Thank you Willie Nelson

"Blue skies smilin' at me
Nothin' but blue skies do I see..."








Everyone had warned us to expect gray, polluted air in Skopje and I am sure they were telling the truth, but for some weird reason, this winter we have totally lucked out and have had nothing but blue sky for a month. Yes, there have been a few clouds and one day it drizzled for a minute, but more than a month in, it has been glorious, blue and sunny almost every day. And it is February. And my hometown is shoveling out many inches of snow. I have NOTHING to complain about.....

IBetter yet, I  have figured out a way to walk to school avoiding almost all car exhaust. Google maps takes you along the big wide boulevards and major bridges, so the first few times I walked to the university, I was sucking a lot of exhaust fumes. 


But now, I have re-routed my walk so that I walk out of our lovely neighborhood of cafes and restaurants, and cross the street to the amazing City Park.




Then I walk to the back of the park and pick up the foot path along the river.








 I walk along the river for a half mile, cross on a pedestrian foot bridge, and then walk the other side of the river for a while before climbing up to a short stretch along a major road (which leads to the Old Bazaar, (which is always fun to poke around in.)  And then it is only another block or so to the university. 
Oh, did I mention I am looking at snow capped peaks along the way too?,,,,and it is about 50-60 degrees out? in February?










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