anna

Sarah, if you read the thread on travelling companions from Hell, I will assume you read my post on my trip to Denmark with my mother. Reread it carefully before you go. My mother expressed a lot of the same reservations your parents are expressing before we went. If I had it to do over again, knowing now what I know, I would not do it. I love my mother, but she made me miserable for a week. If you are really going to go, do not take any of that "whatever you want will be fine" crap from your parents. Tell them very firmly ahead of time that you will hold them to that and remind them every hour on the hour that they said it if they complain even once about the arrangements you have made. I hope it works out better for you than it did for me. My mom says she had a good time and I hope she did, because I did not, and it cost me $1250 and hours of planning. Just warning you ahead of time. Don't take any garbage from them if they're not having a good time.

Paul J

Hi Sarah: There is a wealth of advice given in response to your post, some of it opposing viewpoints. It's like eating Vegtable Medley; Pick out the parts you like. Just remember, nobody knows your folks as well as you do.

carol

Lots of good advice here. I agree with Cass about sitting down after the half-day tours and writing down the sights that your parents are most interested in seeing. After seeing the highlights, they'll know immediately what they want to see more of, and then make yourself helpful and figure out the best way for them to get to these sights from your hotel. I too think you'll all have a wonderful time if you just don't worry so much whether they're having a good time.

Bruce

Leave your parents home and go it alone! Send your parents a postcard...sounds cruel, but you've outlined what could become a hellish experience - besides, the stairs and the walking that are a necessary part of seeing Europe just might kill them.

tina

Sarah <BR>I don't believe that your parents' age has much to do with with their lack of interst in traveling. I know some people in 20s who couldn't care less about traveling and forcing them to go to Paris or anywhere besides New York wouldn't make sense. On the other hand my husband who just turned 72 love to travel and you should see him in Paris last March. He loved it so much that before we left Paris we made a reservation in our hotel for October and dinner reservation at Jules Verne. We both do what we liked to enjoy since we were much younger: traveling among other interests. We are going to Seychelles, Kenya, and Tanzania in June for a whole month. Later this year: London & Paris, Costa Rica, Montana, Belize, Galapagos, and St. Lucia. It seems that you are trying too hard for your parents to accept your own values and intersts. I only hope that this trip you planned for them will actally spark some interests in traveling. There are many people who did not care about travelling but once they tried you can't stop them. Good luck, try to relax, and give your parents some credit. They may surprise you.

Glenn

Ok, who trip is this? If this is their trip, don't plan it as your trip. <BR> <BR>I am 57 years old and my wife is 52. I have arthritis in my hips and my wife has diabetic neuropathy in her feet. We never saw Europe until we took a 3 city tour 2 years ago for our 30th anniversary. We've been back twice since then and are going again in October-we'd go more often but we both hold full time jobs. We take those "terrible" bus tours because of our difficulty walking and because each tour has been to a place we have never been. We will have finished our "intro" tours of Western Europe by the end of next year and then start more localized visits. <BR> <BR>This is the way we do it: the way we like, not the way our kids might like. If they can't tell you what they like, it's because they haven't been there. <BR> <BR>Do they speak a foreign language? If not, will they be comfortable not hearing English (my grandmother refused to return to Montreal because on her first trip she thought the people in the elevator were talking about her behind her back)? <BR> <BR>Do they have a strong religious tie? Westminster Cathedral is just not "an old building" but was originally a cathedral. It is also a place of honor. My wife was an English major in college and a long time English teacher: she wandered around poet's corner reading and marveling at the gravestone. <BR> <BR>If your parents like art, don't take them to the Louvre-it's too big to absorb and, after a while, it all looks the same. Go to the Musee d'Orsai (sp): it's smaller and the art is all post-1870s. <BR> <BR>Don't go to Versailles-it's too big and takes too much time. Go to Montmarte (althoght above the funicular is steep)-the square is small, the shops welcome visitors (as much as any french shop does) and on the weekends folks from the countryside come to sell their wares. In London, go to pubs for dinner, not fancy restaurants-they feel more like home. <BR> <BR>If your folks have a coterie of friends at home, make them bring the phone numbers. Call a couple each evening (you can get some good deals on your phone card): they won't get so lonely, they can talk (and hopefully get excited) about what they did that day and what they will see. <BR> <BR>Do your folks like theater or musicals? You can get tickets now for a London show-check the web and then call directly, you can pay by credit card and have the tickets in about 10 days. <BR> <BR>You never know. They might get the bug like we have and start traveling a lot. Only, when they do, they will leave you behind!

Rex

I waited a bit before weighing on this one - - extrapolating how good or bad Sarah's trip will go, based on other people's trips with their parents is tricky. <BR> <BR>I have taken my parents, my wife's parents, other adults their age, and other much younger travelers (14-22) - - both family and not. If I have learned anything that might be relevant to your parents, Sarah - - it is that there ARE some (a MINORITY?) of adults who really will enjoy travel, but who really DON'T WANT to do the "pre-trip immersion thing" that I (and many others here?) love intensely. <BR> <BR>My father-in-law, in particular, has warned me against pushing too much info on some of his contemporaries - - with the notion that "knowing too much before you get there" somehow diminishes the experience. I cannot relate to this notion, but I do believe that it is genuine and that to a certain extent he is telling me this because it is how he really feels as well. I have not observed this in teenagers - - in fact, they more often have the oppostie attitude (and a number of older adults as well) - - that feeling of "Oh man - - I wish I had read more about these places before I got over here". <BR> <BR>Your parents could end up in either camp - - but you might be aware that no amount of pushing will increase the amount of "immersion" they do pre-trip - - and it might be just fine with them that the unexpected element is all the greater.

elvira

Sarah, you sound like a great daughter and one who's trying to do the right thing. <BR>You said your parents want to take the trip. Did they ever tell you why they wanted to go? If they don't like old buildings, museums, different food, or walking, then what were they looking forward to doing? Do they really want to go someplace to visit, or as another poster noted, do they have another agenda, like spending time with their children? If that's the case, then skip the cities and find nice country inns where you all can sit around and talk. <BR>

maryjaneh

Frankly, this whole thread is getting a little too "touchy-feely"......quit trying to analyze them. They will go and love it, or have an acceptable time, or just plain hate it. I'm not sure I would want to go if I were your parents because this just goes on and on like a broken record.

Samantha

Maybe it's the debater and "talk it to death" part of me, but I find this post interesting and appreciate the tactfulness of the contributors, even when disagreeing. Sarah, you sound like a wonderful daughter and I'm sure your parents appreciate all the work you've done to make the trip special for them. They're probably just hesitant and afraid of doing something completely new and "foreign" (pardon the pun!) to them. I say make the plans for them, but give the option to do or not do those plans, on any given day. If they would rather just sit and watch the people go by instead of spending hours walking around a museum as you and the others in family want to do, then so be it. Forcing them to go at the same pace as everyone else will only make them miserable. I say try to balance out suggesting things to them, but not giving them an "or else" ultimatium. I'm sure all of us will be interested in how the trip goes, so please let us know. Have a wonderful and safe time and always keep in mind the time spent together is what they'll most remember, whether or not they loved Europe 100% or not.

Diane

I just found this interesting post and want to know what happened. Sarah--did your parents go? If so, how did it turn out. I would imagine, if your parents got their passports readily, as well as new clothes, etc., that they really did want to go. <BR> <BR>In 1985 my husband and I took not only our three children (ages 8, 10 and 14) to Europe, but my mother-in-law. She was 74, and it was her first trip to Europe (and only). She wasn't interested in planning--kept saying "Whatever you decide to see if fine with me." That has always been her answer, even if we're just trying to decide where to go eat (in the U.S.). Boy, does she know how to get along with a daughter-in-law! <BR> <BR>Well, she was great! We spent a week in London, a week touring England/Scotland, and a quick trip through Brugges, down the Rhine valley, to Fussen (Neuschwanstein), to Lucerne and Wengen, to Paris for five days, and then home. She liked everything, never complained that she was tired (she could rely on my 8-year-old daughter to do that), often told us she appreciated being included in the trip, and bowed out of only one activity, our trip up the Jungfraujoch. She said the altitude was bothering her a bit and she wanted to play it safe, so she just hung around the Alpenrose all day and rested. Isn't she great? She's 89 now and doesn't travel much any more! <BR> <BR>So, Sarah, if you're still around, please report on your trip with your parents.