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Mother traveled to Europe in the mid 1960s, she was the talk of the town!

Mother traveled to Europe in the mid 1960s, she was the talk of the town!

Old Apr 15th, 2008, 09:46 AM
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PS "dashing frenchman" translated into " cheaping foriegner" a few years later,, LOL Gallic temper and wandering eye ended that "fairytale marriage" when I was 10.
My parents did continue a civil relationship though , and my dad and I are still close(mom is deceased)

Love French men, just don't marry them!
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Old Apr 15th, 2008, 10:32 AM
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Canuck_grrl- washing teeth alone. funny!!
 
Old Apr 15th, 2008, 01:50 PM
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Great stories, although I am having a hard time picturing greendragon's mom's StarTrek wedding...!

I went to Europe for the first time in the late '60s, to England, when I was a kid, but the best '60s trip was my great-aunt's big European adventure

Like your mom, distant_traveler, she made a fabulous scrap book, which I have. She was in her sixties, recently divorced from her handsome, charming, cheating younger second husband. She was very attractive, and lots of the bon voyage cards (I don't think I've ever had a bon voyage party!) had comments about being single amidst all those European hotties.

She went on an Elks Club one month American Express tour all across Europe, with a bunch of very fun looking (from the crazy photos), martini-drinking friends.

What a blast she had! My favorite two photos are of her and her roomie wrapped in towels toga-style posed in some glamorous black & white tiled bathroom, and the shot of her and two other ladies in Paris before boarding the plane home, dressed in pastel suits each with a fresh baguette in hand...

Not long after she returned, she met the love of her life, a sweet and well-off widower, married him, and continued to take some fun trips to Europe with him and another couple. What laughs they had!

She loved life no matter what; her motto was "the best things always happen to us" and considering her hard-working early days, the loss of her only child, and two divorces, her great attitude served her well!
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Old Apr 16th, 2008, 07:58 AM
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http://www.greendragonartist.com/TDC...hotoalbum.html

Third picture down on the left is from the Star Trek Wedding
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Old Apr 16th, 2008, 01:23 PM
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In the early 70s, my native Californian dad was a year out of college (Berkeley) and went to Europe with some buddies. They bought a VW bus in Amsterdam and took it around Europe.

At the same time, my native Georgian (U.S. state) mom went on a college graduation gift trip with her roommate and a Eurail pass.

Dad's friends got sick of each other eventually, so Dad ended up on a train somewhere in Austria. Mom and friend got on same train. Flirting ensued, and the rest is history (letter writing, marriage, kids, etc.). They are still together.

On this same trip, Mom and friend visited Mom's cousin at his military base in the U.K. This was the first time Mom's friend met him. The rest is history (same as above).

So, both girls found their husbands on the same trip, and my mom's friend ended up becoming her "cousin"!

My roommate and I had no such luck on our post graduation European adventure, though we both are happily married now to men we found domestically
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Old Apr 16th, 2008, 01:39 PM
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We were married in early 1972 and instead of an elabotate wedding, we took our $3,000 and went to Europe for six months. We spent most of that in Franco's Spain but also visited Iceland, France, and Luxembourg.

We have been back to Europe many times since.
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Old Apr 16th, 2008, 03:01 PM
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boy, greendragon, never mind the Star Trek wedding - what a saucy wench you are!
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Old Apr 17th, 2008, 04:58 AM
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thanks, Annabelle, I have my moments!
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Old Apr 17th, 2008, 05:25 AM
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My mum was hitch-hiking around the south of france in the 60's with her pal. They got picked up by a young man in a red sportscar and they were whisked off around the twisting cliff roads leading into Monte Carlo!
I love the story and image of my 20-something mum (from the backroads of ireland) getting picked up like that.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2008, 03:13 PM
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No exciting or racy story here, but in 1958, at the age of 19, I went to Europe on the Queen Mary ($300 for cabin class--which was below first class and above tourist class). The most expensive hotel I stayed in was the Caledonian in Edinburgh--$10/night--including a view of the castle. Return flight from London to New York was $300. Don't remember the cost of meals (except afternoon tea in my hotel lobby was 1/2 crown--which I believe was 35 cents at the time). I made little more than minimum wage but none of the costs were a hardship. A trip of that length, 5 weeks including ocean crossing, would be impossible for me to pay for today. Most hotels in Britain are totally out of my range now. Of course, Britain was still recovering from WWII at the time.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2008, 06:29 PM
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I haven't heard too many stories, but my father was in the army for a while in the 60's, and he was once based in southern Germany. He still has a few pictures from there, a picture of Neu Ulm and a farmhouse, and a picture of him in Paris. I've used the first two pictures in my German classes before.


He remembers the old "Europe on $5 A Day" book. Oh, how times (and prices) have changed!
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Old Apr 22nd, 2008, 07:47 PM
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The Summer of Love, 1968. I was 17 years old. Armed with a train pass, one small suitcase (no wheels!), my McGovern for President pin and about $800 in traveler's checks, I wandered around Europe for about six weeks. (That's about $20 a day!)

First to Sweden and Finland (to see family friends), and then I joined a tour group for two weeks in the Soviet Union. Fascinating, but apparent even to a teenager that this was not a prosperous, dynamic society.

I was on a train to Prague on August 21st as the Soviet tanks were rolling in. I wasn't able to get off the train or even open the window shades.

So, I headed for Poland which I absolutely loved. In Warsaw, I got to know a rock band called Niemen and became a bit of a groupie for a several days as I followed them to Lodz and Krakow. I still have their double LP "Enigmatic," but I no longer have a turntable to play it on. The Warhol-ish cover photos look like any rock group of that year: 'staches, long hair, very hip.

Then to West Germany to look at the Berlin Wall. There had been violent student actions in the spring and lots of demonstrations against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, so security was very tight.

Except for the USSR, I stayed in university dorms for a couple of dollars a night. In the Russian hotels, each floor had a "monitor" who kept the room keys and noted everyone's comings and goings. Each room had a radio that received only one station and surely was equipped for audio surveillance.

I ate a lot of cheap food and luckily had some home cooked meals with friends I met along the way. At some point, I was running low on funds, mailed the age-old "send money" postcard to my parents, and they sent three $20 bills to me in care of the American Express office in Munich.

I knew this was a very cool trip, but as I observed world events over the coming years until the Wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed, I came to appreciate how close I was to the events and circumstances of that time in history.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2008, 05:46 AM
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Jean, great stories of being on the spot as history happened. I am wondering about your budget, however. You mentioned $20 a day. In the sixties I was traveling on $5 a day and would have considered $20 pretty luxurious. You stayed in hostels and ate on the cheap, so where did your money go? Actually none of my business,and not criticizing, just curious. (I have diaries from those trips in chich I detail every penny spent--TMI, my nephews would say, but interesting in these days as prices rise daily.)
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Old Apr 23rd, 2008, 07:48 AM
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1969, hitch-hiked primarily in Spain and Italy with then BF.
At that time Franco was still very much in power. I can remember that it was very difficult for a single woman to walk around unescorted.
I revisited Spain 33 years later and BOY! what a difference!
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Old Apr 23rd, 2008, 04:01 PM
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Irishface, I couldn't have done it on $5 a day in 1968.

Sadly, I didn't keep a journal, so I don't know exactly where all the money went. As I recall, the dorm rooms were $2-3 (including bed linen and a towel).

I remember after 2 weeks in the Soviet Union I was starving for something other than cabbage, potatoes and tasteless tomatoes. I went to a really nice hotel in Warsaw and spent a fortune (probably $10) on a dinner that included a truly decadent Coke. When I was invited to someone's home for a meal, I always took something.

I went to clubs. I was (and remain) a museum junkie and often went to two a day. I collect books wherever I go (and still have a couple from that trip). I took day trips to Treblinka and Auschwitz. I drank (too much) beer in a Munich beer hall. I mailed or carried home souvenirs for family, friends and myself (including a balilaika I still have). I bought film and sent postcards.

All things considered, I'm surprised I was able to do so much on $20 a day.

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