The Rhineland-Pfalz is just crawling out of a cold snap– if winter was sluggish about arriving for the holidays, it caught up to us with a vengeance last week. Flurries, ice, streets and lawns that didn’t thaw. Winter.
Paying my respects to the season, here are a few winterish photos from a trip to Strasbourg, France last winter–another frightfully cold week.
Wordless Wednesday, at Notre Dame
The first thing we did after arriving in Paris last weekend and dropping our bags at the hotel was to stroll down to les Tuileries gardens, just a block or two away. We had been here back in June and loved the festive summer vibe of the space: 
children were running, jumping, sailing their boats in the ponds; adults were lazily watching and talking. The sky was a fantastic azure blue; the air was sweet with the scent of flowers in bloom.
November in les Tuileries has its own vibe– more subdued, but no less wonderful. For the most part, chairs were empty and people strolled rather than sat; leaves fell and the breeze blew lackadaisically; cafes offered up vin chaud (mulled wine); and all was right with the world.
Viva les four seasons! Viva les Tuileries!
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
Travels and Tomes: One Expat's Amblings and Ramblings 