There's no place like home

Even just driving a few miles away yesterday was a hassle. After avoiding deep puddles, potholes and cyclists we were glad to get back to the safety of home!!

Witzend Your DD's extperience of Estonia and Russia exactly replicates the experiences of DS and then, girlfriend (now wife). they loved Estonia, have no plans to return to Russia (setting aside current local difficulties!).

We have embraced the return of holidays with delight. Apart from returning to our holiday home in France, we managed to fit a visit to the to the Isle of Man in 2020, and last year went on a short cruise to Norway and had a week on the Norfolk Broads.

This year we have already booked a three day break at a luxury hotel in the midlands in a fortnight and a break in Scotland in June and we are thinking about travelling by train to Stockholm for a canal holiday.

I'm afraid the three years of covid scuppered our travel plans well and truly , as it must have done for many people our age .

We're both in our early 80s and previously traveled to Europe twice a year . Once in the spring then in the autumn. I did all the planning , booking hotels etc . We always took the car and DH always drove .

We didn't do much local travel during covid and now DH is adamant that he doesn't want to do long drives anymore - not even in the UK . I have suggested coach trips, SAGA , cruising , flying but he's adamant that's it , as far as holidays are concerned.

I do drive , and have my own car but I wouldn't want to drive on the continent. DH doesn't like being driven and the indrawing of breath coupled with the rigid body next to me , is enough to shatter my confidence.

I wouldn't want to go without him as we enjoy one another's company and exploring new places together . So I'm stuck 😕

Neither of us caught covid . I have RA and we have both had six vaccinations , so considering so many died and/or became very ill , I guess it's churlish to moan . But !

madelaine45, my friend is usually broke, but loves a change of scene, even if local. She belongs to a house and pet sitting site, so gets virtually free accommodation for little breaks with her sister.

I think the lack of sleep is a major problem for me. We just used to sleep on the floor, anywhere, at friends' places when young - seems incredible now.

I still love travelling, and very rarely am I uncomfortable since I'm careful about the places we stay. I love the research into travelling just as much as the actual trip. We are off to Mexico at the beginning of February, and I am looking forward to some warmth.

I think my DH likes the comforts of home more than I do, so he is getting more resistant to travel than I am. And he doesn't like the process of travel; the lines, the waiting, the crowds, where I don't mind it very much.

We have strangely enough just had that very conversation today and both realise we do not wish to stay away from home any more. We both suffer with disabilities, particularly bad backs and sleeping in a different bed, makes it not worth the time away. I have actually let my passport expire and will not be renewing it but have sadly accepted this is it.

biglouis

I feel the same as some other posters. I have travelled very widely and independently - often to places like Afghanistan, Syria and Iran which its difficult to visit nowadays.

I stopped travelling because of mobility issues. As my mobility had declined so too has my confidence to organize such a trip. In many ways Ive become more and more insular and even resent people calling without an appointment. The ring doorbell is my friend to filter out the unwanted.

Gosh biglouis - you sound an amazing lady with your travels. Why did you choose to travel to Afghanistan, Syria and Iran?
I love adventure but prefer the familiarity of Europe!

Think maybe partly an age thing. I love going on holiday. But love getting home afterwards. And I find I only want to be away for a week at a time. Seem to love my home more the older I get.

I'm married to a travel addict who likes nothing better than planning multi centre holidays. We have recently returned from a 4 week trip to Australia. To be honest I didn't really feel any great excitement at the prospect of 4 weeks travelling - I love my home and felt I couldn't be bothered with the upheaval of travelling around.
But, we went - and we had a fabulous time which I wouldn't have missed for the world
And now we are back home and that's fabulous too you really can't beat your own bed, your own loo(!) and being surrounded by your own things. However, the next time DH plans a trip I will look forward to it rather than dread it.

I adore seeing new places even though I’m not a good traveller and never sleep well the first night. The memories of places like Jerusalem and New York make up for any discomfort.
My irritation is that every new hotel seems to have a shower I need instructions for. Who decided hot and cold water no longer needs to be indicated? In fact, electrical stuff generally has become more obscure regarding usage…

Since the start of the year, I have been on three coach day trips, the Orient Express is booked with DD for May and then Greece for the regular family holiday in July.

I would gladly live in an hotel, I’m not domesticated and would enjoy seeing all the comings and goings.

Paperbackwriter 😂😂😂. Loved Blanche. Also enjoyed Phyllis Pearce too of course. Now we've got Maureen Lipman.

Aveline

I remember laughing when Blanche Hunt, a character in Coronation Street, arrived back home and sighing in satisfaction said, 'It's nice to get home to your own toilet'! I know what she meant.

Oh I LOVED Blanche! I remember several of her wonderful lines, particularly, "Good looks can be a curse, Deirdre. You and Ken have been lucky that way." Ouch!

We’re away at the moment ….escaping the snow and cold during the winter months in Canada for the comfortable climate in Florida….and we’re here for about a couple of months. We are both in our 80’s and we have found that the key for us to enjoy our trip is to rent a house, and by doing this we quickly settle ourselves into a comfortable rhythm of life that isn’t that dis-similar to our routine at home. I shop and cook the meals that we enjoy - I don’t find it a chore. We’ll eat out with friends maybe once or twice a week, the house we have rented for this trip is ideal, well equipped and easy to adapt to our own way of comfortable living whilst away from home…..and the beautiful weather is a real bonus.

The biggest problem we have is finding somewhere with decent size walk-in shower or wet room.

Everywhere sounds lovely till you look further, this is not just hotels, holiday lets are very difficult. Shower over bath is a no-no! Tall, disabled husband!
Large beds & fancy frills are all ok, but!!!

When my husband was alive we always camped or caravanned so taking our home with us but when alone I got used to hotels because it meant seeing so many interesting places.
However ‘home is where the heart is’.

Talking of bad experiences, a dd who once spent 6 months as a student in StPetersburg, told us of a railway journey to (IIRC) Estonia. She said that at the border, the Russian officials were so downright unpleasant and scarily aggressive while checking their documents, she said she almost began to understand how Jews must have felt, trying to leave Germany in the 30s.

By contrast, at the other border, the officials were, ‘Welcome to Estonia! May we see your passports, please?’

I do often wish I felt more like travelling, but apart from living abroad for many years, dh and I have done a great deal in the past, inc. a quite a lot of long haul to off-the-usual-tourist-track places. So I don’t feel I’ve missed out.

OTOH a widowed friend of my age, whose husband refused for 20 odd years to go anywhere if they couldn’t take the dogs, still has very itchy feet - she’d go almost anywhere at the drop of a hat.

Mine has altered since lockdown. I am quite introverted anyway but was quite happy just to stay with DH at home and go for local walks - we live in the country so easy for us. Even if we go shopping more than 20 miles away I can't wait to get home now. One reason might be the new cat but I was like that before we got her.

SueDonim, The next time we went to the US we travelled via Pittsburgh. It was a complete contrast, they couldn’t do enough to help.

Give RDU a try, it's a lovely easy airport, good connections.

Shirls52000

If anything it’s made me more focused on travelling as it’s made me more aware of how quickly things can change and prevent us from doing these things. As a result since we ve been allowed I ve travelled to Mauritius ( caught Covid on the plane, wasn’t too affected by it thankfully,) and just now returned from South Africa. Life is definitely too short for me me not to be living it to the full before I m no longer able xx

Agreed.

We love traveling. Apart from ill health we don't foresee not traveling. Travel to hike, walk, ski - anything involving movement.

However, when at home, I hate to leave my home for any reason. Shopping? No. Dining? No. Visits to other than our family? No.

AussieGran59

SueDonim, re packing efficiently: I use packing cubes and have packing lists so I don’t think it will be a problem .

I have cubes but I kept my packing list in my head, and it’s gone AWOL since lockdown! I’m sure it’s still there in the recesses of my brain but I haven’t dug deep enough to liberate it yet.

I agree about some airports. Worst experience for us has to be O’Hare in Chicago. The staff were vile, shouting unintelligible orders at people - they may as well have been speaking Martian. . Armed to the hilt, of course, so we were terrified of doing the wrong thing and being shot. They had the weirdest finger print machines which were supposed to hasten the immigration process but as far as I could see, everyone still had to go through the old-fashioned way as well.

The next time we went to the US we travelled via Pittsburgh. It was a complete contrast, they couldn’t do enough to help.

I love going away and staying in hotels etc although it’s sometimes a faff to pack and actually get there! What I don’t particularly like is staying in other peoples’ homes. Being a peaceable kind of person, I put up with the ‘don’t lounge on the sofa like that, you’ll ruin the cushions’, the ‘take your shoes off/ don’t forget to wipe them all over before putting them in the hallway‘ don’t put a plate/cup/glass there’, ‘don’t use so much washing up liquid/liquid soap/detergent’ etc etc. I do try not to have so many rigid rules in my own home but observing other’s preferences drives me mad sometimes! So hotels rule for me as I’m PAYING!

It occurred to me recently that now DH is no longer with me I will probably never travel again. We have lived abroad, travelled to many countries and enjoyed new experiences but I have never travelled solo. I don't think I have the confidence to try that now as DH did all the bookings for flights, hotels , driving to and from airports, hire cars abroad etc. I don't have a close friend I would want to travel with either. I think I would like a holiday but then there's the whole eating alone stuff to manage too. Not too much of a 'joiner in' so undecided re singles holidays.

We have to travel to see our children & grandchildren who live in different parts of the world.
Since covid I have become anxious about leaving home ( not so much the travel ). I think alot of people feel the same now .

nanna8

I really detest airports and wonder why they make life so difficult for everyone. I don’t mind all the searching etc , it is one of those necessary evils but the attitude of some of the airport staff - nah. Rude,supercilious and unpleasant. I know there are a lot of lovely ones, too but I would say fifty fifty. I used to hear about Darwin Nazis and think it was just a nasty comment but having been there I can see why it was made.

My worst airport attitude incident? Manchester 2017. Polish security frau (at the metal detector arches my hips both terminator's!) I went through the then new x-ray/scan machine, very rude staff all ogled my hips! Then Frau asked me something but so noisy in the crush I had to lean in to hear her! At which she pushed me back and said "stand!" Really? I said I couldn't hear her. And she said "you have a bad attitude, you are very rude!" I just stared at her, bit speechless , said "you'd know!!!!" Passed through and we scurried off quickly!! Rude bag! Showed not one iota of respect or manners she had made me remove ALL my jewellery including dozen silver bangles and six rings out of spite.nevr been abroad since.......

I love my home and I love being home.