Travel can be dangerous. One might, for example, purchase a small soft-case trolley for the purpose, which one then might store under one's bed, when it isn't required. One could then, potentially, if one was uncommonly clumsy, slam one's foot into it and fracture one's toe.
Not that that happened to me. Ever (not even last weekend).
Ouch.
I've been trying to figure out what to write about today, thinking about travel in terms of vacations, exploring new places etc. The problem is that, since I graduated from high school, I've mostly traveled between homes. On a few occasions it was a new home I didn't know yet, but more usual my trips went to places I'd spend a considerable part of my life in. (I do love going places I haven't been before, but when I look at the measly amount in my bank account, and realize I only have money for one very short trip (if at all), I always end up going home.)
Travel has always been normal for me. Ever since I was wee we spent a few weeks every spring, summer, and fall camping in France or the Netherlands. At some point we moved from borrowed tents into our own camper, and then when the kids started to fight too much annoyed their parents got a bit older, the two of us moved back out into a (small) tent. Once we were older there were a few bigger trips (involving airplanes, islands and hotels – oh what a luxury), but low-budget still feels the most normal way of travel for me. Anyways...
One early trip I distinctly remember is my first trip to Paris. Our cinema had some Jungle Book related drawing competition, and my sister had walked away with the big prize – a weekend at EuroDisney in Paris for two people, hotel and all. They “kindly” allowed us to exchange it for one-day admission for all four of us - if we paid for the campground ourselves. At first I was rather crushed that my stupid older sister-who-was-always-better-at-everything won something so awesome, while I only got stupid movie tickets. (My parents actually talked me into taking my sister. As far as I remember we saw Bambi. Alone. Which doesn't really make sense, cause a) I was wee, and my sister not much older, and b) BAMBI?). But then, you know, I got to go to EuroDisney.
I actually remember it as a rather awesome day, despite the fact that I was terrified by the folks in costumes, and some of the rides (puppets and such *gulp*. Haunted house *gulpgulp*), and extremely confused by all the stuff I didn't know at all, like, uhm, Alice in Wonderland (Iknowright?). I was definitely not in favor of not-knowing-things, especially things-my-big-sister-knew. And of course there was occasional ride that looked really awesome to me, but was ridiculed by my family to a point where I didn't dare to say “But I wanna go!” (that car thing? I so wanted to check that out). On the other hand there was too much sugar (bought a giant lollipop that tasted like shit and lasted for days), and rides that weren't awful, and such. And I think the park where I actually had a nervous breakdown because of the very scary marionettes was a different park (I'm fairly certain it wasn't Small World. But I would've reacted to Small World in the exact same way (= with lots of terrified tears)). And I bought an awesome plush Thumper (again. Bambi. Wtf?). It was Disney; I was supposed to love it, so I did. (My parents, I'm sure, weren't all that excited. But Minnie Mouse had a little too much fun flirting with my rather embarrassed father).
The next day we actually went to Paris for the first time... and lost my Mom. Oops. This being in the days before everyone had a mobile, we'd agreed to split up, with us heading up on the Eiffel tower and her checking out some museum or other, and meet back at the base two hours later. TWO HOURS. In mid-summer. Of course it didn't work. Which meant that a) the only person in our family who spoke French at the time (my Dad is omnilingual in food, but not much else) tried to get back to the campground without us, after having waited for over an hour, and b) the only person who was actually sure how to get back to the campground now had to manoeuvre two little kids back home, without being able to communicate properly. Funtimes! We all did make it back, but the day definitely ended on a down note.
So basically an awesome trip for us, and a total nightmare for my parents xD (They survived. But she still occasionally guilts my Dad with The Day You Abandoned Me In Paris)
No comments:
Post a Comment