Traveling is on my Mind

When the excitement of the holidays settles down, and the winter weather of January settles in, my mind always starts to dream of traveling to warmer destinations!
So, I bring home travel films and travel books from the library, I watch the travel channel on TV, and watch House Hunters international of HGTV. In recent years that is as far as our travels have taken us. There are always responsibilities that keep us home!

I am so happy for younger members of the family who get to see the world. Randy, of course, travels to many far away spots. I know his travel is work related, which may take away a bit from the joy of travel, but he does get to see many exotic spots.
And Randy's family along with Debra and Rod have had some super summer vacations right here in the USA.

My nieces and nephew have had some interesting travel opportunities. Liz spent a year studying in France when she was in college. Davey had a semester in London.
Now Brenda and Jim's daughter, Hannah, has just flown to London for a semester of study with the Ball State study program there. How exciting that must be for those students! They had a rough time getting out of Indy and then out of Chicago due to the winter storms, but they are now in London getting all settled in. I will keep them in my prayers. I hope that this experience is grand in every way.

So this evening I watched some more international house hunter shows. I think I had already seen all of them at least once before. But I do love getting a glimpse into the different ways that people live in other countries. First of all, the prices are astounding! In most of the major cities of the world, all the available land is already in use, and people who want the excitement and convenience of living in the city must be content buying an apartment or a condominium. But they don't seem to mind in the least spending a fortune for a tiny space with a tiny outdoor balcony for a yard.

Bathrooms and kitchens in other countries are tiny, tiny, tiny! But they do seem to get the job done. Young people looking at houses in the US, always say, while looking at a wonderfully adequate room, "But, it is sooo small!" Gee, what do they intend to do in there besides the essentials? Not only are the kitchens small in the apartments in other countries, but the former owner has taken everything with them when they moved! And I mean everything: appliances, cabinets, sink, faucets - yep it is all gone. So, you pay $500,000 for 850 sq. ft., and THEN you pay for a new kitchen! And you are happy! Just look at that view of London, or Paris, or Berlin, or Barcelona out the window. Maybe I would be happy, too.

So, until all our nursing home visits are over, our own doctor appointments are over, our family assistances are all taken care of (hmm, is assistances a word?)
then we shall do our traveling electronically. But, later on, I may be looking for that tiny little flat in..............oh, let me see? I just haven't decided on the perfect spot as yet.