Suspaul

Hello. What about a river cruise in Europe? There are many cruise lines with a variety of "comfort levels" and many different routes. I did one last year on a solo trip and thoroughtly enjoyed it, it's great having to only unpack one time, nice food and I met some very nice people. Another advantage would be the fact that at each "port" you are provided with tour options or the have the option of just staying aboard and relaxing. There are some great cruises out there.

Hope this helps.
Susan

Suspaul

Oh my gosh, didn't notice that this post was from January o7, and didn't scroll down. Definitely a "blond" moment.
S

bob_brown

I am 70+ and my wife needs two new knees. So, for low stress, and a place with many people-carrying facilities that lead to beautiful views, I suggest Switzerland. Rent an apartment to have a home base, and enjoy the views.

Aduchamp1

My sister in law is 72 and will walk part of the Camino de Santiago next year. My cousin's in-laws are in their seventies and stll go on adventure trips.

Gretchen

Fishee asked about metro stations. PLEASE, Fishee, get a bus map and use the buses. They are SO much nicer, and unless you are going from A to Z, it is better than the Metro.
And they go between areas that the Metro requires you to transfer, and all that jazz. BUSES in Paris ROCK.

Gretchen

I do not think independent (outside a tour) is a good idea to China. It is possible, but for the "young".
Your father needs to be more grateful and less demanding and more thoughtful of his wife--since she want to go to Paris..
AND I willtell you from experience, tourism in China is VERY demanding physically--tour or no tour. I can no longer do it. I have been twice.

fishee

thanks for asking, I've been off the forum except for a few posts in the last 4 months.

Good news: I have 185,000 miles now, which I think is enough to fly them business class.

Bad news: Nothing decided yet about their destination.

I sent them 2 Europe to the Max DVD's -- Beautiful European cities or something like that, one specifically on Germany and Austria, etc. My mom said they enjoyed the Vienna one and I said great, I'll start looking into it! And she says (in Korean), "Well, maybe we should go somewhere else since we pretty much saw everything on the DVD". (me taking a deep breath and banging the phone against my forehead)

They've agreed that China might be rough on them. My dad flew to NY from SFO over the summer and he said he couldn't believe how exhuasted he was by the flight. I'm a little worried about that. I was thinking maybe I could fly them to Chicago, and they stay with me a day (or two?) and then we leave together to W. Europe for an 8 hr flight. I'm hoping if they fly in Business class (with me stuck in the back in coach, sniff, sniff) that it won't be as bad for them but I don't know if I'm being too optimistic. If 4 hrs in coach tired my dad out, I'm a little concerned. This may factor into the destination since I think I should consider only booking non-stop flights and if I'm flying on American, that gives me only a handful of cities in W Eurpoe. Is it easier to break up a long flight with a lay-over or is it better to just get it over with in one long shot?

They are being so indecisive about the destination, it's driving me nuts. My mother mentioned Australia or N. Zealand but I think that's a very long flight. I wish I could just grab my mom and head to Paris -- that would certainly be the easiest thing for me...

Cowboy1968

Get them more DVDs and treat yourself to a FC trip to any destination you want to go. ;-)

Gretchen

You may have the miles but you may or ay not be able to get the flight. Get a bead on a flight to Paris and tell them that is where they/we all can go.
THEN plan a nice trip with some nice meals. They haven't really seen Paris.
Arrange a day trip to Giverney by a small bus tour.

girlonthego

Hi fishee, I couldn't read all the previous recommendations, but my parents are similar ages and sound just like yours. In the past, they loved the lake region of Switzerland. The area of Locarno I think was their favorite. My mother's favorite city was Vienna. She would return in a heartbeat. They have talked about doing a Rhine River Cruise to see more and not have to pack and go.
My parents don't care for the tour of seeing 5 countries in two weeks. My mother's favorite part of being in Vienna, having coffee while people watching.
The also loved London and the countryside in England. So, good luck and I agree with above. Hotel is the only way to go for parents who like high end, and get two rooms!

lucyp

My parents are in their 80's now and have been to Europe a number of times to different countries each time. They are healthy but not very active and tire easily.

They have decided on a river cruise for their next trip. They have never wanted to do a 'cruise ship' cruise however. I think the smaller scale of the river cruise is more appealing to them.

lincasanova

re paris: as mentioned, most restaurants have put their miniscule toilet room in the basement.. so be prepared.

i also recommend vienna and/or a train trip in switzerland.

also consider the italian lake district by car. i drove my mom around the mosel and the rhein.. and it was a lot of fun. she also has issues, and london and paris went alright, but our later driving tour was the best ( off season).

don´t even think of taking them on many different trains if they cannot handle their own luggage.

i believe in switzerland you can still pay extra and send bags on ahead?

good luck.

i think it is a good idea for them to have a stopover in chicago. even if it is under the 24 hours so it doesn´t count as a stopover. anything will help take off the heaviness of the long flights.

Christina

My father was very high-maintenance, also, so I can relate to this. I think the plane ride will probably be okay if you have a layover. Then, if they are in business that really helps a lot, believe me. At least they may get some rest that way. Also, part of the fatigue on the 4-hour trip may have been because he was doing it all on his own, so if you are there, that relieves some of the stress and work.

If they are thinking about very long trips to Australia and New Zealand, I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like they just prefer some place other than Europe, to be honest, and have an attraction to Asia/Pacific. If they are Korean, that isn't too surprising. Most people like Paris, though. I don't know about Switzerland for this couple, definitely not what I would pick, although the scenery is beautiful, of course.

robertino

Um, not to be mean, but if you haven't decided on a destination in 9 months, you may need more help then what is available on a Fodor's forum.

Jean

I agree a bit with Robertino, but I think the problem is that your parents don't really want to go anywhere or don't care enough to focus on a destination. And, also not trying to be mean, I don't think you're really excited about taking them or you'd just set a decision deadline and put the wheels in motion.

I suggest you stop talking about it and see whether they raise the subject. If they do, let them direct the conversation and you just nod your head. Unless they "own" the idea of travelling to a particular place, they're not going to be happy and will probably blame you for taking them to the "wrong" place. Very passive aggressive -- my mother-in-law's forte.

fishee

Well, once early May passed, basically closing the window for summer travel, I felt like we were screwed for this year since I don't think they'll want to travel in Dec. (the only time I could take off 2 weeks after summer.)

So besides the DVD's I haven't done much to engage them since spring and to be honest, I've been so busy at work, I haven't thought much about this for months. I'll see what happens but thanks everyone for your feedback and thoughtful insights -- I hope we can pull this off.

lucy_d

fishee, I hope it works out for all of you. Thanks for the update