Holiday Nightmare

[Silver_Shiney]

Don't get me wrong, folks, I won't do camping now, I like my creature comforts way too much!

[Andrea S]

Another thread showing what one person likes another one hates.

I am at the age that luxury is top of the list. Camping is something I did once and hated every minute of it. Modern caravans /park homes/ cedar lodges can be externally well equipped and comfortable.

SS, Your description of your caravan takes me back. I got married in the late 50's and when my husband came out of the forces we used his gratuity to buy our first home, a caravan on a residential site. We lived in it until I was pregnant with our second child. We were connected to the mains but didn't have the luxury of a fridge. We had a shed in which I had a boiler for washing and a coal stove which also provided the hot water. Looking at modern caravans it was so small and I wonder how on earth we managed.

[Boris+]

I would go camping - provided I had a good bed/mattress and a nice snugly sleeping bag. I only need minimal facilities, and a must have would be a small calorgas set of burners because there is just no smell as nice as a brekky fry-up cooked on calorgas burners at a campsite.

My main absolute must have is an insect killing spray/insect repellent stuff - do that, and something to put the car keys in that I can 'wear' at night (in case the tent gets blown away) and I could survive - and maybe even giggle about it.

Em

[Silver_Shiney]

I would go camping - provided I had a good bed/mattress and a nice snugly sleeping bag. I only need minimal facilities, and a must have would be a small calorgas set of burners because there is just no smell as nice as a brekky fry-up cooked on calorgas burners at a campsite.

My main absolute must have is an insect killing spray/insect repellent stuff - do that, and something to put the car keys in that I can 'wear' at night (in case the tent gets blown away) and I could survive - and maybe even giggle about it.

Em

camping breakfast fryups are best done on a BBQ!

[Dark Knight]

err they are actually best when done......by somebody else for me

[Silver_Shiney]

err they are actually best when done......by somebody else for me

As usual, my batty friend, you are absolutely correct

[welshynurse]

Holiday nightmare for me would be a beach holiday, where there was nothing to do but sunbathe. I love being able to explore new places and cultures.
I don't think I would like to camp either now, far too many creepy crawlies! SS is right, caravaning holidays were fantastic when we were kids, and I would probably do it again if I had my own kids. I have fond memories of childhood holidays!

[Kendhni]

Welshy, a beach holiday used to be my idea of a nightmare ... I have a very short attention span and get bored easily, so lying on a beach is, to me, a waste of a good day. However over the years this has mellowed a bit ... I am still not fussed on lying on a beach (sand gets into places I don't want it to be in) but I can, at least, tolerate lying by a pool or on a deck being waited on hand-and-foot

You still haven't sold me on caravan holidays .. used to do them as a kid and hated every minute ... I actually preferred pitching a tent outside the caravan.

[Boris+]

Hi Alan,

I wouldn't take a bbq with me if I went camping - if I am going to be camping then I like to be quite traditional.

Em

[Silver_Shiney]

Hi Alan,

I wouldn't take a bbq with me if I went camping - if I am going to be camping then I like to be quite traditional.

Em

fair enough, but cooking outside on a disposable barbie saves an awful lot of mess inside the 'van!

[HK phooey]

Do you take a separate tent for the butler Boris?

[Manoverboard]

A cruise, of any duration, that was sea days only

ps ... just to add that most of our coaching holidays are far more luxurious than a cruise with P&O.

[Esprit]

My nightmare would be the lack of snow on a ski holiday. The thought of travelling up a mountain on a chairlift with green grass below and not the white fluffy stuff would be horrific.

[Kendhni]

Esprit, what about yellow snow?

[Esprit]

Esprit, what about yellow snow?

Well I suppose it's better than no snow at all so long as you don't fall over into it!!

Last winter a French girl in our class took a "comfort break" whilst we were skiing off piste. I thought only us blokes had the balls to do that!

[gfwgfw]

Many years since, I was one of six teenagers best mates booked a Butlin's holiday at Clacton-on-Sea

We had to change our wonderful steam locomotive at Waterloo to a smelly diesel confection to Clackton-on-Sea

We all decided it would be prudent and responsible to seek the help of Mr Durex, my cowardly tube of toothpaste, served by a wee lass, was eventually useful My Mum could not understand why I had purchased another large toothpaste, but I think my dear ole Dad had sussed me

It was great fun, until very early morning, we witness Mr Butlin's famous pet Elephant having a huge drink of Essex's best tap water, followed by the obligatory urine relief into the large swimming pool

It is uncomfortably hot and humid here in rural Darzet

[Kendhni]

Esprit, your last post has to hold the record for the number of euphemisms

[Capt Black]

When I was a kid my dad had a camper van. Had some quite memorable hols around Europe. However, I have vowed to never do a camper van holiday ever again.

[suespud]

When I was a kid my dad had a camper van. Had some quite memorable hols around Europe. However, I have vowed to never do a camper van holiday ever again.

Well after taking our three small grandsons away for a few days in a "luxury" campervan/motorhome... I wont be doing that again.
My OH however quite fancies taking them away for longer next time....
On his own I must say, cos Im not going with them !!
However I would go with him on his own, keeping him company while he drives around north Wales taking photographs.

My parents had a holiday cottage in Seahouses, when we were young and also had caravans, that they used to rent out.
I much preferred the caravans...with a bucket to use at night and no running water..

My OH and I used to have a caravan, with ensuite shower room and a bath, fully fitted kitchen. GCH, DG, the full wack.
Loved the setting, by a small lake.
It was only an hour away from where we lived and having three grown up kids at home, we used it as a weekend retreat.
But when he started living away from home it wasn't getting used, so we gave it up.

[Delboy]

I notice a number of the posts mention camping or caravaning, and it was memories of when you were young which put you off of doing them now.

I found this blog and video on my Flikr photo sharing site, and thought it was very interesting. Now I know a lot of us posting on the forum are a lot older and the was in America, but have any members done this sort of thing when your children were young. This family did not get on a plane or go to a well known resort for their holidays, they just got in the car. Hope the link works.

http://blog.flickr.net/en/2013/07/26/ou ... r-bonding/

At the end of the blog there is a link to more photo's, it looks as though this couple's elderly parents, including a very infirmed father, still go canoeing with them.

[CaroleF]

Looking back we have had two holiday nightmares when our girls were still living at home - the first one was in the Lot area of France. Our girls were probably about 16 and 13 at the time. We were staying in a rented farmhouse - quite secluded - with two of our friends who had often come with us on holiday. My elder daughter's friend had not been well prior to going away but she seemed fine. The first four or five days were good, weather - it was July - was hot and sunny. I kept insisting the girls drank lots and didn't sunbathe too much. Then one afternoon - I think it was a Sunday - my daughter's friend, Helen, said she really felt unwell and was then sick. She seemed very hot. Eventually I called the holiday rep who arranged for a doctor to call. He did so and left various rather large pills and some liquid medicine. Helen forced these down but was then sick again. I called the doctor who agreed to come out again. He took one look at her and said "Hospital!". So about 8.30 in the evening an ambulance arrived and Helen and I went in it with my husband and our girls following in the car so he knew where the hospital was. The hospital itself was marvellous in that it was very clean and the staff very efficient. I had to keep saying that I was not Helen's mother - this was not well received. Helen's mother was in fact on holiday in Turkey at the time!

The hospital agreed I should stay with Helen and after spending a few hours in a room next door to a very loudly crying baby they moved Helen to a different room. In the morning the staff offered me breakfast - don't think that would happen here! I had to go to the admin offices to complete paper work. I had to keep saying that I was not Helen's mother and it was made clear that the hospital needed a fax from the mother agreeing to any necessary treatment.

My husband had been able to contact Helen's aunt who was flying out to Toulouse where my husband and our friend would meet her. The aunt duly arrived and eventually she and Helen were flown home by the insurance company. We then got on with the rest of our holiday - a never to be forgotten holiday.


Carole

[Silver_Shiney]

oh dear, that sounds terrible. I do hope the poor girl recovered quickly from her ordeal.

[CaroleF]

The second nightmare was also in France - we had a lot of French holidays. It was a late booking of a house near Narbonne and there were 7 of us. It sounded wonderful - large pool, electric gates at the entrance. We had a photocopy of the front of the house - looked very imposing - as it was a late entry for the company concerned it wasn't in their brochure. We stopped overnight on the way down and when we arrived - well - the so called electric gates were so rusted they were propped open. When we got inside the house - we couldn't believe it - in the kitchen there were a few kitchen implements - a microwave that was burnt out at the back - a few battered saucepans. It got worse - in the sitting room were two table lamps with bare wires, no plugs - in the main bathroom the sink had a great crack across the middle that someone had tried to fill. In the bedrooms instead of a proper bottom sheet they had used valances so whenever you moved they moved with you - and they were nylon! Someone must have stuck posters on the walls as there was a lot of crumbling plaster. Outside the pathway to the pool was cracked with potholes and lots of dog mess. The surround of the pool was cracked.

My husband, never usually one to complain, called the holiday company ( we had been with the same company for many years with no problem). They said they would try to find us somewhere else and would call us back. This was in the early days of mobiles and our daughter luckily had one with her so we were able to call the company. This was Sunday, eventually we spoke to the company again on Monday and they said they couldn't find anywhere. We had friends living in the Dordogne and called them. We said we would be leaving on the Tuesday and did so. Our friends could put us up for one night. On the journey north our friends called and told us a company called France One Call would be in touch. They called saying that there was a property in the Charante we could have for the rest of the week and they would try to find us somewhere for the second week.

To cut a long story short we ended up staying in a chateau - well half of it - that was the boyhood home of Francois Mitterand - it was beautiful and the company found us somewhere for the second week. When we got home after a lot of arguing we got back the cost of the holiday plus the money we paid to France One Call plus the mobile charges, plus some compensation.


Quite a holiday!

Carole

[david63]

Carole - I can see why you started cruising

[towny44]

Carole - I can see why you started cruising

Yes but please keep us informed when you are going, so we can avoid being on the same cruise.,