Do you have to be fit to withstand the rigors of travel?
 

Hi All Fodorites!

My friend and I are leaving in a few months and I think I should be in better shape to be on the go all day every day. My friend refuses to exercise and I am afraid we will be not equal in our stamina if I start exercising. She is more out of shape than I am, ahem.

How do you handle this if it ever happens to you? Do you leave the other person on a bench?

You can try, Peeky, but if she is anything like my friend was you'll be joined at the hip!

She refused to do anything to prepare, no walking, no learning French, no reading the itinerary. Nuthin'!

Good luck to you, though!! :D

I've never run into that when travelling with my husband, thank god! (Good because he's my best travelling companion. ((L))) I have, however, come across slow unfit travellers in the form of my mother and mother-in-law. I am good natured about it the first day, maybe even the second and third. Then I can't stand it! It strains all my patience not to mutter &quot;cmon cmon cmon&quot; a million times under my breath! The only solution I've come up with (assuming that there's no chance of ditching said person because she happens to be related to me) is to do one of two things: walk at normal speed and window shop until the lumbering lady in question catches up, <b>or wear high heels.</b> After a while, no one can walk fast in heels so travelling speeds tend to equalize. That's the more drastic measure but I assure you, peeky, it works like a charm. Just watch out for the grates and bring plenty of moleskin.

If she tires, leave her at a caf&eacute; and tell her you'll catch up with her later,
you cheeky peeky :)

Cheeky peeky! It has a nice ring to it I likey.

Joined at the hips&gt; remember she is the one with the big ones. I am getting afraid.

I kind of had this problem on my last trip. By 2:00, the gal I was with was pooped out and couldn't go anymore, so I'd usually drop her off at the hotel and then go back out to galavant by myself! Actually, it would have been easier if my friend was not so dependent on me and could have found her way back to the hotel herself.....then she could have left me, and I wouldn't have to waste precious time taking her all the way to the hotel! (One of those friends who did nothing to prepare, no language, no reading the itinerary, nuthin.)

Whatever happens, don't feel guilty! It's <b>your</b> trip too!

If someone is really out of shape then it seems they wouldn't mind some bench time. I sprained my foot once while on vacation and didn't mind being on the bench while my hubby kept up our usual pace.
Talk about it beforehand. That way she won't be surprised when you tell her you'll catch up with her later. How long will yo

oops... hit the wrong button
How long will you be gone for?
And if she is going to be like Beatchick's friend, how do you feel about being joined at the hip

I hadn't thought of this before I decided to go with her. Joined at the hip is the operative phrase here. I have just had flash forwards of escorting her back to the hotels. It must be hard to find someone that has equal stamina. Oh nooooooo

My experience is that you will enjoy yourself far more if you are in reasonable shape.
I suggest you leave your friend at the pie shop.

Muck

Hm...is your friend normally active? If so, then her shape should not be a concern. I am not in the best of shapes, even though I love walking and running, and usually, it's my friends who are in shape who are fighting to keep up with me. I will often think nothing of waking up at 6am, be cleaned and prettied up by 7am, and out walking/hanging out until 2am. This is true even when I'm home. It absolutely exhausted one of my dear friends during one trip.

However, I've also experienced not-in-shape/slow friends slowing me down, and it really wears fast on my patience that I just don't travel with them anymore because I treasure their friendship. I agree w/Melissa and L84SKY, either take her back to the hotel and go back out on your own, or talk it over to have a better expectation of each other's travel style.

My soon-to-be-current case will involve my older parents and elderly uncle, so I can't very well ditch them. I'll need to walk slow and turn in early, only to sneak out with my mom after we've dropped off the boys. ;) That's always the best part!

Also, I don't EVER travel with whiney friends or friends who refuse to wear sensible shoes knowing there's a full day's worth of walking about to be done. Gosh, I sound grumpy!!! ;)

Why not plan a day a trial day doing the tourist thing in your own city?

And Bravo to you for getting in shape. Mucky is right. Traveling is a lot more fun when you in the best condition you can be in. After re-reading your post it seems like you should worry now and avoid the rush. If she refuses to exercise she might like being a prisoner in her own body.

peeky, if you proceeded with your original plan to get nose-job surgery in Europe, that might wear down your stamina enough that your friend could keep up with you.

My nose for trouble told me to wait on the nose job but you do have a point (pun).

I am getting more and more worried, she walks like a tortoise and I will be the hare. I have a feeling trouble is brewing on this vacation.

&quot;I am getting more and more worried, she walks like a tortoise and I will be the hare.&quot;

Wait, didn't the tortoise win the race?

Yes but by that time the hare had been to two museums and had lunch with a carrot cordial.

How do you other travelers cope with this if at all?

This happened to me with DH. Many times he &quot;slept in&quot; while I was off having a great time, and other times, I'd offer to met him at a certain point, and that seemed to get him going.
By the end of the trip, he was outwalking me!

Be honest with your friend about your concerns--better now before the trip than to be miserable on it, and come up with a mutallly accepted plan.

Why do you have to escort her back to the hotel? Just make sure she has some extra cash and hail a taxi for her if she gets tired.

I think your problem is going to be the fact that she will have trouble being by herself. If she were more confident, then the two of you could spend time apart, doing things you both enjoy w/o worrying that the other isn't enjoying herself.

Maybe she doesn't want to excercise some each day before she leaves, but perhaps she could learn a few phrases, go over a good StreetWise map so she has an idea of where different neighborhoods are and where the attractions are, etc.

This may build her confidence so she can be by herself if she gets tired.

Hi peeky,

The last time I saw Paris they still had buses, metro and taxis.

If your friend can't do all the walking you can do, hop on a bus.

Bus routes and maps are at www.ratp.fr

((I))

For my recent trip to London, I actually did start working out to try to boost my stamina for walking around all day (I have a desk job and don't get much exercise). I think it helped, and I would recommend it. I'm not sure how to handle your friend, except to make sure she is self-sufficient enough to let you go off on your own when you outpace her.