Holidays into the unknown ;)

DH loves maps and guide books and knows how to find everything when he arrives at a destination.
It's a surprise then when he opens the fridge door and has to ask me "Where's the butter?"

petra

I know this is hard to believe but gods honest truth, it is.
In the 70s we were taking a holiday on the Isle of White.
My Aunty Ivy asked me to get her some duty free fags. 😂

We spent our honeymoon on the Isle of Wight.
My husband asked me if we needed to take our passports 🥹

The thread is AIBU so probably is verging on judgemental but thanks to all your wonderful stories, it's delightful to hear how you holiday.

Once on holiday in the Loire Valley, DM wanted to visit as many chateaux as she could.
Our DC would have been bored stiff so we took them round the Poulain chocolate factory instead which was a big success.

European campsites were good and there were always facilities for the children, a pool and other children to play with.
I'm sure it was one reason they are adventurous travellers now.

Little bit judgy.

petra

grannybuy

I always checked before going somewhere what interesting places/things there are to do and see. One of my DDs still says, “ Who takes their kids to a Belgian telecommunications museum!”

That’s child abuse 😂
Pre satnav days we got seriously lost in Brussels. 😱

That's worse than the Bayeux Tapestry 😂😂😂

I remember taking DC to watch the fishermen bringing in their catch at a port in Brittany. DS was horrified looking at the langoustines (prawns or whatever) "fighting for their lives, poor things". He went to sit in the car.

grannybuy

I always checked before going somewhere what interesting places/things there are to do and see. One of my DDs still says, “ Who takes their kids to a Belgian telecommunications museum!”

That’s child abuse 😂
Pre satnav days we got seriously lost in Brussels. 😱

I always checked before going somewhere what interesting places/things there are to do and see. One of my DDs still says, “ Who takes their kids to a Belgian telecommunications museum!”

I am always amazed when marred family couples get back off and you ask the husband "Did you have a good time Steve.?Sorry l can't remember where you went. You did tell me"

And the husband say yes it was really good.

Then the husband turns to his wife and say," Where did we go Love?

Finally Geography has become dying subject these days.

I would suggest it should be mandatory for all children over the age of 5 to be given at Atlas and a Globe and have weekly Geography tests.

It will get worse when AI really kicks in.

🌎🌎🌏

X

I went to New York by myself to join family already there. I planned my journey from JFK to Brooklyn beforehand so that I’d know exactly what transport I needed and the walk from the subway to the property they were staying in. Using the internet, it was straightforward.

Ah well sixandahalf what you need are Trusted House Sitters.
There's a website.
Several of my friends used this when they're away.
My NZ cousins travel using an organisation called Animal Aunts . They come here each year because their son and family are based in Scotland, look after people's pets while they're away and take trips all over the UK and manage to travel into Europe sometimes.

I'm sure they'd be fine with lizards or snakes. Maybe not horses though 😄

I’ve been on lots of holidays but always need to know where I’m going. On a Carribean cruise I looked at where all the different islands were before we left England.
I’m an avid reader of murder mysteries and read a lot by American authors and a while ago I bought a large map of the USA just so that I could follow where the action was happening .

I was once talking to a young care worker about my son in New Zealand she asked me if it was near to Canada ….and she was dealing out medication !!!!
All my grandkids have a healthy knowledge of the world map which they put down to lying in my bedroom at night when they stayed at mine as I had a big world map on the wall and they loved looking at the different countries and capitals

JackyB

Back in the early 1970s we backpacked around Israel, using public transport. We got talking to a couple who were there on a package tour. They had seen some sights as part of the package, but they asked us "How do you know where to go?" I really didn't know what to say!

These days, it's so much easier to look things up on the internet there really is no excuse.

Also back in the day, there were many American servicemen and their dependants (probably other nationalities too) who were flown to places all over the world, stayed in their barracks and on their bases and never had any contact with the outside world. I met many others, though, who were really interested and took their families to fun places every weekend. I live near several big American bases* and had some really good times with some of them.

YouTube is full of clips about (usually) American tourists who are"shocked" by even the slightest differences to what they are used to. They dont seem to get that the whole point of travelling is to see how others live, what they eat, and how they do things. And to learn from thjs. This is apparently a mindset that is not exclusively American.

* Gone now of course.

OH taught Army brats in Germany years ago, one of the Regiments didn't rotate every 2 years so some families had been there for 15 or more years. One woman who was in that position was amazed that I went in German shops, she had always bought everything in the NAAFI.

ViceVersa

Barbadosbelle

Grammaretto

Like those people who go to the likes of Sandals and other AI (all-inclusive) places and never step foot outside the resort.

They never learn anything about where they are or contribute to the local economy. Although, I have to admit that all those I've known/met who go on those kind of holidays have been, without exception, rather shallow and boring people!!!
.

My niece and nephew were taken to Mexico by their dad. When they came back, my niece told me they'd stayed in one of those all-inclusive resorts and never set foot outside it. She was very disappointed at travelling all that way and not seeing anything of Mexico itself. She said for all they saw, they could have been anywhere.

Maybe it was a precaution for security reasons. Tourists in many locations are seen as easy prey for robbers who may well be violent.

We were once on holiday in a location not generally considered dangerous, when right outside the hotel, someone tried to snatch a female tourist’s handbag. Her husband resisted and was stabbed for his pains.

Lucky to survive, he then spent several weeks in the local (excellent) hospital. As his (extremely brown!) wife who stayed, told visitors some weeks later, everyone, including the hotel, had been wonderful.

Grammaretto

Each to their own but not my kind of trip to turn up somewhere you know nothing about and expect it to be a good holiday.

It's rude and shows a sense of entitlement all too common these days.

When some people return from these holidays all they seem to do is grumble.

These days? I remember over 40 years ago a Granada news piece from Manchester Airport asking passengers on a package holiday to find their destination on a map of Europe, many couldn't even find Spain!
Getting the Rand McNally maps out was always how we planned our US roadtrips, too many are slaves to the sat nav, a version of Computer says Go!

I enjoy cruising and especially "Mystery Cruises"
Only those on the bridge know exactly where the ship is going all the passengers get is cryptic clues as to the whereabouts, the crew are told about 1 hour before arrival and the rest of us are told when we arrive.
So far we have not been disappointed and our holidays have been wonderful

Each to their own. Personally I like to research a holiday destination beforehand. When we go on a cruise it’s always chosen because of the ports visited. Mind you, some can’t be avoided, like Gibraltar and Lisbon! We stay on board if we’ve been previously. I also like to learn some of the local language on DuoLingo.

Not our usual holiday but sometimes needs change.
👍

People have been doing it for years

To me it’s very ill-advised to judge people whose idea of usually expensive holiday enjoyment may be different from yours.

The whole thread is judgemental.

We consider ourselves quite well travelled and have spent many years living overseas. However last year we had had a stressful few months and booked a week in a Greek hotel where we enjoyed excellent food, stretched out by a sublime infinity pool and didn't leave until the taxi arrived to take us back to the airport.
It was a perfect week and just what we needed. Not our usual holiday but sometimes needs change.

Barbadosbelle

Grammaretto

Like those people who go to the likes of Sandals and other AI (all-inclusive) places and never step foot outside the resort.

They never learn anything about where they are or contribute to the local economy. Although, I have to admit that all those I've known/met who go on those kind of holidays have been, without exception, rather shallow and boring people!!!
.

I do recall a holiday on the W coast of Barbados when dds were small, when a local interviewer asked which island attractions we had visited.
Answer, none. Not one.

Reason being, dds were real water babies, very happy in pool or sea virtually all day, while dh and I also loved the sea and would take turns to dd-watch while the other went snorkelling or water- skiing.

Plus DDs would NOT have enjoyed being dragged around the island by car or bus in the heat when all they wanted was beach and sea/pool.

To me it’s very ill-advised to judge people whose idea of usually expensive holiday enjoyment may be different from yours.

Georgesgran

Was happy to be going to Malaga again last year, until a couple of weeks before we flew, and DD2 confessed she’d booked New York instead! (She knew my ESTA was valid and I’d be pleased).
A friend’s ex d-in-law said they’d been to Spain, because she knew her ex wouldn’t want her to take their daughter to Morocco! They didn’t tell the child where she was, but she had her hand henna’d and that let the cat out of the bag at home.

We were going to Norfolk but the weather forecast was shocking, so we went to the travel agent and booked Lanzarote instead, went the next morning.
We enjoyed it very much, it was very interesting!

Was happy to be going to Malaga again last year, until a couple of weeks before we flew, and DD2 confessed she’d booked New York instead! (She knew my ESTA was valid and I’d be pleased).
A friend’s ex d-in-law said they’d been to Spain, because she knew her ex wouldn’t want her to take their daughter to Morocco! They didn’t tell the child where she was, but she had her hand henna’d and that let the cat out of the bag at home.

I lived abroad when a student. My friend was going to study in Manchester University. I asked her about the kind of landscape and region it was in. She said,, all I know is that I will be flying to an airport there. Haven't you looked at the map I asked? No, she was not interested in looking at maps was her reply. As a geographer I was astounded. I love poring over maps. We are all different.