinking into the sizzling tarred sidewalks rendered almost like melma by the torrid heat and humidity of full summer in Milan.

I snapped this with you in mind on the 13th of April at a quarter to 5 P.M.

And, oh, it was pleasantly warmish in the direct sun punching a hole in the bright blue sky with a brisk chilly breeze.

Still thinking about coming to Milan?

I hope so, but forewarned is forearmed (for heat relief, see my posts on Gelato).