The lovely Jolanthe (how awesome is her name?) over at No Ordinary Moments is hosting this weeks Friend Makin’ Monday for Kasey. The topic this week? Vacations!
There are two topics and (being the overachiever that I am) I just had to do both parts!
1. Tell us about the best {or worst} vacation that you’ve ever taken.
The best vacation I ever took was during my second year at college. A generous donation was given to the school to enhance the education of the second-year students and we were funded a trip to a European city for the first week of our two week Spring Break. The second week we could either pay to switch the leaving point for our return ticket or fly home and spend the week at home. My parents very graciously paid for the ticket change and we spent some time in a tiny village in Germany. The first week was filled to bursting with activities. My camera broke in the Louvre so I have next to no pictures. This was back when digital cameras were very expensive. I have a bunch of pictures I need to scan in and I know that I have at least one of the karate students that were posing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Someday….someday. We visited Versailles and I stared at the big state bed positioned in the public viewing room were Marie Antoinette (and all the previous Queens) gave birth. I couldn’t imagine at the time being forced to give birth at all, let alone in front of an audience.
I remember walking around downtown, a baguette in my bag along with some Babybel cheeses and a package of meat. We would stop and get some fresh fruits before exploring. Some say that the French are rude and inconsiderate to travelers, especially Americans. I didn’t experience any of that. Although I didn’t speak French, I very quickly picked up “pardon“, “excusez-moi” and the ever important “parlez-vous anglais?” I discovered that if I asked in French if they spoke English, shopkeepers and natives were much more willing to assist.
From one of the cheapo shops, I purchased a gold bracelet to wear to the Opera when we went. There was one other thing I purchased. A week before leaving, I discovered my best friend growing up was pregnant. She had moved next door to me around my first birthday and we were immediately friends. Why, we were both born on the 26th (March for me and July for her) and our middle names rhymed! We were of course twins! I bought a onesie for her that said Paris and couldn’t wait to give it to her. Before I could see her, she had a miscarriage. 8 years later and she is finally pregnant again. She is due in 6 days from today, on her birthday. I still have that onesie in my Hope Chest and cannot wait to give it to her!
2. Tell us FIVE places/vacations that you would like to take at some point your life. It doesn’t have to be next year…maybe it’s the vacation of a lifetime or somewhere you just dream of going years from now.
Ahhh, the travel plans we have!
Our first vacation will be to the British Isles. I was named for a book that my mother read when she was a teenager. A historical romance, it’s written about real life people who lived in England during the Middle Ages. We’ve been planning a trip there for years. We were going to go this summer, but decided to have a baby instead. I do not regret a thing. But we will make it there soon. And also travel to Scotland to visit my husband’s “land” as he is Scottish.
The second place I want to go to is….Disney World! After working there, I cannot wait to show it off to my daughter and husband. It will be a blast!
I also want to go back to Washington D.C. now that I’m older. There are so many places to see and visit and learn. I love learning. Any time I can learn something new is a successful trip.
Wouldn’t mind going to Australia either…except for the spiders. Anyone know any place Down Under that does NOT include gigantic spiders? I’m so arachnophobic that I cannot even watch ads for Charlotte’s Web…
Lastly, I want to go to Japan. 4 years of Japanese, a brother who took 5 and served in Okinawa as well as a husband born in Japan? Totally need to visit…maybe take my Mother-in-Law so we can visit where Mr. Soup spent the first couple years of his life!