leslie

And people wonder why some of us like to travel alone!

MaryC

JohnG, Darling!<BR><BR>LOL!! Sometimes you are just too honest for words. Thanks for the Saturday night highlight. : )

Marie

Our biggest disagreement comes from the fact that my husband has a hard time spending money. Worst of all he'll complain to anyone within earshot what a "ripoff this is". He complains about anything from the price of admission to the price of bottled water. If the money we use for trips was from a "household" account I could understand his attitude but it's money I inherited.

gaye

This is so true! We don't really fight (even tho our kids say we do) but have little disagreements. The worst is when we take a trip that involves driving in a large city. My husband insists that I be the navigator, solely responsible for reading the map and getting us where we are going. Last year we were in Seattle and it was hell! Once we got out of the city and on to Oregon we were fine. This year in Italy I said "No Driving!, we'll use trains."

Shannon

There IS a common thread here! But I do love to plan the whole thing, and my husband is just happy to NOT plan and do whatever, so long as there's a beer and street food in the daily itinerary. We have long ago discovered that the only time we fight is when he's driving, because most men have no sense of direction, and NEVER stop and ask. He also drives like a maniac and I am the worst back seat driver on the face of the earth (except his mother, who doesn't even drive). So I drive. Oh yeah, and the packing thing. I'm the "less is more" and he's the "in the morning" an hour before take-off, and pack everything you might need from snake bites to toilet paper. He does have issues getting on and off trains and along corridors with his suitcase with all the stuff he packs, but I say nothing, because that's HIS problem.<BR><BR>After that, it's pretty much a piece of cake.

Sonny

I rarely get into an argument when I travel as I am my very own tour guide.<BR><BR>You see I am one of those solo travelers who pay the single supplement at hotels and B&amp;B's.<BR><BR>When I lay out the days itinerary I never hear any whining.<BR><BR>Yes,I run my tour with an iron fist...except at meal times when it would be difficult to hold flatwear with a fist like that.<BR><BR>I have to admit that there are times I observe couples traveling and get a little envious. Once in a while it would be nice to have a lady traveling companion challenge me with a ..&quot;why don't we go see (name of tourist attraction)instead?&quot;<BR><BR>On the other hand. There may be those couples who observe me in my singleness and think to themselves..&quot;look at that lucky guy all by himself...wish I had left George or Ethel at home and done this on my own&quot;. <BR><BR>Be thankful couples of travel that you have each other to bounce ideas off of and if you get into a tiff now and then about whether you want see that cathedral or shop....hey a little give and take on the road never hurt anyone.<BR><BR>As for me....I got spurs that jingle jangle jingle..

Itsme

We never argue over what to do, but we do argue when we get lost!

CharlieB

Funny - I thought a vacation was supposed to be relaxing and re-juvenating. I personally enjoy our trips to Europe because I enjoy 24/7 with my wife, and I find the European lifestyle very relaxing. Our travel plans are extremely sketchy- where do we fly to, what cities do we visit (minimum of 4 days - taking day trips if need be). Just returned trip to Vienna - a surprise trip for my wife on our 27th anniverary - our most intensly planned trip, 4 days in Vienna (my wife's favorite city)with prepurchased tickets to the Merry Widow,and 4 days in Salzburg with prepurchased ticket to a Mozart Dinner Concert along with a day trip to Munich for the Oktoberfest (just dor me). We had a ball, as we always do. We make excellent travelling companions and we look forward to our next adventures together.

Dianetoo

Steve and I rarely argue at home or on trips. We pretty much plan together and usually have an alternate idea in case something isn't working out. I did get p.o.ed at him a couple years ago in Italy when he didn't pack an extra roll of film for my camera in the daybag, but he did for his...and I only had about 2 shots on my camera. But ya know, it just wasn't worth fighting about, it was just one day. I'm just not a Drama Queen.

Marilyn

The opposite. We have the fewest quarrels/disagreements when traveling, I am thrilled to say, since we love to travel and do a lot of it.

Notanymore

After a dozen or so trips to Europe together, we have our &quot;roles&quot;. We plan together, make an itinerary together both getting in our favs, and giving up what we need to in order that both are happy. <BR>He drives, I don't say a word. <BR>I navigate, he doesn't say a word. <BR>If one of us makes a mistake, we laugh and move on. <BR>We are pretty good together, but, we have mutual interests.

silvana

i am not married but have taken many trips with my longtime boyfriend. i have decided that the reason we fight is because i do a ton of research before we go.. not because i don't like to go with the flow but just because i am so excited i can barely think of anything else... and he doesnt and so expects me to know everything, how to get everywhere, what to eat what to do et cetera. so he gets mad at me for now knowing and i get mad for him thinking that i should know. i think the solution to this problem is that couples should plan the trip together and not have one person do all the planning. also don't go places one of you has already been, there will be a lot of stress of that person who has been there before to remember how to get around et cetera. <BR>so there are my two cents.

George

topping

Jim

My wife leaves all, and I mean ALL of the pre-trip planning up to me. Hardly cracks a travel guide. Then, the night before we leave she starts reading the books and making suggestions, this after I have already planned an itinerary. <BR><BR>The worst fight we ever had on a trip was in Venice. After reading how much of a rip-off the gondolas were, I talked to her many times before the trip about skipping a gondola ride. Not once did I get the feeling that she felt so strongly about actually riding one of those damn things. On our last night there, she berated me horribly for not &quot;surprising her&quot; with an after dark ride. Not once prior to the trip did she express her feelings, and certainly not during the several days we were there prior to the fight. Thank god we headed south the next day so I wouldn't have to look at one of those damn boats again! Other than that I loved Venice.

ann

No, we save them for home

AR

Wow Ronda, you hit the nail right on the head. Take kids with you and the arguments are huge! To add to the title, we actually argue before we go as to who's turn is it to choose the trip.

yup

Picture the first trip to Europe, Italy, with the husband (already there under protest) who is convinced he is going to be ripped off by EVERYBODY. He drove me crazy double checking everything, and downright embarassing me in front of people. He was also so cheap, he didn't want to ever get cabs, and Rome is spread out enougth that once in awhile it would have felt good.<BR><BR>Plus, I have a natural sense of direction which was more reliable than the maps that we insisted we follow. His route invariably was longer.<BR><BR>Finally, several days into the trip, my feet were killing me,I was so tired, and we had been walking forever, that I told him I wanted a cab. He insisted the busstop was &quot;just a few more minutes&quot;. After a few more minutes I hailed a cab and left him standing. <BR><BR>I really enjoyed the rest of that day. <BR><BR>He never denied me a cab after that and he now loves the trips as much as I.<BR><BR>He had to conquer his fears, which he did. We now have wonderful trips together.

David

My wife and I have so much 'company' here.<BR><BR>ttt!

Susan

We get along beautifully on our trips - it's the pre-trip preps that cause all the wrangling. Somehow, I end up being the one to do all the work: planning (which I don't mind - I'm the family researcher), packing, loading the car, handling all the details, etc. I don't know how he does it but something always &quot;comes up&quot; that prevents his pitching in. (I should say that he does handle any telephoning - like for hotel reservations.) During this period, I become angry &amp; resentful (&amp; vent full steam - threatening that this is the &quot;last&quot; trip I'm going to take unless he helps more!) but I don't change his behavior (after 30 years of marriage would I expect otherwise?). Once we're air borne, peace reigns.

Mel

Do we ever? I don't remember a single trip that we didn't fight. The good thing is, we always enjoyed our trip and never really remember what the fight was all about. At home, we almost always never fight. But I can see a pattern there, we'd usually fight when we have to make a decision about something, either buying a new sofa, or where to eat..etc..