If I had to describe July with one adjective, I’d say “joyful”. Yes, July 2017 was full of enjoyable moments and events for me. The first week of July we were in Costa Rica. The last three weeks of July we explored local art fair, music festivals, parks, and farmers' markets. We were also happy to see our relatives visiting from Europe and Southern California. So here it is...
July in a sentence a day
1. Saturday: Celebrated a Happy Canada’s 150th birthday in Costa Rica after experiencing a two-hour power outage which started in Panama!
2. Sunday: Ran 5K in the morning and relaxed by the pools in the afternoon.
3. Monday: Exercised in the gym, practiced Spanish with the hotel staff, stayed indoor during the afternoon downpour, and enjoyed a yummy dinner with a cute dessert.
4. Tuesday: Got in my yoga time to stretch, learned Spanish, and went out to admire the tropical plants in the sunshine.
5. Wednesday: Exercised in the gym, practiced Spanish, and was thrilled to see a toucan up close, as well as many other animals.
6. Thursday: Enjoyed yoga, learned Spanish, and spent time reading June Sentence-a-day posts while lounging by the pool.
7. Friday: When you hike in a rain forest, expect rain and powerful water sprays from waterfalls!
8. Saturday: Stretched in the morning to prepare for a five-hour flight home this afternoon, and was absolutely delighted to breeze through Toronto International airport in 15 minutes after landing (fuzzy picture but the CN Tower is always a welcoming sign that we're almost home).
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| Toronto at dusk |
10. Monday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, and posted 10 pictures from Costa Rica that brought back nice memories of our wonderful trip.
11. Tuesday: Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, and booked train tickets for our travels in Spain in August (yep, another trip).
12. Wednesday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, and booked free walking tours in Spain.
13. Thursday: Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, and enjoyed a cool Thursday at a Farmers’ market while listening to Oh Susanna's "cool" performance.
14. Friday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, and walked to City Hall to browse at the wonderful Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.
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| Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition |
15. Saturday: Swam 55 laps, learned Spanish, did grocery shopping, and visited HTO Park and the Waterfront Artisan Market.
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| HTO Park beach |
17. Monday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, booked more train tickets, and ordered a pre-paid SIM card to use in Spain.
18. Tuesday: Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, and read about various destinations in Spain.
19. Wednesday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, and visited the lush green park at Sugar Beach.
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| Park at Sugar Beach |
20. Thursday: Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, and enjoyed a slice of summer fun at the Farmers’ market and Mike Ferfolia’s music.
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| Peaches and sweet peppers |
21. Friday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, posted Summer Fun List progress report #1, and enjoyed reading other bloggers’ updates.
22. Saturday: Swam 55 laps, learned Spanish, did grocery shopping, and had a yummy picnic lunch by the waterfront, before attending Sarah MacDougall’s concert at the Northern Passages festival.
23. Sunday: Ran 5K, learned Spanish, and took public transit to the suburb for a joyful family BBQ.
24. Monday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, and tidied up our home.
25. Tuesday: Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, and hosted our visiting relatives with ordered-in Thai food dinner.
26. Wednesday: Exercised one hour in the gym, learned Spanish, and had fun riding a bike as part of my 6 new experiences.
27. Thursday: Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, and enjoyed time outdoors at the Farmers’ market and Sol de Cuba's engaging music.
29. Saturday: Swam 55 laps, learned Spanish, and showed our visiting relatives a few local sights before a nice dinner together.
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| Fountain at Berczy park |
30. Sunday: Ran my first 6k (woohoo!), learned Spanish, shopped groceries, and attended the lovely Tio Chorinho: Brazil Soul Music show at the beautiful Toronto Music Garden.
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| Brazil Soul Music |
I’m linking up with several fabulous bloggers so be sure to scroll down and visit their blogs for more fun July reviews.
Make August a great month wherever you are!
Firstly, you're very dedicated with your Spanish lessons and practice! and I love the idea of summarising your day in a sentence. Even if I did it in a diary at night it would be a great way of remembering what I'd done! #teamlovinlife
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deborah, for stopping by and commenting. Learning Spanish has been a good brainteaser and practical for my travels this year. Feel free to join us on the sentence-a-day fun :)
DeleteWow your July has been way more exciting than mine! lol Can't wait to see what your August is like! :-) #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteThank you, Min, for visiting and leaving a comment. July was so much fun. August is looking like a contender with a trip to Spain and Gibraltar :)
DeleteIt's always so fun to catch up with your month, Natalie!! Costa Rica looked marvelous---what a trip!!
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Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Thanks, Jodie! Costa Rica was wonderful, and it's easy to do fun things in Toronto in July.
DeleteHow comfortable do you feel speaking Spanish now? Do you like native speakers to correct you? I know I should but I get embarrassed. More embarrassed even than saying things incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos from Costa Rica and home. I think you need to publish a book or a series of articles at the very least about keeping to a workout routine while traveling. Heck, I can't even keep to it at home!
I'm comfortable with speaking basic Spanish. I accept that Spanish is not my 1st language and I'm learning online on my own so if I get corrected by native speakers, I don't mind. I was thrilled that the hotel staff in Costa Rica understood me LOL. Thanks, Leslie, for the suggestion to write about keeping to a workout routine while travelling. I may do a post after my trip to Spain. I think when there's a will, there's a way :)
DeleteWhat a fun month you had Natalie! Would love to know the name of the hotel you stayed at because that pool looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love studying Spanish too, but I suspect you are well ahead of me in that I've been slacking a bit lately. In any event, mantener el buen trabajo!
And PS, hopefully you'll consider shaing photos of yourself at some point so we can see what you look like in all your fit and fab glory! :-)
We stayed at the Wyndham San Jose Herradura hotel, close to SJO airport. They have two decent-sized and one small pools and maybe 6-8 jacuzzis. My upcoming trip to Spain keeps me motivated to continue learning Spanish. That and I don't want to lose my streak to Duolingo yet LOL. I'll consider sharing photos of myself at some point :-)
DeleteWhat a fun month! #teamlovinlife
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leanne, for visiting. I had so much fun in July. August is looking good at this time.
DeleteWhat a fun month you've had Natalie! I hope your Spanish is improving ready for your trip. Thanks again for joining me on my 6km run, it was very sweet of you. I've really enjoyed reading about your busy month.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure to run the 6K, Deb. Thanks for writing an honest post that gave me the idea to do it. The races in my area are usually 5K, 8K, 10K, or longer. I'll keep learning Spanish and won't be shy using what I know in Spain.
DeleteIt's great when you get to describe a month with the word joyful! I love how consistent you are with exercise and learning Spanish!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful August!
Andrea
Andrea’s Wellness Notes
Thank you, Andrea. I think consistency is necessary to get results with exercising and learning a new language. You have a wonderful August, too.
DeleteWhat a lovely way to describe your month, Natalie - 'joyful'. I see you like to run as well and keep fit and active. How is your Spanish going? You seem more commited to I am with my Italian. Have a fabulous August!
ReplyDeleteSue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Thanks, Sue, for stopping by. I'm progressing with my Spanish lessons. I only spend about 15 minutes per day learning it but I do it every day. You have a fabulous August, too, especially since it's your birth month.
DeleteWhat a lovely, busy July! Your commitment to learning another language is great.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Teresa, for visiting. July was a lot of fun. My learning Spanish has been useful when I was in Costa Rica, and now Spain.
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