Greetings! I chose my picture of a red maple tree as the header picture for this post as it looked like a beautiful, vibrant, and giant bouquet that mother nature handed to me during one of my morning walks. This alone made me love life.
November, for me, is usually a quieter month sandwiched between our Thanksgiving in October and the Christmas holidays in December. This year it became a memorable month thanks to a fantastic trip to Central Europe with my sister. I plan to write more detailed posts on my visits to Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, and Prague because they are really four great cities.
Today I'm sharing my November in a sentence a day, and linking up with several fabulous bloggers. Please be sure to visit the linked up blogs and find out what they've been up to as well.
For those who are new to my blog, I've been capturing my months in a sentence a day since April 2017. You can search using the key words "sentence a day" to see them all. When I re-read my previous monthly reviews, my posts and pictures reflect how much fun I've been having throughout this year. I'm thankful for what I have.
November in a sentence a day:
1. Welcomed November with an hour in the gym, and completed house chores that made me feel good by the time I went to bed.
2. Yoga and blogging at home kept me dry and warm while it rained outside.
3. Felt happy this Friday after one hour in the gym, fun coffee time with a friend, and an amazing one-hour recital by Jordan Klapman (piano) and John McMurchy (reeds).
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| J. Klapman and J. McMurchy |
4. It's a feel-good Saturday when I got in some fitness (45-minute swim in the morning), some family activities (stocking up our fridge with fresh groceries, finishing laundry), and remembering my dear friend at the Day of the Dead festival which I wrote about here.
5. Relaxed at home with my family after my morning 5K run, and adjusted our clocks as our daylight saving ended today.
6. Monday is great after one hour in the gym and a lunch date with two of my girlfriends to share our "what's good".
7. Buying Hungarian forint and Czech koruna means I'm getting close to my departure date.
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| Hungarian forint (HUF) |
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| Czech koruna (CZK) |
8. One hour in the gym and coffee time with another friend made a wonderful Wednesday.
9. Stayed warm with indoor yoga and felt excited to pack for my trip while we got a winter blast of cold temperatures outside.
10. Felt happy this Friday with one hour in the gym, and an uplifting piano recital by Agnes Wan who expertly played music composed by Domenico Scarlatti, Joseph Haydn, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann and Sergei Prokofiev.
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| Agnes Wan |
11. Enjoyed every minute of my morning swim as I knew the pool will be closed for maintenance for two weeks and I'll be flying with my sister to Budapest tonight (i.e. sitting upright in small space for several hours)!
12. Arrived safely in Budapest, settled in our hotel room, took a nap, and kicked off our new adventure in Central Europe with champagne and a delicious three-course Hungarian dinner.
13. Had a great breakfast to start our day, visited the beautiful landmarks in Budapest in the morning, lunched and shopped at the Great Market in the afternoon, and soaked in the thermal baths at Gellert in the evening before savouring Hungarian wine, goulash soup, and an entree.
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| Hungarian Parliament |
14. A wonderful day with breakfast in Budapest, a comfortable coach ride to Vienna, a walking break, a guided visit to Schonbrunn Summer Palace, and a delicious Viennese dinner with wine.
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| Schonbrunn Summer Palace in Vienna |
15. A perfect sunny day exploring the historic sites in Bratislava and Vienna, tasting local snacks, taking a break at a traditional coffee house, and savouring another delicious Viennese dinner with wine.
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| Bratislava Castle, Slovakia |
16. An amazing day with breakfast in Vienna, arriving in beautiful Prague to explore the Old Town on foot, using the tram, enjoying dinner, and sleeping well in our comfortable beds in the hotel.
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| Prague Castle Hill, Czechia |
17. Explored the historic sites in Prague, loved so many discoveries throughout the day, and wrapped up our tour with a farewell Czech dinner, live music, and wine.
18. Left Prague for our flights back to Toronto, watched 3 or 4 in-flight movies, and arrived home safely tonight with treats for my family.
19. Happy Sunday with my usual 5K run, post-trip unpacking, laundry, and catching up.
20. Worked out in the gym for an hour in the morning and admired unique, hand made items at a local art exhibition in the afternoon.
21. Reached two simple goals today: Yoga and making dinner that was devoured in minutes.
22. Enjoyed Wednesday with one hour in the gym, seeing the first snow flurries of the season during my walk, and a Mexican lunch with a friend (her treat!).
23. Reached three simple goals of the day: Yoga, making soup from our vegetable odds and ends, and sending in my second guest post.
24. Felt fantastic after spending one hour at the gym, and attending an amazing piano and violin recital by Mai Tategami (violin) and Jean-Luc Therrien (piano), so young yet so accomplished musicians.
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| M. Tategami and J-L. Therrien |
25. Ran 5K this morning as the pool is still closed, did grocery shopping, and got a nice haircut before my hairdresser goes on vacation.
26. It's a great Sunday when I got in some fitness (one hour in the gym in the morning), some family activities (finishing laundry, preparing dinner), and some fun at the Swedish Christmas Fair which I wrote about here.
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| Handicraft at Swedish Christmas Fair |
27. Made it a relaxing day with walking, yoga, and leisure reading.
28. Gym time was quite fun with my fitness friend.
29. Rinse and repeat day #27 because I loved it.
30. Wrapped up November with gratitude and looking forward to December.
What a great blend of exercise, socialising, music and travel. Thanks for sharing, and all the best for December. #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jo, for your comment. November was a very good month for me.
DeleteOh wow, you make my month look incredibly boring! Am still envious of your exercise and travel! Also I assumed almost everywhere in Europe ('cept England) used the Euro... so that's how much I know!
ReplyDelete#teamlovinlife
Thank you, Deborah, for stopping by. I try to add variety to my month. Of the four countries I visited, Austria and Slovakia use Euro.
DeleteI love your sentence in a day format, Natalie. It will make a great alternative to bead journalling or art journalling or incessant journalling in one of the upcoming months. If you don't mind, sometime this winter I'll steal it and link to your sentence in a day posts to give you full credit.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind, Karen. Please feel free to use the format. I enjoy doing it because it's not time consuming yet can be challenging to capture the highlights in a sentence.
DeleteLove the beautiful autumn-bloom tree in your header, Natalie, and the lovely you thoughts you posted to go along with.
ReplyDeleteYou traveled at the speed of sound this trip! Were you on a tour, by chance, or did you do all the moving around on your own? The transportation element of foreign travel is the segment I always find to be the most stressful. Every country, heck every city(!) seems to have their own unique way of doing things. I find that to be true here in the US as well!
Love all the classical music elements of your month as well. My hubby absolutely adores classical music, so I attend with him on a regular basis, but confess the pops concerts they do on occasion are a bit more to my liking!
Thank you, Tamara, for stopping by. We were on a tour. The four cities are not far from each other, with Vienna and Bratislava only about an hour apart by car. Upon arrival at each city, we typically had a guided city tour the first morning, then afternoon of day 1 and full day 2 at leisure. We were able to explore on our own by walking and taking the subways and trams which are similar to what we have in Toronto. I like both classical and pop music, however, the pop concerts here sell out quickly so I go to the local recitals which are available almost every week near where I live.
DeleteWhat a great month, all the working out and the enjoying of food. Such an amazing trip!
ReplyDeleteNovember was great for me, indeed. Thanks, Sarah, for your comment.
DeleteI bet the live music was fabulous. Thanks for sharing your month.
ReplyDeleteThe live music was truly fabulous. The performers' bios are very impressive and their talents shine at these recitals. Thanks, Juhli, for stopping by.
DeleteI really enjoy your travel pictures! Gives me wanderlust!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jamie, for your comment. My pleasure to share some of my travel pictures.
DeleteWhat an incredible trip!! It's funny because the House Hunters show we just watched the other day was a family moving to Budapest. I'm actually Hungarian, and I've been there visiting relatives many, many years ago!!!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Thanks, Jodie, for stopping by. We enjoyed our trip very much. Budapest is one of the popular travel destinations now, both on land with the usual coach tours, and on water with the Danube river cruises.
DeleteI'm a fan of your posts Natalie and would love to visit Eastern Europe. Perhaps a river cruise might be the ticket. Loved the red maple. We don't have trees like that where I live in Brisbane, Australia as it gets too hot! Can't wait to read your December adventures so see you next month!
ReplyDeleteSue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
A river cruise would be fabulous, Sue. I'd like to take one some day, too. I love autumn and the spectacular maple leaf colours here. Thank you for your comment.
DeleteYoga, blogging, walking, travel...we should live closer to each other, we have many things in common!
ReplyDeleteWe do, Donna. I foresee a Canadian bloggers meet-up that may involve some travel, followed by a yoga retreat, walking, and blogging :) Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteLoved reading your daily sentences. I'm impressed by your physical activity, and of course, loved the travel pics. I've recently started a line-a-day journal, so it was fun for me to read your line a day.
ReplyDeleteA line or sentence a day is a quick way to record our day, isn't it? I enjoy doing it because it's not time consuming and the link-up makes it fun, too. Thank you, Christie, for your comment.
DeleteMy daughter has a beloved maple tree in her front yard. They are building a new house and she is already sad about leaving her tree behind. Enjoyed your comparison of the maple on your walk to a bouquet.
ReplyDeleteYour exercise routine is enviable. We just flew the four hours home from Kentucky to Texas yesterday and planned to go to the gym today but feel wiped out! I am sure exercise would probably reenergize us. But watching football from the couch sounded so much better.
Thanks, Leslie, for stopping by and leaving a comment. I hope your daughter will get a new maple tree for her new home. Travel can really mess up our exercise routine. Rest up tonight then ease back into your fitness activities when you can.
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