What kind of traveler are you?

Parent Cafe
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<p>When our kids were young (maybe 7 - 10?) we instituted a rule that we couldn’t eat anywhere on a trip that we could eat at home if we could help it. We thought we might get a little resistance, but we never did. Our kids love it - even through their teens. They’ll probably carry over the tradition with their own families (pending wives, of course).</p>

<p>We might still eat fast food or chains, but they are fast food or chains we can’t get at home. Generally, unless in a hurry, we try for a local mom & pop. We’ve found some really good eating places that way - some of which we’d have never considered (due to exterior “looks”) if we didn’t have our family rule. We’ve met quite a few nice people too (everyone knows you’re not local when eating at some places we’ve stopped at).</p>

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<p>We have the rule about not eating places we can find at home too. It isn’t hard and fast because if we are driving and need to pull into a drive thru type place we do. We did go to McDonald’s in Germany because they served bier (beer) there and we wanted to say that we got beer at McDonalds. We got some ice cream there too.</p>

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<p>The chain restaurants located in many foreign countries are different than the ones in the U.S. Getting beer in Germany or some localish dish in Thailand makes that worth dropping in…in my opinion.</p>

<p>That doesn’t mean I would eat all my meals at McDonalds…or subway or KFC when traveling…but heck…I wouldn’t do that in the U.S.</p>

<p>If I have to pick where to spend my money…it’s the airfare. On our last trip, the cost of our airline tickets exceeded the total remaining costs for the trip. But hey…we had to GET there!</p>

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<p>We alternate domestic travel with international travel year by year. Domestically we tend to enjoy road trips. And this can vary----long weekends or week long trips. We like to stay in hotels, camp grounds, resorts, rented RV’s…whatever is the best option according to our budget or the locale. If it’s a lean year, it’s a tent and in the not so lean years anything goes.
For trips abroad, I spend a lot of time on research. In lean years, I enjoy apartments and cheap digs and when we are flush with cash, I love a splurge but will draw the line at a chain hotel (no mater how lux). First I research the polite customs (please, thankyou, good morning, etc), learn about the cuisine and habits. In countries where I know the language (France and Italy) I tend to prefer apartments and I read up the local newspapers before I leave. Though I love food and find out whats shaking in the restaurants. I prefer less expensive restaurants that serve traditional foods with a possible nod to new techniques. I avoid restaurants that are mentioned in popular guidebooks. Most importantly, I travel off season…I hate crowds and cranky locals. If I am staying in a large city that I have been to before, I try to seek out the obscure less frequented sights or neighborhoods.</p>

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<p>I also HATE spending my travel time traveling. I like to keep my time on planes or trains to a minimum, so we tend to stay in one spot for a longer period of time than usual. I love to see “sights”, but I tend to be a little myopic. I love to research a particular subject and find out everything I can, and visit places relating to that subject. For example, on one trip to Rome we sought out every Caravaggio we could. It took us to a lot of interesting spots. On another trip, it was strictly ancient sites. I like to have a bit of focus. And half the fun of any trip is the obsessive research I do before that trip.</p>

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<p>^I agree, that concentrating on one thing can be a lot of fun. I had a good time when dh had almost a week in Glasgow for a conference. I spent my time looking up every Macintosh building. Pretty much paradise for an architect!</p>

<p>I am a big believer in local food, but I have to admit my kids dragged me to a Pizza Hut in Scotland - I have to say the Brits put the weirdest stuff on their pizza. Like corn! :eek:</p>

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<p>"^I agree, that concentrating on one thing can be a lot of fun. I had a good time when dh had almost a week in Glasgow for a conference. I spent my time looking up every Macintosh building. Pretty much paradise for an architect!"</p>

<p>THAT sounds absolutely wonderful.</p>

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<p>^ One of the most exotic meals I ever had was at McDonald’s in Seoul.</p>

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<p>I am a planner, planner, planner, I want to see as much as I can on my trip because there are so many places to go and we usually do not go back to the same place. There are probably only about 5 places that I would make the effort to return to. We like comfort, so the hotel is usually important and should have AC. This was a bit of a problem in Europe. I like to know the basic layout ahead of time, what’s around, what to see, what to avoid and how to get around. We have gotten lost and that is usually a big time waster. Breakfast is important. I need to know where to find my affordable cup of Joe. I schedule the must do’s and leave some flex time for exploring. I remember not doing much planning for a three day trip to Paris. At the last minute, we wanted to go Versailles. However, by the time we figured it out, it was too late in the day and we missed it. On the other hand, once in a while, we take a beach vacation, where we do nothing. However, those are good for about 4 days before I start getting antsy and I love the beach, I just need stuff to do. Long ago, we spent a week in Aruba and by the third day of sitting around, I had it. We rented a car and saw the entire island in one day. There were still four days left! DH and kids have gotten fussy a few times, but for the most part they have liked everything they have seen and done and now add to the list. No tour groups or camping for me. I would hate to wait for people constantly or be rushed off. I rather we determine how much time we want to spend in a place.</p>

<p>We have the food rule. No fast food unless absolutely necessary. We had to break this rule in Switzerland where the variety was lacking (3 days of Rosti and brats) and expensive but even McDonalds was expensive. We have eaten well in some places, Vancouver, New Orleans and Paris come to mind and others not so much. It all depends on what they have. I do bring reliable snacks, just in case. I no longer bring back souvenirs for anyone but I like to shop a bit and scour markets for unique things. I would love to catch a Christmas market! We do take public transport if it is safe and easy to navigate. It is a good way to experience local culture. However, I am y turned off by places where they have train police giving out fines for not validating tickets. I am always afraid I am not doing it right or that the “officer” might be a scammer, so I avoid public transport in those places. </p>

<p>I recently was a business trip to Europe. After the trip. I met a friend who lives there and let her plan a weekend where we drove to France. This was the first time I let someone else do it and it was not bad. It was a nice surprise. I figured she knew these parts better than I did. Happy travels.</p>

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Okay - musicamusica made me look up Caravaggio to see what or who that was (Italian artist) so I learned something today.</p>

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You should see what they put on one in Japan - squid pizza anyone?</p>

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<p>Great! Welcome to the art geek club.</p>

<p>We did another trip around eight years ago. We started off in Milan (where we stayed with friends) and ended up in Venice. From Milan to Venice with side trips to Vincenza, to Mantova and Verona we saw all the Mantengnas ( [Andrea</a> Mantegna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Mantegna]Andrea”>Andrea Mantegna - Wikipedia)) we could. Though I will visit a museum I prefer to see art “in situ”—that is, still in the place it was meant to be seen.
We have done the same, (but in the Marche, Tuscany and Umbria) with Piero della Francesca.</p>

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<p>Ummm, don’t Italians eat both squid and pizza? If so, it would not be too hard to imagine someone in Italy putting squid on a pizza.</p>

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<p>^^ Some things just don’t go together IMO. I don’t remember seeing a squid pizza in Italy but maybe they have them. There were some other weird combos for pizza in Japan as well - that was just an example. That was some local cuisine I skipped (along with the fish eyeballs and a few other things they eat that I wouldn’t touch). There’s some weird food in Asia that there’s no way I’d eat.</p>

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<p>The pizza with wasabi on it we got in China was pretty awful. Inedible, in fact. Sometimes the adaptation of western dishes to Asian flavors and tastes ends up being just dreadful.</p>

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<p>Mexicans put cream cheese in their sushi rolls.</p>

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<p>I’d be interested in trying out squid pizza. Sounds delicious! </p>

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<p>One could say the same thing about some Asian dishes/derivatives adapted to Western palates. </p>

<p>Like soy milk or tofu. Two food items I enjoy very much from Asian groceries, restaurants, and Chinese home cooking that are dreadful when I tried mainstream supermarket soymilk or tofu geared toward Western palates…especially vegetarians & health nuts. </p>

<p>The latter tends to be way too bland and unappetizing. </p>

<p>I’d also be willing to try out pizza with a dab of Wasabi.</p>

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<p>Are they placed with or without the raw sashimi fish or beef?</p>

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<p>When traveling to Europe - I love to read travel books about my destination while planning the trip. I have the hotels booked and a list of potential restaurants picked out, but remain open to eating wherever looks good. If I run across/get a recommendation for a local favorite restaurant, then I am more than happy to dine there. I also know the local transportation options and have the train/car booked if traveling to several cities.</p>

<p>Before leaving home, I decide which sights are a “must-see”, which are “like-to-see” and which are “could-be-interesting.” My interests run the gamut - everything from pieces of art (rather than a specific museum) to historical buildings/venues to amazing landscapes. </p>

<p>Once there, walking is my favorite mode of transportation. I don’t plan on more than two big sights in a single day and usually plan on visiting only one per day. That allows me time to saunter around town on my way to/from the sight. I am always happily surprised at what I find along the avenues that no guide book mentions. For example, while walking to Les Invalides in Paris, I ran across a facade that clearly dated to the late middle ages. I’m sure the interior has been updated, but the owners left the original wall and door intact. DS, DD, and I just stopped and stared in wonder when we realized that this was real - not Hollywood created for effect. Wow! Someone (i.e., a regular Parisian) really lived there 600-650 years ago, AND, the facade survived all the changes wrought over time. That kind of stuff blows my mind. (I know, I know, there are buildings all over the place that are just as old and older, but there is something about coming across someone’s home that makes it more personal.)</p>

<p>The smartest thing I do is take a companion with me and look to them for their input. I have had some wonderful traveling companions. In college, I toured Florence with an art major and an English major (who is a descendant of the Orsini family. She was very interesting to travel with and brought Italian Lit to life.) The art major would “drag” us into these small churches, park us in front of the altar, and point out great pieces of art that we would have missed. She, too, was a wonderful travel companion.</p>

<p>In London, DS insisted we try The Heron - a Thai restaurant located in the basement of a pub just north of Hyde Park. After much grumbling, we all agreed to go (I pointed out we could order hamburgers from the bar upstairs to those of us disinclined to Thai food.) WOW! The Heron was fabulous. We ended up eating there 3 times during our two weeks in London. Never would have seen it, let alone gone there, if it weren’t for DS.</p>

<p>I want to take in everything I can while traveling. It’s fun, fun fun!</p>

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<p>We toured the Grand Canyon with a professional geologist (my SIL), and she brought the rocks, the sediment layers, and the fault lines to life.</p>

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Were you traveling with fellow CC’er musicamusica? She seems like one who could do that.</p>

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<p>I travel a ton. Some pleasure, some business, some to visit family (which may or may not be a pleasure). Both international and in the US. </p>

<p>Over the years the big regret, particularly when traveling with children, is spending too much money on hotels.Luckily, it was generally not our $$ as it typically was part of an R& R budget, for example. </p>

<p>My most memorable work trip of all time involved a very glam place on the river in Bangkok (Paid for by the people who brought me to talk), a hotel that usually rents by the hour in Taipei (where I was put on the executive floor because it was quieter) and a Baptist mission house in Seoul (where the room I was meant to be given was not available as Pastor from North Korean had decided to defect and would not leave the room.)</p>

<p>When I travel for pleasure I prefer cities where it is safe to get lost. I like to walk, and I am terrible with maps. I like to take public transportation. I never feel obligated to see everything (because anywhere worth going to is worth going back to). I like to go to see where the old Jewish communities lived in the city if such a place exists. I like a hotel where, for one night of a 3-5 night stay, I can eat in if I want to (restaurant or room service). I do not eat street food, but I look for neighborhood places to eat. I always buy the same thing- note cards or stationery created by local artists and refrigerator magnets. I like to go to movies and eat whatever seems the most popular thing for people to be eating. I like to go to hear live symphonic or piano music at the best local venue. </p>

<p>My favorite place to return to over the years is the National Museum of Taiwan. All the Chinese artifacts worth having are there and they rotate their exhibits constantly. Then I always go to Din Tai Fung for the most divine dumplings. I am not sure it gets better.</p>