It’s been another roller coaster of a year, but I’m choosing to focus on all of the positive moments of 2021. Even though we bookended the year with draconian lockdowns and isolating with COVID ourselves, the joy and wonderful memories of our experiences outweigh the pandemic life we continue to navigate. Here are some highlights.
January: a beautiful snow day
February: a much-needed escape to sunny Florida and freedom from lockdown
March: a month full of family and friends in the U.S.
April: spring and the promise of London life restored, a weekend trip to Cambridge
May: long weekends in North Yorkshire and a canal boat trip with friends in Oxfordshire
June: finally back to Europe with a weeklong trip to the Algarve, Portugal
July: family week in Corfu, Greece
August: family week around the ring road of Iceland
September: mother/son weekend in Krakow, Poland, first visit from my mom in 2 years
October: family week in Albania
November: couples weekend in Lyon, France and Luke’s birthday trip to Munich, Germany
December: Christmas season in London! Ski trip to Innsbruck, Austria
We visited 4 new countries—Iceland, Poland, Albania and Austria—and a total of 8 European countries including Portugal, Greece, France and Germany.
As we look ahead to 2022, I certainly want to do more traveling, and that list seems to grow longer even though our days here are numbered. I’d like to get back to France a few times (Giverny, Paris and Reims) and I hope to visit at least two new countries, possibly Denmark, Sweden or Georgia. In a year of transition, I hope to continue my ‘carpe diem’ approach and worry less about what the future holds. And, of course, no more COVID!!
