Greetings! I started writing my month in a sentence a day in April. It was fun so I've continued with May, June, July, and now August.
August was an Awesome month in that we started the month with a long weekend getaway, followed by our amazing trip to Spain and Gibraltar for over two weeks, and spent the last five days of August at home to catch up before turning the calendar page to September.
August in a sentence a day
1. A sunny and warm summer day, perfect for doing yoga, learning Spanish, and running errands to get ready for our long weekend getaway.
2. Exercised in the gym, learned Spanish, and went for a walk to soak in another beautiful summer day.
3. Practiced yoga, learned Spanish, posted my July in a sentence a day, and enjoyed reading how other bloggers spent their July.
4. Exercised in the gym in the morning, learned Spanish, and took the train to our family weekend getaway in the evening.
5. Yoga today in lieu of swimming, learned Spanish, spent time with my immediate family, and relaxed all day since our beds and meals were prepared by hotel or restaurant staff.
6. Ran 6K this Sunday, learned Spanish, and continued to enjoy our mini vacation.
7. Monday (Civic holiday in Ontario) - Exercised in the hotel gym, enjoyed a delicious buffet breakfast, learned Spanish, and had fun with TBB Asks summer Q&As before taking the train home.
8. Yoga, learned Spanish, and worked through my travel checklist.
9. Exercised in the gym, learned Spanish, and felt excited to finally complete online check-in for our flight to Spain.
10. Enjoyed yoga and Spanish lessons in the morning, left for the airport in the afternoon, and flew overnight to Madrid, Spain to embark on a grand adventure.
11. A smooth arrival, a power nap, clean bed and bath, plus some Sangria and tapas hop in the evening made this day a very Happy Friday from Madrid.
12. A wonderful Saturday spent on exploring Madrid’s landmarks, museums, and enjoying more delicious Spanish food.
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| Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain |
13. Took a day trip from Madrid to visit Toledo, exploring Toledo’s Alcazar, Gothic cathedral, the city’s ancient walls, gates, and beautiful train station.
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| The Alcázar, Toledo, Spain |
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| The Mosque-Cathedral, Cordoba, Spain |
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| The Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos, Cordoba, Spain |
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| The ocean view from our room, Gibraltar |
17. A leisure breakfast, plus plenty of rest before we met up with family and friends for a lovely cocktail party in the late afternoon.
18. Enjoyed a happy Friday in Gibraltar using our hotel amenities like the lounge chairs by the pool (ahhh).
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| Lounge chairs, Gibraltar |
19. Took the Tour of the Rock with family and friends, visited Europa Point, St. Michael’s Cave, World War 2 tunnels, viewed Europe and Africa shorelines from the top of the Rock, and was thrilled to see about fifty of the Barbary macaques (wild apes).
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| Barbary Apes, Gibraltar |
20. Sun, sand, and seashells at Caleta beach with family.
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| Caleta Beach, Gibraltar |
21. Wrapped up our stay in Gibraltar with a dolphin safari in the Strait of Gibraltar, happy to see so many dolphins, and enjoyed a lovely fancy dinner with family and friends.
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| Dolphin spotting, Gibraltar |
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| Puerto Blanco near Jerez de la Frontera, Spain |
23. Seville seduced us with her beautiful and magnificent Plaza de España and Maria Luisa Park, and a mesmerizing flamenco show.
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| Plaza de España, Seville, Spain |
24. Our jaw-dropping reactions continued when we visited Seville Real Alcazar (Royal Palace), Seville Cathedral, and the Giralda Tower.
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| The Real Alcázar, Seville, Spain |
25. A leisure Friday exploring Seville on foot, checked in our flights online, and savouring an ice cream after dinner.
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| The Giralda Tower, Seville, Spain |
26. A long but fortunately very smooth travel day flying from Seville to Frankfurt, changing planes, and flying from Frankfurt to Toronto...we’re back in our bed tonight.
27. Woke up at 4 AM (or 10 AM Seville time), enjoyed a leisure breakfast, ran my Sunday 5K, unpacked, and spent the day doing general catch up.
28. Signed up for 5K race in September, and continued catching up on this cool and relaxing Monday,
29. Enjoyed a yoga session, met a friend for coffee, and am still on happy vacation mode.
30. Reviewed and posted my selected pictures from Madrid and Toledo.
31. Wrapped up an awesome August with a relaxing day at home.
You might also like:
Pictures from Cordoba
Pictures from Seville
Pictures from Gibraltar
I look forward to enjoying the last bit of summer and more travel planning in September!
I'd love to hear about your August. I’m linking up with several fabulous bloggers so be sure to scroll down and visit their blogs for more fun August reviews.
Firstly, kudos on your Spanish & exercise routines, and secondly, I loved seeing your travel pics again - this sentence a day thing is certainly great for capturing the essence of a trip - as well as of a month.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jo, for your kudos. My Spanish routines paid off this year, both in Costa Rica, and in Spain. The exercise routines keep me healthy so I can enjoy my travels which although fun, can be hard on our bodies. I'm glad you liked my vacation pictures. After posting the pictures from Madrid and Toledo, I wondered if readers would find my vacation pictures boring LOL.
DeleteI hope all of the Spanish practice is paying off!
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned in the last post that I've not been to Spain but to Portugal so I could see some similarities and loved the architecture.
Glad you're back home and impressed you kept up the exercise while you were away!
Yes, my Spanish practice definitely paid off, Deborah. I felt more confident and was able to engage in basic conversations with the locals. I really loved the architecture in both Spain and Portugal, too. The tile work is amazing. I wonder if you've been able to use and retain Portuguese language.
DeleteLove your commitment to exercise and spanish lessons before your trip, and the photo's are fantastic! I love the architecture over there! #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteThe architecture there is amazing, Min. I'm very committed to my exercise and language learning routines. They're part of my fun repertoire :-)
DeleteWhat a fabulous trip to Spain, Natalie!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd then you came home and even ran a race--that's incredible!!
XOXO
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Our trip to Spain was awesome, Jodie! I was eager to get back to my running routine after we came home since it was too hot in Spain for running.
DeleteWow! I'm impressed with just how much each of your single sentences conveys. And the pictures support your words perfectly. Very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna. I find it fun to capture the month with text and visuals.
DeleteThis is fabulous Natalie and now I have only 3 weeks to wait until I'm seeing Spain. What a wonderful month you had and I hope our Spanish lessons came in handy. I can't speak Spanish but my husband speaks Italian so maybe we can get by. Loved all of your photos and now I'm impatient! Have a fabulous September!
ReplyDeleteSue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
I think you'll really enjoy Spain, Sue. My Spanish lessons paid off. I plan to continue my learning now that I've made some progress and applied what I learned in real life. You have a fabulous September, too!
DeleteYour trip sounds absolutely wonderful! And I can't believe you ran a race the day after you came back from your trip! Very impressive!
ReplyDeleteI hope your September is off to a good start!
Andrea
Andrea’s Wellness Notes
It was an awesome trip, Andrea. I was eager to resume my exercise routine after we came home because I've built a good habit and didn't want to lose the momentum. September is looking good so far :-)
DeleteWhat a wonderful August you had Natalie! And isn't Spanish sangria frightfully addictive? Seriously, it's a good thing it isn't as plentiful and affordable stateside or I'd be in some serious trouble!
ReplyDeleteWhere are you off to next???
My August was awesome, Tamara. Spanish Sangria on a hot summer day or evening, OMG, mas Sangria, por favor! I'm working on my fall travel plan and should know for sure in about two weeks.
DeleteWhat an amazing trip you had! Thanks for sharing the experience and photos.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Juhli. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteWow! What a fantastic trip! I love your Spain pictures. Wow again!
ReplyDelete:) gwingal
Thank you, Nikki, for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment. Glad you're joining us on the sentence-a-day fun. Spain has a lot of Wow factor :-)
DeleteThe colorful summary of the sites on your trip somehow reminded me of descriptions I've read in school social studies text books of the travels of early explorers on the spice road. Tell me, how do you deal with/avoid jet lag? I need all the tips I can get for an upcoming trip.
ReplyDeleteDo you have family living in Spain and/or Gibraltar or did they just join you on holiday? That beach photo is one of my favs along with the stunning view from your room in Gibraltar. The openwork on the balcony looks almost like eyelet lace.
Like everyone before me, I am in awe of the way you exercise while traveling. Heck, you do better on the road than I do when I am home! Inspirational.
Re: Jet lag - When we fly from Toronto to Europe, it's usually an overnight flight with Europe +6 or 7 hours ahead so when we arrive, we're tired from having no or little sleep. I'd take a short nap with an alarm to wake me up then shower, go out for sunlight, have a light meal then go to bed at night local time. When we fly home, I go to bed my normal Toronto bed time and set alarm to wake me up the next day. I usually wake up earlier than the alarm but I don't want to oversleep. Although tempted, I avoid drinking alcohol on my flights and I exercise as soon as I can upon arrival. Gentle stretches are great because they help blood circulation, and stretch all the cramped muscles from sitting too long. I hope you find this helpful, Leslie.
DeleteRe: Exercise while travelling - I find it much easier to keep up my exercises than skipping them and resuming after vacation. Plus I benefit during the trip. Travel is a change so exercising seems to give me some sort of equilibrium.
Love your photos of the trip Natalie and am glad the Spanish lessons were useful! Enjoy September :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deb, for stopping by. September is off to a good start so far.
DeleteWow, Natalie...I'm exhausted just reading about your adventures this month!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful trip! I've only been to Europe once...in high school...so I have great admiration for your travels and prep. The architecture in your photos was amazing...so beautiful! What a great adventure.
I'd have to admit, I'd have slept the day after. You ran 5k...quite impressive!!!
Em@DustandDoghair.com
Haha, Em, I deliberately kept my first week of August slow and relaxing in preparation for our trip to Spain. I was eager to resume running as soon as we returned since the longer the delay, the harder it will be for me to get back into it.
DeleteGreat photos. So many adventures! #teamlovinlife
ReplyDeleteThank you, Leanne. My curiosity gets me into so many adventures :-)
DeleteHi Natalie I wanted to let you know that I am linking to this post in a post I am writing about our upcoming trip. I'll send you the link when I'm done.
ReplyDeleteSounds good, thanks, Sue. Happy writing!
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