MT has a client who categorizes vacations. He says that if you are going to museums and sight-seeing, you are “traveling”. If you are going to a beach or a place for relaxation, you are “vacationing”. If you are going backpacking or camping, you are on an “adventure”.
I’ve been thinking about these terms for a few days, and I think there is some merit to these classifications. I don’t know if I’ve ever referred to a stay at the beach as anything other than a vacation. People often say they are traveling to Europe. When I was younger and we went to Spain to visit family, that was a vacation. This upcoming trip to Europe is more travel because we’ll be in cities, looking at churches and museums. MT and I have both wondered if there will be any relaxing time on this trip, other than the two days at sea, because we want to see lots of things while we are on the continent.
We are now 29 days away from our trip! MT and I have booked excursions from the ship for Marseille, Genoa, and Livorno. We are in the process of listing “can’t miss” things to do in Barcelona and in Rome, and then figuring out what days to do those things. MT suggested something that kind of surprised me: he wants to do a food tour in Rome! It’s kind of like a guided pub crawl, except you go to several different restaurants and have a course at each place. We are looking at a tour in the Trastevere neighborhood that would be cool, maybe something like this one.
In the meantime, we have started buying some clothes and shoes to take along. I made a reservation for the dogs at the doggy hotel. I’m making a list of things I need to do, like trading dollars for euros here in SLC. Research and planning is a fun part of vacation for me. I like to know where I’m going and what to do while I’m there. I would not like to go somewhere unprepared, then get home and read more about a place and realize that I missed out on a cool experience.
I truly don’t understand how a person could not be curious about where they are going. I know a young woman who was going to California with her fiancé for a wedding on his side of the family. I asked her whereabouts in California she was going and she said she didn’t know. It was her fiancé’s family, and he was making all the arrangements and she was just going along. Even now, it just stuns me. Another woman I know was telling me about a cruise she was going on with her boyfriend and his family. I asked what ports she would be visiting and she had no idea. I just don’t get that mindset!
Maybe I go overboard (no pun intended!) with my research and insatiable curiosity about the places I plan to visit. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. Whether I’m going on an adventure, a vacation, or traveling, I want to know where I am and the awesome stuff to do there!
No comments:
Post a Comment