Washington is wonderful city with a rich heritage of impressive monuments. It’s also a very pedestrian friendly city, at least in the core. This gives you the opportunity to see iconic monuments from a different perspective. So when I visit, I take every opportunity to get outside and walk; to my hotel, to meetings, or to dinner. I try to walk even when it’s cold, as it was on this last visit. Bitterly cold, according to the locals. A man visiting from Florida didn’t have words for the cold. He was hoping it would warm up to “bitterly cold”. But trust me, it was simply “cold”. Bitterly cold is what I felt when I stepped out of the airport in Ottawa, where the temperature was near minus 30, with a howling wind that made it feel more like minus 40.

I like winter, but I’ve had enough. I’m looking forward to spring. Only 5 or 6 more weeks to go … hopefully.