So, I got back to DC yesterday evening and everything is more or less the same as when I left except one important aspect: spring is here! When I left, Washington’s famous cherry trees were not yet blooming, and now the pink blossoms are almost gone. The trees around the city have turned green and there are tulips and other spring flowers in every corner. Today was sunny and warm, and my whole neighborhood seemed to be hanging out at the cafes on 17th Street. After skyping a bit in the morning, I headed over to Trio for my first American brunch in almost a month and was welcomed with “I will seat you at one of D’s (the waiter’s) tables. I loves you! He thinks you are so nice and he says you are very smart too!”. How could I ever do brunch at another place?? While enjoying my brunch in the sun, giggling guys dressed up as Easter bunnies or with decorative hats passed by in the street, and at the table next to me, a group of people were discussing the Republican primaries and the forthcoming election. In other words, a typical DC Sunday. And yet a million times better than before I left, with the sun and the flowers! A warm welcome to spring; I will truly enjoy this season over the next month, before I cross the Atlantic again.

Witches, a Swedish Easter tradition and, as always, not entirely linked to the Christian holiday. I guess Scandinavia was a little too far from Rome to really get all the details…