Before the internet, there was the World Book Encyclopedias. There were libraries with research books. Information was not readily available. Now its at your finger tips.
But with the good things come the not-so-good things. The isolation. The lack of communication between family members. The neck thing. This is most obvious with the use of phones. Heads are bent. Possibly in 30 years, people won’t be able to hold their heads up.
Also, bullying has gone to a whole new level. Children are subjected to this and it goes global instead of just local.
The surge in pornography and problems that brings to households.
And viewing horrendous things such as beheadings. What does that do to our society as a whole?
So I remember life definitely before the internet. It was simpler. We weren’t barraged with unwanted information. News was once or twice a day. It wasn’t a constant source of misinformation.
Sometimes I wish it would all go away and we could go back to those simpler times!
I’m a good listener. I don’t always need to hear myself talk. As a counselor, I would listen. I let people talk. I let people work things out through my listening and their talking.
As a mom, I listened to my child. I could hear what was said between the lines, Listening requires patience. Listening requires keeping still the voices in my head. Listening requires getting out of self and focusing on others.
Listening kept me safe in a violent world. Listening is a part of situational awareness. Knowing when to move forward or retreat.
It’s a practice that can help guide one through life and it’s a gift. I am grateful that I am good at it.
What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?
Having it all means having enough. Being satisfied with what I have and not always looking for more.
Our society has become one of success being measured by how much you have. Keeping up with the next guy.
My measurement of success is being happy with all that I have. Having gratitude for what I have been given.
Most of the things I measure having it all in included love, friendships, and health rather than material goods. Not saying I don’t have those things. I own a home. I own a car. I travel a lot. And I don’t have to worry about money.
But I have lots of love in my life, I have the dearest of friendships and my health is relatively good for someone in their 70s. So measuring those things, I have it all and have great gratitude for everybody in my life!
I’m a big fan of street art but I have to say I haven’t seen a lot that has been awesome inspiring. Seems like random scribbling. But here’s a few I found!
One night we ate at a tapas place called Tricki-Trac. We shared ceviche and paella. It was quite good. The hotel concierge at Via Sants Barcelona, a Tapestry Hilton hotel recommended this restaurant. It was also close by so I could wear my oofos.
Yesterday, we decided to tour the Gothic district. The metro let us off at Las Ramblas so we wandered around until we found a cafe. I had a cappuccino and Bruce had a mango smoothie. We shared a pastry. His smoothie had seeds which was weird. The pastry was delicious.
We spent several hours walking around the Gothic District. Very interesting architecture.
We listened to some street musicians.
And stopped by the Cathedral.
They also had an indoor food market that we visited.
It was a fun day in Barcelona. In the evening we ate at sort of a Chinese place.
The food wasn’t great but it filled us up.
Today we headed to the Celebrity Equinox for 10 days around Malta, Greece and Turkey.
Fortunately I have surrounded myself throughout my life with wise counsel. Be it the sage wisdom of my father, the loving support of my mother or the consistent pattern of listening from my sister, all have added to my well being. Unfortunately, they have gone to the great spirit in the sky and no longer able to communicate with me.
Today I still find sage advice and loyal and loving support through family and friends.
My husband is a source of grounding. He helps me make sense of my thoughts and actions. Several friends helped me see the humor in life’s foibles when they could cause me to give up and bury my head in the sand.
Humor – of course that makes life better.
I veer away from negativity. It can be detrimental to my well being. So I find people who are positive. Luckily I have several.
And of course I can talk to my higher power in its infinite wisdom. And I try not to just use my brain power as my guiding light. It has been known to take me down dark alleys.
I can’t say that I hold any personal belongings most dear. Maybe my wedding ring. Maybe my photo books.
But people, especially those I love I hold most dear. I’ve found that most things are replaceable but people are not.
When you lose a loved one I cherish the memories. I miss them. My daughter said at the age of 9 when my father her Poppop was dying, “You are never dead until you are forgotten.”
So not too many things. Although I do like to look at pictures of my Mom and Dad. My Dad was in the Navy during WWII. My mother was a hot number.
Staying at the Hilton Paddington made it easy to take the train to Heathrow. It was a 20 minute ride but we had to switch terminals. This gets a little difficult managing our luggage. Another reason why cruising is good.
We tried to get into two lounges with my Priority Pass, but neither would let us in until after our flight left. I went back to one and showed my Amex Platinum and we got in no problem.
Actually it wasn’t worth trying to get in. Seats were hard to find and the food didn’t look great.
When we reached Amsterdam we went into the lounge there. Seats were torn and place could use some TLC but we were able to get a seat. They had tomato soup which made Bruce happy.
We took a cab to our hotel, the Via Sants Barcelona, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
After a sort of good night’s sleep, we didn’t get to the hotel until 11:30 pm, and woke at 8:30, we had the breakfast buffet at the hotel. As a Gold Hilton member, we get free breakfast.
Then we headed out to catch the metro to the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. This huge temple began construction in 1882 and continues today. Gaudi was the original architect and he worked on this project for over 40 years.
We were in Barcelona in 2016 but did not have the opportunity to go inside. I booked tickets in advance through the Sagrada Familia website and it included an audioguide for 26€.
We began our tour on the outside of the temple at the nativity facade which highlights the joy of Jesus’ birth.
Inside the church, the stained glass along with the different stones that make up the large pillars, create a colorful, awe-inspiring masterpiece.
We had a tour of the Nativity Tower. We rode an elevator up to the top and walked 400 steps down in very tight quarters. Some of the views were amazing.
The crypt from above.
And more beautiful colors.
We exited the building on the Passion Side where it depicts the crucifixion of Jesus.
After our visit we walked back to our hotel stopping along the way to enjoy the sites in Barcelona.
There are many bakeries here in Barcelona and we stopped to have some.
It was a lovely day in Barcelona with so much to see and do. For now, though we need a little rest.
We spent the night in Hilton London at Paddington Station. It was an easy train ride from Oxford which took less than an hour. Upon arrival it was too early to check in but they took our bags and we went out for lunch.
We went for lunch at the Angus Steakhouse, just across the street from the hotel. I had a beef sandwich and Bruce had fish and chips.
It was raining so we didn’t want to venture far. After lunch we checked in! A very nice room! At Hilton as a gold member you get breakfast included and an upgrade in room!
We decided to go see The Lion King at the West End. It was on our taxi ride over to the Lyceum Theater that Bruce remembered that he didn’t take our $1k out of the safe in Oxford! Yikes! That was our winnings from the cruise.
My stomach was doing somersaults. That’s a lot of money to lose. Frantically, we found the number of the hotel. This was all happening in our taxi ride.
He contacted the manager at the Marriott Oxford, Arvind Bhardwaj, who went above and beyond to help us out. To our relief, Arvind was able to get a driver to deliver the money to us in London that evening. An angel!
So we were able to relax and enjoy the show!
We had great seats and the show was light and fun!
Our money arrived at 11:30pm.
A delicious buffet breakfast and packing to go on a plane. We had to make sure the liquids were in checked bags.
All is well and now we are on our way to Barcelona!
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