Winter ran late that year in Colorado, just like it had one last cold front to throw at us this year in Portugal. The old folks still bundled up…and I’m flashing back to 2015 when I truly grew tired of shoveling snow in March.
But the melt comes on quickly, so if you clear the driveway the sun dries out the rest. I learned early that you could avoid the battle with ice if you used the elements in your favor. So I laughed the day after a storm and its mad shoveling, when I opened the front door to find the Burj Khalifa, in icicle, blocking my way.
I took a picture of it upside down, to capture the elegant Gandalf-ness of the spire. It trickled down from the eave, winding its way to a point. Daggers surrounded it; they had to go, or prey hazardously upon the mail carrier or UPS guy.
With ceremony I harvested the spike from its anchor, and I knew just what to do. A gin & tonic–with cucumber and ginger and Hendricks and Fever Tree–would pay homage to the Burj, and its icy replica.
I’d see it again in person, off my wing, a year later, in a land the direct opposite of a long winter.
-
- The resemblance to the Burj was unmistakeable
-
- The perfect swizzle for my G&T
-
- Capturing the Burj off the wing climbing out of DXB