"Life is nothing without friendship." - Cicero

We are just a few days shy of concluding the initial phase of our adventure "The Americas" - the first section of the book highlighted in this blog on December 10, 2023. That blog post featured one of my favorite quotes by Saint Augustine - "The World is a Book, and those who do not Travel read only a Page."

Along with that quote is another favorite of mine.

We have created many memories during the beginning of our global journey. Regrettably, some of our newly made friends will be parting ways with us upon our arrival at the last stop in this part of the journey, Los Angeles, California. We will sincerely miss them and all the enjoyable moments we have shared.

Here are just some of the standout moments we shared with our dinner companions, who by now feel almost like family - Anna Sophie before-and -after the loss of her front tooth; Max at playing pool and corn hole, fun times with our waiters, and out on the dance floor.

Max and Anna Sophie have made great strides in their English, while Jeff and I have made progress in our German, all thanks to the "lessons" we've had during dinner. Here's Max engrossed in reading a story that incorporates the German vocabulary we've learned.

If you're curious, you can explore both the German and English texts via the provided link. Additionally, for an extra touch of creativity, there's space to illustrate a scene from the story. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as we did!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Mgk3zAeh_kRTXm6E2zM6W2c_7Hztcp-/view?usp=drive_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D556jDkcSeVbDHKWfzWhdIJB2MvAmyK_/view?usp=sharing

And yet a final quote by Cicero ... "Life is nothing without friendship" - Here's to all our friends onboard the Serenade, abroad, and back home!