Stuck in the snow

"Be careful what you wish for" were the wise words of our Jamerican taxi driver all those days ago when we were telling him of our annoyance of the forecast for no snow at Christmas. We thought he was just expressing his dislike of the cold weather due to his home being tropical paradise. But no...his wise words were all about the disruption the stuff can cause to travellers. And thus with the truth of words ringing in our ears we settled for a day on minimal activity (whilst New York had rain). On the bright side we have now experienced serious falls of the stuff and seen how the locals deal with it. We awoke to the streets being awash. Snow ploughs running around everywhere and cars being bogged. No seemed over concerned, worked their way through it and got over it. And it just kept on floating down all day long.

We packed our bags and walked off down the street. 4 people. 6 big bags and a few smaller ones. Pushing through the snow, wishing we had a sleigh, oh what fun we had, groaning all the way. (Yes - its somewhat annoying that they are still playing carols in the shops). The temporary digs are just around the corner and we soon found ourselves luxuriating on in rooms with baths, desks, couches and enough space to swing a cat. If we had one they would even allow that due to their "pet friendly" policy. And so we headed out to experience a proper winter in a cold climate. The locals all seem very happy - some falling over and laughing. Snow shovels are in constant use around doors. We saw one car being extracted with two shovels broken in the process (reasonably amusing). The footpaths in the main streets are kept reasonably clear by the constant foot traffic. They grind the snow into a strange fine powder. There is no ice as such and therefore its not too slippery. What gets stuck to clothes and bags just brushes off - everyplace has an airlock at the front door where the snow gets dusted off on the way in or the layers get put on on the way out. Interestingly there are not too many cyclists getting around.

Spending a couple of hours relaxing in the afternoon we the headed out for an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant which were couth by having the items listed on the menu (aka wine). The city scape certainly changes under these conditions and looks magical. Even when the emergency services are flashing their lights around (a fire in a building nearby).

Back to our comfy rooms to argue with our bookings in New York. Got that sorted and thus its off to bed for a horribly early start to catch our rescheduled flight.