Puligney-Montrachet, Cortina, Bled –

During these short, COLD days of winter it is only natural for the mind to wander to the long, WARM days of summer.  In reliving some of our favorite summer walks, we hit upon a few of our most beloved, not so much because of geographical location, but because of the time of day.

It is that moment, half an hour or so past sunset, when all of the red glow has bled from the sky.  The sky is almost black but the horizon glows in a rich, dense blue.  Ambient light is ceding to streetlights.  Sometimes the moon is taking its dramatic place.

So often this is one of the most quiet moments of the day.  Many people are already at dinner and it will be an hour or two before the nightlife gets underway.  It is a perfect time to stroll through backstreets and out into the meadows or vineyards surrounding these lovely European villages.  Here are a few such moments we enjoyed in the summer of 2013.

On this evening in Puligney-Montrachet, we felt as if we had entered a René Magritte painting.

Here, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the rain is tapering off, the shops have closed and the black silhouettes of nearby peaks are breaking free from the clouds.

Finally, on Lake Bled, the village castle and church are illuminated  and perfectly backlit by the day’s last light.