First impressions of an Italian winter

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

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It really was ‘a day I had rued’ – a seemingly endless, exhausting flight. 13 hours in the air, and that’s not counting the first 7 hour flight. We approached Malpensa airport, Milan though a dense fog at -3 degrees.

The jolt into winter came when I arrived at the station. More like arctic shock! It got me scrambling to the bottom of the suitcase for the piumino (puffer jacket).

The light dusting on the ground and trees was my first glimpse of snow, albeit through the train window.

What a first impression of an Italian winter!