Apparently January is the month for booking your Summer holidays so, far be it from me to buck the trend, I’ve been thinking long and hard about ours. However the whole process takes ages as we constantly dither . Far from being a boon, the internet actually makes the whole business so drawn out. Gone are the days when we’d get handfuls of brochures from the travel agent and pick the hotel which was less than 500m from the beach and had a nice pool. Now we compare prices, look at reviews and photos on Tripadvisor, look at endless sites for cheap flights and then forget to take note of them so start all over again the next evening.
I always like thumbing through brochures and, in fact, appeared in one once. In the 1980s and early 90s the brochures frequently showed holiday-makers topless by the pool. This must have been a fantastic way for teenage boys to get their thrills: pick up free brochures from Thomas Cook and share them with your mates. Unsurprisingly the brochures don’t do this anymore. But they did when Dougie and I went away together to Ibiza in 1991: the next year there I was in the Thomson brochure, perched on a man-made rock in the middle of the pool with my bosom on show. The family were most amused but I was mortified and have kept my bikini top on ever since. Though I like to pretend that I was a topless model in my youth: there’s a certain kudos in it now.
So where are we going in Summer 2010? In an effort to find a good holiday for our teenage son we are eschewing the fly-drives to Iceland or Canada and going back to the type of holiday we had when he was six…….CAMPING! Big deep breath…it will be fine….just fine.
When I say camping, I don’t mean the proper tent lark: I mean the mobile home with all mod-cons which purists will say isn’t the same thing at all. We’ve done this twice, both times in France. The first time we chose a little caravan as we only have one child. Big mistake: we were cheek by jowl in this poky home for a fortnight and only the evening karaoke gave me some respite. The second year we chose the larger three-bedroomed home (one bedroom for us, one for the child, one for my shoes) and it all turned out lovely. Have fond memories of Dougie whittling sticks with his trusty Swiss army knife and son playing Bayblades with the boy next door. The only spanner in the works came towards the end of the second week when a hurricane tore through the campsite. We woke up the next morning and the Kids’ Club tents had literally blown away. No idea where they went; probably in a wood with all the plastic loungers that disappeared too.
So, barring any hurricanes, I’m starting to look forward to our trip. We’re driving (despite Bergerac airport being spitting distance from our campsite in the Dordogne) but Dougie says it will be an adventure. I shall remind him of this when we’re having the mother of all domestics around the Peripherique.
I love camping! This sounds like great fun, although I don't envy the drive there. In my house hold, a journey longer than half an hour is a guarentee war of words!
Great post! I don't envy you the camping, I can't stand tents and caravans, but I do envy you having booked your holiday. How exciting for you all. I so remember the brochures, it was easier wasn't it, being able to chat to the travel agent about where you wanted to go and if they hadn't been, someone in the shop had. Nowadays, it's such a headache. With all the hidden costs too, like adding a percentage on for credit cards, and adding this on for luggage.
Enjoy it.
CJ xx
Am with Jigsaw – well done booking it already and how fab to have something to look forward to through the wrist-slashing gloom that is late January.
Mummy Bear – I'm gritting my teeth re the journey, though breaking it up with a one-night stopover on the way and a three-night one on the way back. On the plus side, I can pack the car with all the things I can't take on a plane (like my coffee machine!)
CJ – that made me laugh: yes, there was always someone in the travel agent who had gone, or who knew someone who had, to make the decision easier!
ELS – yes I feel very smug – and The Doc is rather pleased I've spent less money than usual.
Well done, am full of admiration. Have only managed two nights in a tent since I became an adult (can't get over the whole communal toilets/nowhere to plug in the hairdryer thing). But kids do seem to love it so I guess it's the way to go.
PS My mum went topless at Eurocamp in 1982, when she was 43 (and I was an easily embarrassed 13). Go for it, Trish!
Oh heavens! I certainly won't be embarrassing my poor son by flashing at the happy Keycamp customers this year. And worry not, our mobile home comes complete with TWO fully flushing toilets and showers – I certainly won't be nipping out with my trusty torch for midnight pees!
Have fun. We're looking at France this year, but I hate camping and caravans, too close proximity, and I like to be able to walk into a bathroom and be able to turn around without hitting something lol
Ang – don't remind me, I'm hyperventilating as it is!! But it will be good for me to slum it for a bit: I've been spoiled rotten with some fab hotels over the last few years. I'm doing this so my son can join the teenagers' club and mooch about with other like-minded Kevins (what a selfless mother I am)
I admire you for doing it – we always managed to avoid camping with Big Bro who, luckily for us, had the same idea of going away and wanting to stay in luxury!!!!(even if we couldn't really afford it!!) Little E seems to be on the same wavelength too, hurrah, but…. have a lovely time!!!! (tee hee!)