I have visited Spain a few times, although not recently, and I would happily visit again.  But unlike an increasing number of U.S. citizens, it never occurred to me to move there permanently.

In 2019, forty thousand Americans lived in Spain.  Last year, that number had risen to sixty thousand.  Some say it is because of a superior quality of life, including a low cost of living, good public healthcare and a healthy work/life balance (even though the long siesta of the past has mostly disappeared).

Tempting, but at 80-something…

I think I’d better stay where I am.

The first time I visited San Francisco, Peter and I had just learned that I was pregnant with my first-born son, Seth.  Last week when I visited San Francisco, Seth joined me from Brazil with his pregnant wife.

We did what most visitors do–the crooked street, the “pretty ladies” houses, the Tenderloin and more. We also spent time in Carmel and visited the highlights of that city and nearby Monterrey. Most memorable and totally new to me was the Point Lobos state park. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Have a look at: bit.ly/41BiP1S.

I spent a lot of time in an airplane for a way too short visit.

I’d do it again tomorrow…

I hadn’t been in San Francisco in years, but in my visit last week, I found it has not lost its charm.

The cable cars are still a great attraction. However, the city has a striking new mode of transportation.  It’s called Waymo. It was very cool to watch sparkling white Jaguar SUVs weave their way through San Francisco traffic, but ride in one?  I wasn’t sure.  However, when our foursome needed a ride to a restaurant, we decided to give it a try.

I’m here to tell you that it was amazing.  Sparkling clean.  Insists that you fasten your seat belt. Choose any music that you want. 

Watching that wheel spin on its own. weaving around a large truck in the next lane, stopping at red lights, making left turns.  Absolutely thrilling.

It felt a bit like an amusement park ride.  I was a kid again oohing, aahing, giggling. When we arrived at our destination, our car pulled over to the curb and waited patiently while the four of us got safely out. Then it pulled back into traffic, on its way to pick up the next fare.

Only drawback–a driver probably would have noticed that the occupant of the front seat left his umbrella there.

Boston Globe columnist Beth Teitell had some wonderful advice which I hope to take and want to share with 80-something readers. Teitell writes that her 93-year old father is a proponent of “The ‘What the Hell’ diet.”  He eats whatever he wants.

According to an expert consulted byTeitell, “When you get to be 85-plus, your death rate stops climbing as fast. You have hit the mortality plateau.”  Further, he explains, at that point, you probably have avoided genetic diseases so it will be something “non-genetic” that eventually gets you.

Read no further—just pass the potato chips!

Normally when I am sitting in on the classes I audit, I concentrate on the professor.  But the other day I was distracted in my political theory class.

Directly in front of me (on an unusually warm March morning) was a student who caught my attention.

Her caramel-colored back was bare except for an orange cord tied around her neck (and presumably also around her waist which I couldn’t see).

I first noticed her shiny black shoulder-length hair.  More compelling was a tattoo of a rose bud at the top of her spine, its long green leafed stem going as far down her back as I could see.

At some point, she donned a heavy jacket, a relief to me because the classroom was cold.  But when she got up to leave after class, I could see her lovely face which (no surprise)…

Sported a silver nose ring.

(Source: Stop Filling You Mind With Digital Doritos (3/29/26 NYTimes)

Have you given any thought to how your brain is doing recently?

An article by Professor Cal Newport of Georgetown University quotes a study about artificial intelligence that revealed a “significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool use and critical thinking abilities.”  Other studies have shown that school phone bans improve students’ tests scores. The article is a call to action

On the rare occasion when my phone is (accidentally) not with me, I feel unsettled. This article makes a strong case for us to not constantly check our phones.  Will it change my behavior?  Or the behavior of others?

Unlikely.

Sometimes being compulsive is not-so-bad.  For me, about twenty minutes of stretches is how I compulsively start each day. Now that I think about it, I’ve been starting my day that way for decades. 

Oddly, there is one stretch that always makes me think of Peter.  On my stomach, I bend one leg at a time to my hip.  Peter could do both legs at once.  Of course, I think of (and miss) him at many other times, but that morning stretch is a constant reminder.

And always will be…

In 1964, clutching a copy of Arthur Frommer’s Europe on $5 a Day and a one-way ticket to Lisbon (leaving behind worried parents because I was going by myself), I set off on a great three-month European adventure. (By the way, Frommer’s book is now $68.88 on Amazon and is called Frommer’s Europe from $85 A Day.)

Now-a-days, my international travel is pretty much limited to Brazil to visit my son Seth and his wife Dani (although I did travel with them to Morocco after Thanksgiving), and I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without a reservation.  Nonetheless, I was interested to see on one 2026 list of best cities in the world to visit, I had been to fifteen of the top twenty-five.

I might not remember what I did yesterday, but I can still retrieve the memories of my solo trip to Europe sixty years ago.

It was a gorgeous, but cold almost-Spring-day.  I took two friends I wanted to thank for a favor out for a delicious lunch.  I was feeling quite satisfied. 

On the way home, I decided to take my uncommonly dirty (as in filthy) car to the car wash.

There is something very satisfying about having a clean car.  Once in its parking space, I walked all around it, marveling at its beauty.

Note to self:  Don’t wait so long next time!

Known for their work on the effect of ageism on healthy aging, Levy and Slade offer good news from their recent study of cognitive and physical capacity as we grow older.

We expect cognitive and physical decline to be inevitable as we age. It is true that the group studied by Levy and Slade over a twelve-year period did decline in cognitive and physical capacities, but there was wide variability. Thirty-two percent of those in the study actually improved cognitively, and 28% improved physically. Some in the group improved in both.

The study showed that the best predictor of successful aging was a positive attitude.  Crossword puzzles and gym visits are always on my agenda. 

My attitude might need a little work