La Nebbia

The Ferrara fog. It covers the city almost every morning in winter. Before I experienced it myself, I met a girl from England who now lives here and told me about it. Of course I thought, "how depressing" but she said in her lovely British accent "no, it is really quite mystical". She's right... it is eerie and mysterious to see all these centuries old buildings bathed in fog. Mystical is the perfect word to describe it.

So I've tried to remember that and as my hair is limp and plastered to my forehead from the fog, I repeat to myself... "it is mystical, it is mystical, it is mystical". When visibility is really low, the children and I play "guess what that is" while walking to school. Someone points out something and we try to guess what it is. One time we guessed sign and it was actually a dog.

These tricks work pretty well until mid-January.  By then, I am desperate for the sun.  Last year during the fog, I ordered a bunch of spring clothes in bright yellow.  Of course I never wore them.  I don't wear bright yellow but in the midst of the fog, I seemed to forget that.  This year, on day 16 of no sun we booked a trip to the Canary Islands (Spanish islands off the coast to Africa) to go lay in the sun for a few days.  Luckily, this week, the sun has appeared.  Who knows what we would have done next.