The return

Christmas Day this year dawned gloomy and damp, and stayed that way.  Just as we had to leave after Christmas the sun came out over the Mediterranean Sea.  It looked beautiful but it was cold.  This time last year we were sitting out of doors to eat in the sun but that was probably just as unusual. 

So I wasn't surprised to see snow on the mountains as we drove away.  I was more surprised as we drove along the Via Domitia (as the signs on the A9 kept saying) to be showered with clumps of snow from passing cars.  Clearly there was a lot of snow not far away.

The Via Domitia was a Roman road which ran from Italy across the south of France to Spain.  It was built in 118 BC on the orders of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus who thankfully lent it only one of his names.  It was an ancient road even before this, and supposedly was followed by Heracles and Hannibal.  In places it passed very close to the coast but I'm not convinced it followed the same route as the modern A9. It would be an interesting detour at some future date.

Back at home now and the weather has turned extremely and unseasonably mild.  What will it throw at us next, I wonder?