Moments in Time

My week on the Romantic Danube River Cruise ended yesterday. Fortunately, my daughter Sarah thought to purchase walking sticks for me to use on the many walks we took in Regensburg, Vienna and Budapest. I honestly think I would have been lost without them. My steps have tripled on my apple watch - up to 5 miles a day. I've always wanted to take a river cruise, which was very enjoyable, and I can now check off that box on my list. 

One highlight of the trip was visiting a monastery in Regensburg, beautifully restored and home to seventy monks. Local children attend the school housed there and the view was spectacular. Wine and apricots provide income as do the many tourists that visit daily. Budapest is home to the largest and most gorgeous synagogue in the world, but I regret not seeing it for a second time, having visited it in 2006. 

Today I am in an apartment in London with Sarah and her husband Barry, visiting my granddaughter Zoe who has made London her home for the next year as she pursues a Master's Degree at King's College. 

For as many times as I've visited London, the UK, Scotland, Ireland, this is the first time I am living in a neighborhood apartment, walking through the shops and parks like a Londoner. It's a new experience and one that I cherish and wish I had done years earlier. Of course, I did love staying at the Dorchester Hotel, enjoying high tea and shopping at Harrods. But there's something to be said for drinking a Guinness Beer at a local pub, watching a Rugby match on TV and petting the dogs sitting nearby. Dogs are allowed everywhere here in England, and probably the rest of Europe, something I wish was possible in the US.

As long as I can, I hope to travel, enjoy the many wonders that surround us, and spend time with those I love.