Tell Me About… Vacations, aka Holidays

This month’s bloggers’ group topic was picked by ME, as it’s the season for them, at least in the northern hemisphere (I’m now much more aware of the opposite rhythms of our friends Down Under). I do find the different schedules interesting, as American school holidays will come to an end in August, while many UK “hols” are just starting. A young friend visiting recently from France was amazed to discover not every country completely shuts down for the month of August like France does!

The USA is the stingiest country in the world when it comes to paid time off for their workers. Two weeks is the standard for those lucky enough to have “benefits” (paid time off, insurance, etc.) but you often have to work there a year before you get ANY. More paid vacation is a perk of higher-paid positions, as well as a reward for longevity on the job. I’m now lucky enough to get 5 weeks a year, and I take Every. Single. Day!

I’ve also been lucky enough to have (almost) always been able to travel when I have vacation from school or work, so I automatically think of them together. “Stay-cations” would be a topic for another month…

I think a LOT about travel now that retirement is just over the horizon for me next year. I have big trips planned for December of this year, and October of 2025 (the Retirement Celebration Tour). I’m expecting another 10-15 years of good health and mobility if I take care of myself and am lucky, and I have a bucket list that takes up a whole section of my planner book.

For this post, though, I wanted to look back on some memorable vacations of the past. The first was (and still is) my only time on the African continent – NORTH Africa, that is. I was living in Germany at the time (talk about privilege – see this post for more details on that). I used to get catalogs from the German travel agencies and look for someplace warm & sunny to go. In those days, each entry in the catalog would have a 2″ x 3″ ad that would give you bare basic info in abbreviations, with the price. My friend Larry from high school also wanted to go someplace “exotic”, and we decided on a beach resort on the Mediterranean coast of – wait for it – TUNISIA! It was cheap, all inclusive, and a short, non-stop flight from the Frankfurt airport – and EXOTIC to boot!

Larry and I have always been excellent, platonic friends, and I had travelled around the UK with him and his twin brother and another male friend when I first moved overseas. We knew each other were good sports and good company, and it stayed true.

Note: at the time I post this, I don’t have access to the photos from this trip, but will add them as soon as I can…

The resort catered to German tourists, and there were very few English-speakers there. The resort would have seemed bare-bones today, but had a lovely beach, pool, poolside cafe and restaurant, and arranged tours. We rode horses on the beach, took a Jeep safari into the desert, rode camels at an oasis, and saw where they filmed some of the first scenes in Star Wars. It was a short cab ride into the town of Djerba, where we shopped for wonderful souvenirs. While at a shop that sold silver jewelry, we struck up a conversation with the 2 cousins who owned it. No one there spoke English, and we really put our high school/college French to good use! The cousins said they were on their way for a bite of dinner at a restaurant, and would be like to join them? Always up for adventure, we said YES, and had a lovely time. They then told us they were on their way to their cousin’s WEDDING, and would we like to come? Well, YES again, we said! Would I have done this by myself? Almost certainly not (even though no one had seen the movie “Taken”…). But we both felt safe enough as there were 2 of us (and one was a man). Would I do it now? Probably!

The next several hours were a fascinating cultural exchange sitting outside the adobe house of the bride, drinking incredibly strong tea and listening to musicians that sounded like they were right out of the bar in Star Wars. At last the bride emerged, and we followed along behind the wedding party through the streets, as the bride and groom rode a CAMEL to the actual wedding. I’m amazed we found a taxi back to the resort in the wee hours, but it’s an experience I wouldn’t have missed. And I still have the silver jewelry!

The best contrast I can think of to this trip is the annual Girls’ Beach Week I take with my two roomies from college every year. While we’ve occasionally been on a Caribbean cruise or gone to places like Puerto Rico, most of the time we go to Clearwater Beach, Florida. Our budget airline Allegiant flies non-stop from Lexington to Clearwater, and our long-time friend Pam picks us up from the airport and drives us to our condo on the beach. We stay in the same handful of condos, from which we can walk everywhere and don’t need a car. Pam takes us to the grocery store to stock up, and spends a night or two with us.

It is the “comfort food” of vacations, and there’s a checklist of must-do’s while we’re there – usually eat breakfast and lunch in the condo, and splurge on dinners out, with a breakfast favorite or two out, or lunch at beach bar. We have a high school friend who lives nearby and we’ll spend an evening with him and his husband. We’ve discovered fun things over the years that we’ll splash out on, like a sailboat cruise, or floating tiki bars, which are just hilarious. We try to make it the few miles up to Tarpon Springs for Greek food and buying soap at the sponge shops. Tarpon Springs has a huge Greek community who came there in the early 1900s to work as sponge divers.

Now – here’s what the rest of the bloggers had to say on the subject:

For this month’s prompt ‘vacations and holidays’ Leslie has chosen to write about the consequences of a particular trip home to Tennessee in 1997.  You can read the details on her blog, here.https://onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com/.

Marsha is about to set out on an adventure with a friend.  They’re visiting Ireland and Scotland for a whopping 16 days!  But, that’s not what she’s writing about.  Instead, she’s recounting the wonderful experience she and Nigel had riding on Amtrak!  Here is the link to my blog: https://marshainthemiddle.com/

Debbie wonders if life is one big holiday after retirement. Her blog’s tagline is ‘Midlife – travel, fun adventure’ so holidays are an important part of her life. She reminisces on some fabulous holidays over the years. 

Deb’s World
debbie@debs-world.com
Http://www.debs-world.com

Penny has looked back at her Tell us About Travel and sees she promised a Part 2. Well, here it is. And she thinks there might be a Part 3 in there somewhere!  Click on this link to read all about it https://frugalfashionshopper.co.uk/

Jill is exploring the difference between travelling and holidays .

http://www.grownup-glamour.com

Suzy reflects on her lifelong love of holidays, from rainy caravan trips in Cleethorpes to adventurous travels around the world, and shares her dreams of future destinations. www.suzyturner.com

Gail from Is This Mutton always kept a journal of her holidays as a child and shares some excerpts, including what the wallpaper looked like at a 1970s Bournemouth hotel.  Link:  https://www.isthismutton.com