While celebrating Christmas with Courtney’s family in New England, we spent some time in Providence, RI. I had only been to the city once before, and it strikes me as a nice place with beautiful architecture that uses the hilly landscape to its advantage, creating sometimes dramatic views of the cityscape.

While Courtney and her mom busied themselves in a bead shop, her father and I took a stroll to nearby Brown University. Now, being married to a Providence alumna, my attitude toward Brown is, by necessity, something along the lines of the Simpsons episode where Otto says he almost got tenure at Brown. However, I must admit, the campus was beautiful on this particular day, with the snow-covered grounds and grayish skies providing a stark contrast to the old brick buildings.