I belong to a travel club and this is our latest topic. I am curious as to how you would respond..."How do you pamper yourself on vacation?"

All food have zero calories and zero grams of fat when I'm on vacation

I don't. I'm usually on a budget and I'm more interested in museums and sightseeing.

One thing I do like though is soaking in the tub, so if possible I try to find hotels or apartments with a bathtub.

I don't. Being able to travel at all IS my treat to myself.

I can't afford any additional "pampering" (unless you're talking about something like booking a roome with a private bathroom not a shared toilet down the hall!)

Sitting down in an outdoor cafe or pub and having a coffee or beer. My youngest son has always described our trips abroad as "adventures" not vacations, so an afternoon rest with one or the other of my two favorite drinks is a real treat.

I agree - being able to travel IS my treat, and I love sitting out, having something good to drink and just being there.

But I'm guessing some people's answers are things like staying in a luxury hotel, getting a spa treatment, having an expensive meal, renting a nice car, etc.

Taking a taxi or private shuttle from CDG to Paris

Just being on a trip is pampering to me -- no meals to cook (unless I choose to stay in an apartment), no house to clean, no bills to pay, no errands to run, no volunteer jobs -- complete freedom to enjoy whatever I choose to do. Doesn't get any better than this IMHO.

Well I like staying in hotels,, just having clean towels every day and my bed made is a treat! I also think three hour liquid lunches are obsence,, so tend to do that at least once.
Agree that diets stay home.

The vacation is the pampering. No cooking, no cleaning, no responsibilities beyond what to see and where to eat dinner, wine and chocolate at whatever hour (pastis at 10AM? Of course...you're on vacation!!), lemon tarts for dinner, eating pork every day rather than yucky chicken, sleeping late or not, seeing wonderful things, meeting new people.

Just savoring Paris with no deadlines to meet...school bus to meet, dinner to start...feed great grandchildren and spending time just the two of us eating good food, drinking good wine and eating good chocolate is how we pamper ourselves!

A Louis Vuitton purse

I like to do one or two very small group tours either involving food or famous sites. In 2010 we took a great Tapas Tour in Seville that I will remember for years to come. This
year in France we will take the all day tour of the Normandy Beaches even though it would be much cheaper to do it on our own.

By the way, does anyone know of a food-related tour in Paris?

Pat

Several way:

We don;t rush, but leave plenty of time to relax and watch the world go by

Stayin full-service hotels so we can have room service breakfasts (and we don;t do any 8 am starts)

If we are staying more than 1 or 2 nights we always get a room large enough to have a comfy seating area (either deluxe or junior suite or whatever) ro relax between a day's sightseeing and going out to dinner

We typcially have one special dinner in each major city we visit - so there is one evening that is very relaxed and luxurous

Staying in an apt on Ile St. Louis and having MDH go to the bakery in the morning, then indulging in that fantastic French bread with REAL butter & jam followed by pastry--nothing I would never do at home.

Walking around Paris(the biggest treat of all), sitting in a cafe, then returning to the apt. around 5ish to put on some music, have a glass or 2 of wine and read a book. Dinner around 8:30 and a walk along the Seine------take me away!

I don't ever "pamper" myself, that word is kind of strange to me as a concept (if you know what its actual definition is). I can see wealthy people might pamper themself, and some people do but I don't do those kind of things on vacation or at home. If I were going to "pamper" myself, I'd be more likely to do it at home when I hadn't had time off or a vacation for a long time, probably. But I don't do luxury hotels, expensive restaurants, spas, private limos, etc.

Slowing down the pace and not rushing around trying to cram too much into a day. If I'm tired, I can sit for hours in the Luxembourg gardens, watching the world go by. I've learned that the more I slow down, the more I enjoy everything.

Stay in a private room vs group room in hostel. Treat myself to a live performance ticket-opera/ballet. A glass of champagne or a fancy cocktail. A taxi. Might treat myself to some fresh flowers for my room - pretend I am in a 5 star hotel. It's all relative.

I think the word "splurge" might be more accurate, for the question I think you are asking, than "pamper"?