Greetings! I just returned home from a fantastic trip to Central Europe with my sister. Today I’m writing to provide Update #2 to my Fall fun list of twenty items, and linking up with several fabulous bloggers who also provide their updates. Thanks, Leslie, for organizing the link-up.
In my Fall fun list update #1, I reported that items #5 to 10, and #13 to 15 have been completed so let’s see what further progress I’ve made with my list since then.
My Fall fun list update #2:
1. Exercise in the gym 3x per week, one hour each time. In progress. I definitely achieve this goal when I’m at home. When I traveled, and didn’t have access to a gym, I modified my workouts.
2. Yoga 2x per week, up to one hour each time. In progress. This is do-able both at home and abroad.
3. Swim 1x per week, up to one hour. In progress. I achieve this goal when I have pool access at home. I didn't swim when I was in Ireland and Central Europe. The pool is currently closed for maintenance for two weeks in November.
4. Run short distance 1x per week, up to 5K. In progress. I’ve been running 5K every Sunday.
5. Celebrate Thanksgiving and my blog's 1st anniversary with a pumpkin pie. Yes! It was yummy.
6. Enjoy a therapeutic massage. Yes! It was a very nice self-care treat.
7. Travel to Ireland in October. Yes! I had a wonderful time exploring Ireland.
8. Visit Dublin, capital city of Ireland. Yes! I explored Dublin on foot and enjoyed the city very much.
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| St. Stephen's Green, Dublin |
9. Explore the landscapes along Ireland's wild Atlantic side. Yes! Ireland's natural landscapes along the Wild Atlantic Way were amazing. I'd love to return for more exploring.
10. Write my first guest post on another blog. Yes! My first guest post appeared on Donna’s blog as part of her Sunday Guest Post Series on Sunday, October 29.
11. Email my friends who live overseas. Yes! It was very nice to catch up with my friends’ news.
12. Meet my local friends for coffee. Yes! So far three coffee dates and two lunch dates. This is a success considering we lead busy lives, I traveled abroad in October and November, and the holidays are coming.
13. Watch a new-to-me movie. Yes! In addition to watching Wonder Woman and Spiderman: Homecoming in Toronto, I saw a few movies while flying to and from Europe: Logan starring Hugh Jackman, The Mummy starring Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, and Maudie starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke.
14. Attend a concert. Yes! In addition to attending the Red Slam concert in September, I also attended three amazing piano recitals in October and early November.
15. View a new art exhibition. Yes! I viewed several art exhibitions as mentioned in my September wrap-up and October wrap-up.
16. Take a trip to Central Europe in November with my sister. Yes, it was a fabulous holiday! I wrote about our itinerary here. Details to follow in another post.
17. Explore Budapest, capital city of Hungary. Yes! We toured beautiful Budapest, visited several landmarks, enjoyed local foods, wine, and the thermal baths.
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| Parliament Building, Budapest |
18. Visit Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. Yes! It was a perfectly sunny day to view Bratislava Castle, take a break in a traditional coffee house, and wander around the charming historic town centre.
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| Bratislava Castle |
19. Re-visit Vienna, capital city of Austria. Yes! Vienna is as grand as I remembered her. Highlights include a visit to Schonbrunn Summer Palace, lots of walking in the city centre, climbing 342 steps up the South Tower of Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral to get panoramic views of Vienna, and enjoying local foods and music.
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| Schonbrunn Summer Palace |
20. Explore Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic. Yes! To me exploring Prague is like viewing a beautifully illustrated storybook where every page is unique and full of amazing visuals and stories. I’d love to return to Prague for more and more wanderings.
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| Prague |
I’m pleased to have completed sixteen out of twenty items on my Fall fun list. The fitness items #1 to #4 are ongoing forever, LOL. I look forward to creating a list for the winter season which officially starts on December 21.
Now your turn to share what you've been up to this autumn.
Hi Natalie! What a wonderful post and you have travelled to some amazing places. Ireland and Prague are on my list so I was drooling over your photos. I actually find it hard to keep up the exercise like running, whilst travelling. We did walk a lot but it was good to come home and get back into shape and fitness again. Happy blogivesary and I saw your guest post on Donna's website. it has been a lovely 'fall' for you and look forward to your next catch up.
ReplyDeleteSue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Hi Sue! I had so many OMG moments in Prague. I also enjoyed Ireland very much. Travel is fun but can certainly mess up our exercise routine. Glad you get back into shape and fitness again.
DeleteHi, Natalie - Your energy and enthusiasm continue to impress me. Congratulations on completing so many items on your list!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna, for your encouragement. It's a fun to-do list so I'm eager to complete the items.
DeleteSuch a healthy bucket list! I wish I'd just put "lose mass amounts of sleep" and "consume unsafe amounts of coffee" to my list šš because that's all that I seem to be doing!
ReplyDeleteI like coffee but I moderate my intake as I need my beauty sleep :) Thanks, Jamie, for stopping by.
DeleteMy first ever cup of decorated foam was on top of a cup of coffee I had in Vancouver some years back. Canada definitely knows how to make killer coffee!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful fall season of travel you've had, Natalie! Looking forward to your posts about your E. European trip, and your observations on all of the changes going on there.
I've been having so much travel fun, Tamara. I think I'll do a recap of my trip to Central Europe while it's still fresh in my mind. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI've said this before, but I'll say it again, I'm jealous of all your travels! Your photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Christie, for the photo compliment. The cities I visited are all beautiful so even with a point and shoot camera, the photos still look good.
DeleteWhew - a lengthy list, Natalie, and admirable in its variety. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen, for stopping by and leaving a comment. I've been having so much fun and my list reflected that :)
DeleteYou amaze me with the travel you do! And how well you maintain your exercise regimen while traveling. You are a wonder. Do you prefer staying in large internationally-known hotels or smaller B&B type places? We were very pleased with every one of the hotels we visited in Germany and they were all just small inns.
ReplyDeleteGlad your air travel provides you an opportunity to catch up on movies. My PC is a movie goer on a grand scale...although, we have cut back on our movie-going considerably in the past couple of years. I watched Collateral Beauty on the way home from Germany. It was pretty good.
My PC is quite the aficionado of a good massage. We had several when we were in Phoenix for his baseball tournament. But those were for self-preservation as he was hurting from head-to-toe with all the ball playing. I can't decide whether I prefer those or facials. Both delicious!
I find regular exercising gives me the energy and stamina to travel, Leslie, and so much easier for me to keep going than to pause then restart. I stayed at smaller hotels in Central Europe and they were fine. I like to save money for more travel so I don't usually go for 5-star hotels. Watching the movies distracted me from how long the flights are :)
DeleteI'm in awe of your achievements...and am a teeny weeny bit jelly over your travels - the pics are fabulous. I'm with you re distractions on flights. From Aus everywhere (pretty much) is long haul...well, except for NZ, & flying is pretty much the only time I watch movies. #teamlovinlife
ReplyDeleteThe cities that I visited this fall are photographers' dreams, Jo. I had so many Wow moments there. I'd like to visit Australia and NZ one day and the flight duration from Canada so far has made me stall my plan. When I do go to to Down under, I'll watch several in-flight movies, and choose an aisle seat so I can walk up and down to stretch my legs :)
DeleteWow! You've done an incredible job. I do have a travel bucket list that I tick off or add to from time to time. But I should also have a personal one too. Great idea. #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathy, for your encouraging words. Have a great day!
DeleteOkay, I'm jealous of all of those YESES! I've not delivered on a few of my plans this month, let alone this season!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to have goals to commit to and celebrate their achievement or even having started them! I'm telling myself that re some writing I was supposed to do this month. I've not done it but done more than I would have if I hadn't planned to do some! (If that makes sense!) #teamlovinlife
Oh, I'm keen to complete my list of fun activities. I'm behind in completing my list of chores though, LOL. Thanks, Deborah, for commenting.
DeleteOh you're crushing that list! Well done. I made a summer bucket list and it's a lovely idea but not much action so far. I'll have to change that.
ReplyDeleteAnd Dublin, gosh, what a beauty.
Thanks, Melissa, for stopping by and commenting. I'm keen on completing my "fun" list, and need to catch up on my "chores" list.
DeleteWhat amazing travels...I would love to travel more.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Emma, for your comment. I'd love to travel more, too.
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