annetti

eighteen

swalter518

Eighteen as a graduation trip with a friend and her parents - to London, Paris, Florence, Rome and Venice. I haven't had enough yet after 4 more trips in the subsequent 14 years. I only wish I could convince my husband to go more often!

sandi_travelnut

I was 37 in 1999 for my first trip, since then we traveled to Italy and Paris in 2000, 2002 and 2004. I'm hoping for this year too!

travelphile

Freshman in high school - so 13? 7 glorious days in Spain with a group of 50+ on a bus tour. Wonderful, though I don't long for the bus!

Now in my mid-twenties, I'll make my third trip in 4 years in September, a trend I hope to continue.

If I could only convince my family/friends who cannot understand that is where & how I want to spend my money...

treble

I was nine, youngest of three in my family. London, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. We went back the following year with a driving trip of Germany Austria and Switzerland. I took my children to London and Paris, one week each when they were 7 and 9. Once bitten one can never be rid of the travel bug!!!

europhile

Interesting thread. I was 4 when we moved to London for my dad to do a fellowship. We were there less than a year, but travelled all over Europe during that time. I remember bits and pieces, but the overall experience instilled a love of travel and particularly European travel. We went back several times as a family after that year, but I first went on my own sophomore year of college (1992-summer semester in Greece) and then junior year in London (with lots of travel on the weekends to the continent).

Lutece

I was 12 and wanted to go to camp instead -- can you imagine? My parents had scraped their pennies together to make for a "Chevy Chase European Vacation" -- sort of a nutso, whirlwind Europe trip. My mother, who had studied several languages in college, wrote letters to what seemed like the most budget hotels in the world to make reservations. I remember her waiting for responses from Europe in the mail, and her bringing the letters with her to the hotels when we checked in. It was a wonderful, absolutely crazy trip, and probably the most valuable gift my parents could have ever given me and my brother. I still have so many great memories, which is probably why I am always longing to travel to Europe. So if you're considering taking a bratty 12-year old like I was to Europe, he/she could return a changed teenager! Actually, I think was still a brat for at least another 8-10 years, but maybe I was at least a little more appreciative of travel and culture. ;-)

kfusto

I was 16 and qualified for an exchange student program in Salzburg, Austria. I visited Rome, London, Munich as a few smaller towns as well.

I really believed it changed my life and I have been travelling ever since.

Meredith

I was 14 going on 15. It was a two-week trip to Italy and Egypt with my mom, several aunts and several cousins. I celebrated my 15th birthday the day before we flew back home.

yale

I was 18. My grandmother sponsored trips for her 3 grandchildren sometime before they each turned 18. I went to Scotland and England with a school group.

kansas59

I was 30 and it was to celebrate the 30th birthday. I planned a fabulous 3 weeks in London, Bath, Bruges (pick a spelling)and Paris. After a year of planning this adventure, I was so depressed on my return flight that I realized what most people on this board have already figured out...I started planning my next trip...and the next trip...and the next trip...

mr_go

I was 28. Looking back, I wish it had been much earlier. As Ms. Go mentioned previously, we've been bringing our daughter along since she was 7. She mentioned to me the other day that she barely remembers Paris and London now...but she's still very glad she went!

Chele60

I will be 45 when I go to Spain in September. Have traveled other places in the world, just not Europe. Guess living on the West Coast has something to do with that.

TravelsHappy

Happily 23, having sold my wheels for Sorbonne tuition, probably as wise a move as I ever made. Has kept me going back to Paris often, more so in the past ten years. Like many, cannot get enough. Interesting thread, by the way. Thanks.

tuscanlifeedit

awbaker wrote:

"Looking back, I can't believe what I went through just to get to Europe. Last year, we offered my teen-aged niece and nephew a trip to Italy with us, and my nephew turned us down!!"

About two years ago, we were taking my daughter to Paris for Easter. (Although I was 35 when I first went to Europe, I made sure that she was 17; Paris was her second trip). We thought she might like company that was more her age, and knowing that my husband's niece seemed to want to go to Europe, we offered to take her along. I am still surprised that neither she nor her mother even returned our call (we left a message to the point, and sent an email).

I still feel sad that she did not have this opportunity.

kswl

I was also 14 going on 15, leaving the States for boarding school in Europe. I still can't believe my parents allowed me to fly, unescorted, to JFK, with three other kids. We were flying over on Icelandic air, the air-ferry of school groups in the 70's. We never did find or join up with the rest of our group in NYC. With tons of luggage (9 months of it for four teens) two of us pretended to be wheelchair-bound and sat with heavy duffels on top of us. Our plane developed mechanical problems in Iceland during the refueling stop, and my memories of that 24-hour period are a bit hazy. We flew to Luxemborg and took the train to Amsterdam to meet the rest of the school group. We stayed in the Netherlands about two or three months (with one of our ships in drydock in Vlaardingen) before we took off up the Atlantic coast, bound for France, England, Scandinavia, and Kiel. I had many happy adventures during the years I spent away at school, and they had a profound impact on my life to this day.

warobison

I was 37, and the only reason I went was to accompany my wife when she took a group of her students to Europe (also her first trip to Europe). That was in 1984, and we were hooked. Since then, we've been thirty-five times-- 15 with students and 20 on our own. This year will be the first one in more than 20 years that we won't be going; we've decided that it's about time we see Alaska, Yellowstone, and other parts of the Northwest and the strong Euro gives us a good excuse. See www.cp-tel.net/war for some of our trips.

Daisy54

I was 14, a sophomore in high school when I took my first of two spring break school trips to Spain. That was in 1970. To show just how long ago that was, the first trip, those kids who bought swords in Spain were actually allowed to carry them on into the cabin. The following year they requested that we check our swords in with baggage. I still have my sword. As an adult I've been to the UK 4 times and hope to return later this year if I can talk DH into it.

Pat_in_Mich

In 1982 my husband and I had been married less than 2 years and were saving for a down payment on a house. We decided to go to Europe instead and went to England, Scotland, and France for 3 weeks. I was 23 and it was only the 2nd time I'd ever been on a plane, since my family was too poor to travel. The next trip was in 2001 with our 2 teens. We're hoping to get back there again in 6 or 7 years, once the college expenses are behind us.

fille26

First time I was 21. Went backpacking while I was engaged.
Second time with my husband, I was 23..for our honeymoon!
Now we are going back again, I just turned 27 today. We're going in May..

I would love to be able to go back every, for the rest of my life!