ok, i got back tuesday. i will post a trip report shortly. last year i went to london and paris at the end of may. came home and felt good about being back. this year went (same time range) to roma, paris, and london. now i have spent a total of 6 days in each city.

but this year i am thoroughly depressed. and i live in socal with great weather, sites, blah blah blah blah. no narrow streets, no massive amount of walking, no good food, no accents, no flavor...i could go on for days.

i am planning to go to greece next year at the same time again (will throw in a stop over in roma). but how will i handle the year long wait? how do you guys do it? i was fine last year, but where the HELL is my gelato now? i need it bad. i was use to two serving per day.

even people at work are commenting that i look down. i am not hiding my feelings very well....so i close my eyes and just enjoy the memories i have in my mind.

Hi
Work on your photo album--don't just throw the pictures in, add little souvenirs, napkins, brochures, turn it into a travelogue. Add interesting captions that include some historical facts, or just amusing anecdotes. Give a party with a travel theme (even just pizza if budget is tight) and leave your gorgeous album out for people to thumb through. They won't like it as much as you do, but that's okay, maybe someone will ask a polite question about one of the photos and you can expound on the view or the hotel or the gelato.

Work on the trip report.

Rent a couple of good movies with lots of local scenes:there are plenty of recommendations here at fodors on past threads (search on Movies) or just scan shelves at your video store. And be pleased with yourself when you recognize the buildings or the street corners.

Start planning Greece trip now.

good luck

Hi,

I'm not usually too depressed when returning from holidays, mainly because I like where I live.

HOWEVER, I do go into mourning whenever I leave Paris. It starts on the ride to the airport - my little nose pressed to the cab window, tears in my eyes, lump in my throat. So I decided to make a deal with myself: I acknowledge right up front that I will be displeased about going home, and give myself an official three day "mourning period". During that time, I openly admit that it sucks to be out of Paris, I am not happy, and I have no intention to PRETEND to be happy. Pooh on everything. Merde.

And then, at the end of those three days, it's out of my system and moping time is up. I make plans to spend time with friends and go out and do things that will remind me that, while I ain't in Paris, I still have it pretty good.

So put on a little black armband and tell everyone you have a couple of days' grace before you can be expected to buck up, and that if they tell you to smile they are being very rude.

Don't know if that will work for you, but it works for me.

A lot of what Elaine said, I throw myself in putting together my album, which last year's Italy trip is a bit more than 6 inches thick! I get books, novels set in the area, I get movies, I also put a lot of my pictures around me both at home and at the office, my cubicle at work could be called Little Italy at this point. And most important, start thinking and planning next year's trip! On my two last trips, I also had a video of the trips, so I watched those more often than once!

It is a horrible thing to come back to reality, isn't it?

Southern California has no "accents"? Do you mean foreign voices speaking English, or foreign languages altogether? Either way, I can't imagine a better place than Southern California in which to hear a huge variety of foreign voices. It might help to hang out in the immigrant districts of whatever city you live in, and EVERY city has its immigrant districts down there!

I read and post frequently on this BB plus a couple others for travel, I subscribe to several travel magazines, rent foreign movies, study a foreign language, eat in French restaurants, give advice to others going to Europe, have friends who love to travel too, etc. It doesn't so much help the depression upon returning from a great trip (which I completely understand BTW) but makes travel a for-sure thing, and more a part of your day-to-day life.

If you are serious you might consider how you could take more than 1 trip per year &/or how you could stay a longer time (time without pay or a leave of absense from work a possibility?).

Where in Socal are you? If you're in the San Diego area, I can send you to a hole in the wall restaurant where you swear you'd just walked into a real Italian family trattoria. Everyone is fresh from Italy and loves to talk about their home country. The owner greets you with a hug and will sit and chat with you if it's not too busy. You can practice your Italian. And the food?

Point is, there are probably lots of places like that all over SoCal. Ask around.

I live in paradise--Hawaii--and I always come home from Europe and fall into a funk. I miss my Paris! I have started to cope with this by planning my NEXT trip!! Oh, but I see you have one planned....OK so for your next trip, make sure you buy little foodstuffs there that will remind you of your favorite places in Europe: Olives, tea, cheese, candies, whatever. I bring these out when the depression urge comes on and I need to relive the vacation!

As for gelato...surely you have a good gelateria in SoCal?? Even here in Honolulu, tucked away on a side street, I go to a special gelato maker for my fix. The owner and his friends even sing to me in Italian, if they are there! siiiigggghhhhh

ucsun, Welcome to my world...It is normal to feel depressed, restless and miss all these beautiful places that you left behind..
Dont worry, eventually it will pass.
Start planning for next year..Eat Italian or french food...Listen to Bocelli or Pavarotti..their songs will bring back many happy memories.
Lets us know how you are coping..
Ciao..

Aloha Melissa..Tell me is Patti Kitchen( Chinese restaurant) still open in Ala Moana Shopping Center?
I used to eat there very often when I lived in Honolulu years ago..
Mahalo,
Ciao, Kismet

ucsun, I live in the beautiful West Indies and continually fall prey to the typical "coming home" blues after a wonderful European trip. It lasts me for over a month or so, at times.

All of the above is wonderful advice and all things I try to do, as well. Also, planning my next trip and surfing Fodors to help other travelers with my past desintations is a God send.

Good luck and keep your chin up! Your next trip will be here before you know it.

Maybe I just discovered why I am an addict on this forum. It is part of my fix. Movies, books, documentaries, post cards, my photos, foreign students, European friends, etc., also help.

Once Paris and/or Amsterdam a/o Rome a/o Istanbul etc get in your blood you are hooked. Then the urge is to continue to explore Europe, trying to find a better nirvana, secure in knowing that you have keepers that will always be there for you.

Thanks for the post, uscun. I lived in Newport Beach for many years and always felt relieved when I was on the afternoon KLM602 flight to Amsterdam, every year or two.

No good food in SoCal! I beg to differ. There are a vast array of American and ethnic restaurants to choose from. Everyone may yell at me but, frankly, I think we have the best food in the world.

Now, to get over your travel funk. Usually I take 2 major trips a year and start planning the next one even before I've gone on the first one. Travel planning for me is a big part of the fun.

You can start now by culling all the info on Greece from Fodors (refreshing/adding to as time goes by) and the Internet. And, you can pull up threads on where you have been and contribute - part of the fun of travel.

I never want to come home when the trip ends - my choice would be to travel endlessly and come home for a couple of months periodically, check on my house, family, etc. and head out again. Oh, if I was wealthy!!

If you have not visited Asia, (i.e. Thailand, China, Turkey) check out trips there; they are very inexpensive and a whole new culture. You might even squeeze in a trip before Greece.

And, for a replacement to gelato, try Ben & Jerry's Karmel Sutra ice cream. I'm very hooked!

There, there, ucsun, you have a friend in woe with me too.

I just returned from an extended trip to Italy to attend an extended "hippie" wedding and I am going through withdrawal myself.

I have built what could be mistaken for a shrine to Italy and France in my office, my co-workers mumble "bloody, Italy" when they pass.

In So. Cal there is an Italian Culture Society in Westwood and there are numerous Italian restaurants where you can linger. Come on, we have some good restaurants here, if you post which area you frequent, we can let you know where to go.

and....

where in SoCal are you that you don't hear accents?

This is a bit of a different answer, but in addition to the suggestions mentioned above (working on the album, planning the next trip, spending hours on Fodors), there's one other thing I also do (and I swear, this isn't meant to sound all preachy or anything.) However, whenever I feel "trip withdrawal" (or just feel down in general), I go volunteer at a local soup kitchen or children's hospital. I'm not trying to minimize your sadness at no longer being abroad (believe me, I go through it too and as you can tell from the above responses, it is completely common!) I just find working with those who might not have the health or means to travel pulls me out of my doldrums a lot quicker. It's amazing, I've talked to terminally sick kids who rather than being sad, actually ask to hear about my travels and love looking through photos and sharing my experiences. I'm not saying people should feel guilty for traveling, just that focusing on the positive really makes a difference once you're back (hey, you're in socal, the weather's great, and I bet there's lots right here at home you may not have explored yet.) That, and planning your next trip will hopefully get you through. Oh, and I also live in socal and think we have great food options Hang in there ucsun - look forward to reading your trip report!

>Go on holiday again and/or get a life coach and/or hit the Prozac.<

m_k2, You haunt this forum night and day with your vitriol. Why don't you go away and get even a glimmer of life you allegedly lead.

I have a fool proof way to avoid post-travels funk. I TALK about travel all year long. My travels have led to a gig teaching travel classes at the local community college, libraries, travel clubs, shops, etc. So when I'm not planning or on a trip, I'm planning a class or seminar. And, answering the students' questions and helping them work out their own itineraries helps me sort of live vicariously through them and I sort of feel I'm in Europe all year long.

ucsun: I can totally relate to the "downer" you are experiencing. I leave for an extended trip to France & Italy in about 2 weeks, and reading your post reminds me of the way I will feel mid-August!! All of the above suggestions are good, especially about counting your blessings -- you get to go to Greece "soon" !! Plan, plan and over-plan that trip... immerse yourself in it, and in all things "travel", after you allow yourself a brief but much-need "mourning" period.
And as for living in SoCal, I lived there the first 1/2 of my life, and it's great - but nothing compares to Europe!! and once you have the bug...
Speaking of which, I am a newbie, but I've already seen m_kingdom's nastiness on several threads.
What's your deal, MK2?? The comments on the Reagan thread were good, until you brought politics into it. Maybe you should think about doing something other than adding comments here, because you add nothing of value. Prozac, indeed...

Hi Kismet, Patti's is alive and well in the Ala Moana Center Food court! Come back and visit some time....

Dear UCSun

I got back two weeks ago from a trip to London and Paris and still feel sad being back but I knew that would happen but wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world. I was blessed with beautiful, sunny weather everyday.

I wish I had the luxury of taking two big vacations a year. I'm hoping to take 1 big one a year. I think my next trip will be to Italy, so my mind is starting to think about all I want to see and do while there and that is helping a little.

Although I haven't started my photo album yet I have some of my pictures from my trip at work to remind me of the glorious time I had. I always order doubles of all pictures.

I looked high and low for M_kingdom - never found him/her.

UCSUN it will get better.