I think the most exciting portal was in Berlin. The East-Side-Park Gallery is something one should not miss when visiting Berlin. This is part of the Berlin Wall. It is 1.3 kilometers of the original wall converted to an open-air art gallery. It is the longest remaining section of the wall that divided the city for 28 years. The wall features artwork by a variety of artists. It was painted as a symbol of freedom and art.
I saw this “gate” and my imagination went into overdrive. Was this part of the original border system? It is part of the original wall, but not part of the border system. It is an addition for artistic purposes. It was fun creating my own story for it until I got home and could do research! I did speak with some people there who told me of family experiences when it all happened. Families were separated from other family members depending on which side of the wall they were living. This went on from 1961-1989. Political changes and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on the East German government to loosen regulations and the Berlin Wall fell on November 9,1989. Demolition of the wall began and concluded in 1994. This paved the way for reunification of Germany which formally took place in 1990.
There are some beautiful cities in Germany. Two that I visited were Dresden (first door below) and the rest in the next few galleries are in Wittenberg.
The first door in this gallery was a very small door. Wish I had given you a better perspective on the size!!
The next set of doors are from the Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam. This was the site of the Potsdam Conference in 1945.
The last 2 doors are in the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. This was built by King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, This French name means “without care or worry”…and this place looked like it was strictly for enjoyment!!
I enjoyed photographing these doors and portals. And the best part was that several doors were open inviting the viewer in! I always like to see open doors.
Simply put, Prague is a magnificent city. And for me, it was one magnificent door after another. Prior to this trip to Prague (my second time in 6 months) my friend Dorothy had forwarded to me a picture of a door in Prague that she had seen online. She knows how much I love doors. When I saw the photo I knew I had to find it and take my own photograph. I researched “sunflower door, Prague” and I found it and got the address! Ahhhh the wonders of the internet! How did we ever get information prior to the internet? It is known as The Sunflower Gate. It was built in 1900 by Austrian born-Czech architect Osvald Polivka (1859-1931). He was associated with the Secession/Art Nouveau period in Prague. I was so thrilled to find it!!
If you need to store your luggage you can rent Luggage storage! Always love to see doors open to me. And in this blog I wanted to include this lovely walk through.
The second “door” in the row below was on a building across from the Charles Bridge. It was a door opening from an upstairs room so that one could step out on the balcony to enjoy the view. The third door was a door to the rest rooms at La Republica restaurant!
The next three doors were at the Strahov Monastery. There is also a beer garden here where beers are brewed by the monks.
The first door in the next set was taken in Kampa Park. This is an island located on the water’s edge next to the Charles bridge on the Vitava River. The next two are located in Lesser Town, the historical district in old Prague.
There were so many beautiful doors to be seen. I am quite certain that if I get back to Prague there will be many more doors for me to see.
Just back from a trip to Prague and Berlin. I was in Prague in December 2024 and was very happy to be returning to the city on this trip. It was a real bonus that I did not need to be bundled up in a coat, hat and scarf. Back then I wished for being in shirtsleeves and enjoying the sun! Of course, one should be careful what you wish for because this trip gave me a record-breaking heat wave in Europe!
I’ll start off with fashion in the streets in Prague. The temperature was close to 100 degrees each day that I was there. Lots of dresses and linen pants, lots of sneakers! What totally amazed me was women wearing heels on cobblestone. I would have ended up in an emergency room if I tried to walk across the street in heels!
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On to Berlin. Berlin is a city just like NYC. Again, lots of dresses, maxi skirts, linen wide leg pants.
While in Berlin I went to Galeria Kaufhof. After this trip I know that I am addicted to knowing what is going on in fashion wherever I go. After being on a tour for hours I decided to walk from the hotel to Galeria Kaufhof. It was close to 100 degrees. It was 2 miles round trip! I must have been out of my mind, but it was a really beautiful upscale department store. Here are photos that I took. Had I had more room in my suitcase and more time I would have considered picking up a few things at the sale that was going on. I did purchase a scarf. Always room for a scarf!
I hope that you have enjoyed this short fashion crawl in Prague and Berlin.
Yes, summer is officially here! Bermuda shorts are a top trend. This trend is back from the ’90s. The shorts are tailored, just above the knee, with a slight flare. Linen Bermudas are hot. Still doing the “coastal Grandma” vibe and linen can be dressed up. Utility Bermudas with cargo pockets are cool and sporty. Denim “jorts” are in. These are longer and looser denim shorts. To dress up at night you will see silky or satin shorts. Pastel Pink is IN. Neutrals, buttery yellow, light greens are IN. Light sheer fabrics are a summer must-have. Contemporary Boho continues. Tee shirt dresses are everywhere. Add charm necklaces to accessorize. There are lots of denim skirts in a variety of shapes and lengths, some with quirky details. Cardigans are in every category, various lengths, some with short sleeves too. Look for all kinds of floral dresses. If this is one of your looks, it will be a flowy, flowery, fabulous summer.
Now, a preview of Fall. The biggest runaway trends from those in the know (Who What Wear) are: 1) Plaids: shirts, capes, scarves with fringe edges, blazers. 2) “funnel frenzy” -funnel necks on coats and jackets. 3) “donning dots”-dots will be huge in prints. 4) “Blue Shock”-electric blue will stand out. 5) “so ’90s”-skirt suits. 6) “Slipper Supremacy”- satin shoe slippers. square toes.
There will be many more trends and styling ideas in future blogs as the season develops.
For now, I want to share colors from Pantone. These were selected as stand out colors for New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2025/2026
At the midpoint of the year, I always pause to evaluate how I’m doing. I’ve been doing this since I retired when I had to check my “wiring” as I moved into Chapter 2. There were many adjustments to make coming off of a long-time career and facing the changes that would come. The years continually brought change as Tom and I laid out some serious travel plans and also made all the adjustments needed to accommodate the needs of my parents and the addition of the “little humans” into our lives. My biggest adjustment, of course, was Tom’s untimely death and my period of grieving. Five years have now passed and most days, as Bob Seger would sing, I’m still running against the wind.
This is the first year that I feel like I am starting to bloom again. There is still so much to do, right? And if the genes in my family have anything to say about it, I have many years still ahead of me.
So, how did I get to this point? There are no words for how much I still miss Tom, and I always will. But I decided to repot myself and see what would grow. I took four classes in the spring semester at the Institute for Learning in Retirement. This is a very well-priced program offered to retirees through a local community college and taught by retirees. It was great! I had classes in Meditation, Environmental Issues, Current Events and Writing. It was a lot of fun and very stimulating. This, along with Maj Jongg and a book club, is helping to keep my brain from turning to mush!! I have taken a variety of meditation classes in addition to this course and I have to admit that meditation has helped me find balance.
For this year I have planned a couple of European trips along with trips to visit friends. In 2024 I hit 7 countries, 5 of which were new stops for me. As it stands right now, for 2025 I am planning on visiting 7 countries again. This year there will be 6 new countries for me. I love seeing new places and learning something about what makes other people tick. I will be writing blogs for each trip as well as showing you interesting doors that I hope to photograph, and I’ll be showing you some street fashion too!
All of this along with the ministries I am involved in at my church are helping me find purpose in my life. Happiness is not a given. Knowing Joy is not a given either. But if you have gratitude for what you do have in your life you may be lucky to find both.
I am a true lover of fragrance. Have been forever. In the 1960’s my signature scent was Ambush. I can remember this being very popular starting in junior high school. The main notes here were lavender, lemon, bergamot, sandalwood, and vanilla. From there I moved on to Shalimar where I remained faithful into adulthood. That was truly a signature scent for me. For those of you not familiar with Shalimar it is a powdery amber scent with notes of bergamot, iris and vanilla. I guess my body chemistry responded best to these notes. There were occasional flirtations with other popular scents such as Opium, Chloe, Tova Signature and others that were good for short runs.
There are fragrances that evoke memories. While on Oceania cruises I became acquainted with Bulgari au the Blue and would wear that for all our cruises and for a while after to keep the wonderful memories alive!
A favorite fragrance in early 2000 was Donna Karan’s Cashmere. This scent is powdery with notes of bergamot, suede, lily of the valley, sandalwood and amber. Tom loved this scent on me so that became my favorite too. We both loved fragrance. My favorite of his is Dior Homme. I have a bottle of it and when I’m really missing him, I spray the scent and I can imagine that he is nearby.
I also love to layer a fragrance. When I can, I get shower gel and body cream to layer the scent. Philosophy makes great scents for the shower, body creams and sometimes a fragrance to go with it. I have favorites in this line too-Mandarin Mimosa, Fresh Cream, and Lavender. For holiday gifts I order assortment sets to break up and give as gifts. In the 2024 Christmas assortment was a scent that I had never seen. It is Pistachio Dreams. I kept this one for myself and now I am obsessed with the scent. The shower gel was all they had so I had to hunt for other products. I have recently found them! The fragrance is from Le Monde Gourmand and it is called Pistachio Brulee (ordered from Nordstrom). The scent is a combination of vanilla notes and salty hints of pistachio! I love it!! Then I had to find a body cream and found it at Bath and Body Works. It is Pistachio Glaze. The notes are pistachio creme, almond blossom and whipped vanilla! It smells delicious!! While searching for pistachio I came across a new try me set from Donna Karan Cashmere at Nordstom which included a Cashmere and Wild Fig scent. I also happen to like fig scented products and found a body cream to be worn with this. It is from Bath and Body works called Guilty as Fig! What a lucky break. I seem to have zeroed in on trending scents!!
Now I am all set to start a new season. Will have to decide which scent will come along on my next trip and then it can evoke new memories for me.
Spring is in the air…at last! As soon as daylight savings time happens you know that it is coming.
Everything is landing at the retailors and the online shopping channels are all starting their spring events. I checked out Bloomingdale’s to give you a peek at what’s happening.
What to buy in March? Let’s start with shoes and work our way up. Flat shoes are “in”. Look for boater shoes, mules, ballet flats and mary janes. Sneakers still continue to be strong. A fairly new development is a “slip on” sneaker. The heel is engineered so that the foot just slips in without the wearer having to bend down to adjust the heel on to the foot. What will they think of next? If flats are not your thing, look for a bit of a lift in a kitten heel.
In the apparel category look for midi skirts, flared jeans, skinny jeans and light weight sweaters. Lots of button down shirts will be around this spring. Sleeves will also be interesting. You will see ruched sleeves and balloon sleeves.
Dresses will be a happening category. Look for draped styles that are romantic and figure hugging. Shirt dresses are making a statement again. You will also see crochet dresses. There will be puff sleeve mini dresses to set your legs free! Maxi dresses in stripes and floral prints as well as sheer styles will be filling the racks. You will see lace, tulle, organza and chiffon in dresses and tops, and if you are daring, there are pants too!
In outerwear the biggest look is a trench style. This is not only out there in the standard full length, but you will also see it in knee length and jacket length. Blazers are now an established category. Another silhouette is the “lady jacket”- think Channel knitted cardigan jackets.
Prints and colors : Animal prints are still hot. Floral prints and bohemian looks are trending. Think White Lotus! Colors are leaning to the lighter palette- Pistachio, butter yellow, cotton candy pink, lavender, and frozen blueberry. But there is also room for orange crush!
My favorite category is accessories. In handbags a popular shape will be East-West bags. Raffia bags for the warm seasons are always big. A bit of fun has been added with the return of bag charms and /or scarfs tied on the bag. This can bring new life to bags you already have in the closet. Bold sunglasses are also trending.
Here are a few looks at Bloomingdale’s to get you thinking. Have fun and enjoy the season.
Florida in February…a retiree’s dream, right? Lucky me, I have friends who have made their permanent residence there and there is always an open door.
My friend Julie had gone to a place that she said was a photographer’s dream and she just HAD TO take me there. She was right! It is called Boneyard Beach. It is in Big Talbot Island National Park in Jacksonville Florida. The trees fell from the bluff. The salt water and sun bleach the trees white and bone-like. It is so artistic! It is about 1/2 mile walk through the woods to reach the beach. Loved this and as promised it was a photo shoot waiting to happen.
In addition to this there was walking on the beach, shopping, dinners everywhere and spending time with longtime friends Maria and Rosy. It used to be great when Tom was here. Al and Tom would entertain themselves while the four of us spent quality “girl” time together. Unfortunately, our time together has to be well planned now since we are in 3 different states. Al was fine entertaining himself, but as always, we missed Tom. We all had a great time getting together with Maria and Julie’s Florida friends as well as squeezing in a dinner with Gloria and Doug from St Louis who were visiting a friend in St Augustine while we were there.
The Full Snow Moon on 2/12/25 was another highlight for me and my camera!
The weather was beautiful and there are no words for spending quality time with forever friends.
In December 2024 I took a spectacular trip to the Christmas Markets in Eastern Europe. I had thought about this trip for quite awhile and it did not disappoint.
I traveled with two friends on an EF Go Ahead Tour. When I saw a write up of tours for this company it spoke to me! My initials, followed by “Go Ahead”. I felt like the universe was sending me a message to check this out! The tour started in Budapest went on to Vienna and ended in Prague. All three locations have been on my list. In fact, Tom and I planned to go to this area in 2021 and “waltz in Vienna”. Obviously, we did not get to go on that trip, and I felt certain that Tom would be telling me to do it now. So, I recruited some interested friends and the planning began.
EF Go Ahead Tours did a wonderful job. They cater to solo travel and accommodate single supplements for hotels. The groups are small. Most I think are a max of 30 something travelers and the ages are quite varied. On my tour, ages ran from late 20’s to 80! And it was a great bunch of people. There were single travelers as well as couples. We had a fabulous guide who we met at the hotel in Budapest and she was with us in each city. The best part of this tour was the itinerary. The plan was 3 days in each city. In each city they included one day that was a tour on a motorcoach. It was not just passing by points of interest. We stopped and did some tours. After that, the rest of your time in that city was for whatever you wanted to do. Each day a great breakfast was included at the hotel and one night in each city there was also a group dinner planned in a local restaurant. It was perfect!
Let me tell you about each hotel that we stayed at. I would recommend each of them. The first one in Budapest was The Novotel Budapest Centrum. It was in a great location, it was a classy looking place, nice restaurant and a small cozy bar. The room was a good size with a large bathroom. Only comment on the bathroom was there was a very deep tub that you had to step in to and the shower was overhead. Could have used an extra handrail but it was all ok! The second hotel was Hampton by Hilton Vienna City West. Nice hotel, modern. No real restaurant but it used open areas for the breakfast buffet each morning. There was a bar for a cocktail. My room was not on the same floor as my friends’ rooms. I took the elevator to my floor and the doors opened to a VERY dimly lit hallway. I felt uncomfortable for a minute but as I stepped off the elevator my presence triggered all the hallway lighting. That was a relief! And what a great way to conserve power. The room was great. Nice size and the bathroom had a no-step shower which was perfect after having to climb into the last hotel’s bathtub. And the bonus was a few TV stations with english speaking news. The last hotel was NH Collection Prague. This was a very interesting hotel. There were two separate buildings that connected with a funicular. That was quite a ride. One got a beautiful view looking northeast over the western part of the city. The first ride up was not comfortable for me since I have vertigo but then I adjusted so that I could enjoy the ride (which was brief!). The rooms here were very spacious as was the bathroom. They had a fabulous restaurant that was open for meals in addition to breakfast and there was a really nice bar and a talented bartender.
In each city we had really wonderful tours given by local well-versed guides. In Budapest we toured the opera house, went to Hero’s Square and Matthias Church, Budai Varnegyed, Buda Castle, Fishermens Bastion, and our first Christmas market at Buda Castle . The next day on our own we toured St Stephens and hit the Christmas Market there. We went to see The Danube Promenade Memorial- Shoes on the Danube. That was so moving. It’s a memorial for Jews massacred by fascists who shot them in the back and let them fall into the Danube. We also took a night cruise to see all of the beautiful bridges and the Parliament lit up at night. After that we had dinner. As luck would have it, I have a Hungarian acquaintance through my friend Susana who recommended a restaurant for dinner-Simaliba- delicious Hungarian food!
From Budapest we went on for a day trip to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. This stop was on the way to Vienna. I am so glad we got to see this beautiful city on the Danube. We took a walking tour here and had a wonderful lunch on own and we shopped in adorable shops and their Christmas Market.
Next stop was Vienna. Vienna exceeded all of my expectations. I loved everything about Vienna. Saw the best graffiti, ” Note to self-RELAX”. I think that was scribbled for me!! In Vienna we had a group dinner at K&K. It was a wonderful dinner but the best part is that part of the restaurant is a hat museum. And, boy do I love hats!!! In Vienna we went to Belvedere Palace and saw a magnificent collection of Gustav Klimt’s work. The Kiss is truly amazing. From there we went on to the Hundertwasser promenade in a crazy little neighborhood called WeiBgerviertel. Everything was colors and artsy! Talk about looking at a street that opens your eyes and makes you exclaim “OH!!!” From there we went on to the City Hall Christmas Market. That same day I had a recommendation for another restaurant from Susana from her trip to Vienna. The Griechenbeisl was another great find! This restaurant has been around since 1447. It has had many notable visitors who include Schubert, Strauss, Mark Twain and now us! As you would expect, the food was great, and the decor rated a 10. Would have to be a 10 if its been around since 1447, right? The next day was truly a day for the markets. We went to three markets that day and stopped at a few shops. I was so excited when I stepped into NEXTART. I just LOVE finding artist pieces when I’m traveling and when its jewelry, I am really happy. Found two pieces that came home with me. That night we went to a concert at the Schonbrunn Palace. Absolutely fabulous. Orchestra and two voices. The music was Mozart and Strauss. Hearing a Strauss waltz played in Vienna made me think of how Tom and I had planned on waltzing in Vienna.
From Vienna we went on to Prague-The city of 100 Spires. The architecture on this trip was just spectacular. Here we went to the Prague Castle, and St Vitus Church (which is at the castle). There were so many confessional booths in this church that I am assuming a lot of confessing went on back in the day! We walked the Golden Lane which is now many shops in the row of 16 small homes from the 16th century. The damp cobblestone streets were certainly interesting to navigate and make sure you stayed upright! Next we moved on to The Charles Bridge. I wish it had been a clear sunny day so that the bridge could be seen for all its beauty. It is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vitava river. The bridge is the connection between Prague Castle and the city’s Old Town. The bridge is decorated with a continuous run of 30 statues and statuaries. The statues were mostly Baroque statues erected between 1683 and 1714. Since 1965 all of the statues have been replaced by replicas and the originals are exhibited in the Lapidarium of the National Museum. After crossing the Charles Bridge, we went to Old Town. It was time to see the Astronomical Clock. This was incredible to see. The clock has three main components. The astronomical dial represents the position of the sun and moon, statues of various Catholic saints are on either side of the clock and “the walk of the apostles” takes place hourly moving the Apostle figures and other sculptures and there is a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. Every hour people gather to see the display. It is amazing!! In Old Town there is another Christmas Market. This one was quite good, and I got several things here including wooden painted spinning tops for my grandchildren and beautiful Christmas ornaments for gifts for my daughters-in-law. (I had already picked up Paprika for my three stepsons who are all great chefs and would appreciate (I hope) one of Hungary’s special treasures). Every building you look at has some points of architectural interest and colors! Another “must see” is The Dancing House. This is known as “deconstructivist architecture” due to its unusual shape. A nick name for this building is Ginger and Fred. The building resembles two people dancing.
This trip will be stored in my memory bank as one of my BEST TRIPS EVER. This year was a really good year for travel for me. In 2024 I visited 7 countries, 5 of them were for the first time. I would recommend a trip to these cities. There is so much to see and do. I will wrap up this blog with some photos from each of the 4 countries I was in for this trip. I took so many photos that I put together a Shutterfly book which has 357 photos!
BUDAPEST
BRATISLAVA
VIENNA
PRAGUE
I hope that you have enjoyed the journey. I know that Lynne, Pat and I did.
How do you feel about this year coming to an end? I think no matter who you ask the answer will be “I’m glad it’s over…too much stress”. No matter what may have been going on for you personally it was eclipsed by what was going on in the country and the world. So hard to believe that there were issues that were splitting families and causing people to lose friends. I personally chose to keep my thoughts to myself when I was with people I cared about who had an opposite view. This is when many people made decisions to “stay or go”. I chose to stay and maybe their views will change, and we can once again find common ground. There is just too much history to just let it go.
This brings me to what I always do in the last week of the year. I reflect on my own year and I think about the year ahead of me. I also pick a word. or in this year’s case words, that I will live with for 2025. My words for 2025 are FOCUS, DETERMINATION, and COMMITMENT. These are words that I can relate to my personal growth as well as trying to keep the world on track.
For myself, I want to have my life be meaningful and worthwhile. This takes focus, determination and commitment. This year I did rather well at getting my mojo back. I had several trips that took me to 7 countries. 5 of the 7 countries were new stops for me. It was a fantastic year of travel. I know that Tom would be very happy that I extended myself and got back to what I love to do. Travel and photography are my passions. The record remains at 2019 when Tom and I went to 8 countries in 1 year. Maybe I’ll break that record someday. It is still very hard for me to keep moving forward without Tom but one cannot live with thinking that what you have is not enough. It is enough to be happy and have amazing people in your life who you could call at 3:00 AM if you needed to!
This year part of my focus will be getting used to saying “I not WE” and “ME not US”. Still working on that.
I plan on extending my volunteering to continue to give back to my church and my community.
As far as the country goes I think my word choices are good too. If you want something to change then do something about it. Volunteer and join others to work on improving the world for everyone. We are all-in-this-together as they say. Find that common ground. We need to come together to make this a better place for our grandchildren.
As I always say at this time of year, I hope that life brings surprises to you. Be open to receive them. And be the light in someone’s life. The benefit of helping someone will astound you.
How To Wow Now 
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