paulmac

We are now two weeks into winter, and the weather has really started to change. For the first couple of weeks it seemed as though spring was still determined to stay. Calabria, being at the bottom of Italy, get’s a lot of southern winds making their way across from the deserts of Africa (carrying with them desert sand). So for a couple of days there the temperature went from 12°C up to 25°C.

Now though, the unyielding cold from the north of Europe has made it’s home here. For the past week we have been averaging temperatures of ~6°C during the day and 0°C at night. With the cold now present, I spent a whole day last week with some of the cousins hauling 3 tonne of firewood upstairs for the fireplace. There has been intermittent snow fall around the place, evaporating as it hits the earth. The real heavy snow has started dumping on the mountains. The ski lifts have started operating so it’s now just a matter of hopping in the car and driving up their for some fun in the white powder.

We are currently living in quite a beautiful location. Having the alpine mountains of the Aspromonte National Park only a 20 minute drive south west of us, and in the opposite direction in summer, we only need to drive 5 minutes to access the wonderful beaches of the Mediterranean.

Here is a view from the front of our place, looking over the scenic, picturesque olive groves towards Gambarie and Mt.Scirocco (1655 mt.).

p.s I think Aidan might be getting a sleigh for Christmas, so ssshhhhhh!.