Airplane food. Though often the butt of many an unfortunate joke, this scoffed-at cuisine stands alone in my mind, not because of its flavor or its lack thereof, but because of its sentimental value. That chewy, cardboardesque croissant, those ice-cold dinner rolls, the oh-so-yummy mystery meat— all new to me. Believe it or not, airplane food was the first among a series of firsts that spanned my trip to France, and for this reason it will remain etched in my memory like the grooves of a coin.
With bellies full of microwavable chicken, oddly colored salad and God knows what else, my family and I embarked on our journey.
â–º SEMI FINALIST 2012 TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP
And by “journey,” I mean our small yet hectic trek to Paris. Imagine a family of four—all of whom dazed from both jet lag and one-too-many melatonin —wandering confusedly through the metros, their over-sized luggage dragging at their feet. As comical an image as this may seem, let’s fast forward. Our destination, Paris, was not what I expected, though this was not necessarily a bad thing. In movies, on TV, even on those crisp and vibrant postcards, all you see is the good. The flowers and the architecture and the beautiful young couples. But, as is the case in all cities, darkness lurks about like a cat on padded paws. Litter, rain, poverty—you name it. However, these less-than-idyllic characteristics of Paris simply added to its realness, to the experience, and although my once-lofty vision of the city was tarnished by these things, a new, slightly-less-perfect Paris lay waiting to be explored.
Of course, we visited the city’s hot-ticket tourist venues, whether it be Le Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame or L’Arc de Triomphe. And while yes, they were in fact beautifully beautiful, marvelously marvelous, and wonderfully wonderful, I found that the most amazing spectacles were engrained in the culture itself. Take, for example, the courtyards: On just about every street corner, we found a small yet eclectic green space, complete with both foliage and benches. If you wanted to simply grab food to go— whether it be street falafel from Le Marais or Pain au Chocolat from Rue de Rennes—you could find somewhere to sit, relax, and chow down, if only for a short while.
Just as with the courtyards, other aspects of Parisian life surprised me in the most pleasant sense of the word. The strong European coffee, those teeny little cars, the abundance of attractive, well-dressed men. It was all so very new, yet so very real and vivid and bright. I found myself less enchanted with the tourist sites and increasingly awestruck by the cafés and the flowers and those little details that we, as travelers, often overlook. Even though the trip was relatively recent, I find that with each passing day, images of Sacré Coeur and Notre Dame fade from my mind like ink from an old, forgotten manuscript— easily and without remorse. On the contrary, certain memories—from our trip to a local market to our mastering of the metro—are as clear as day. Permanent. That being said, I have one piece of advice, and it has nothing to do with airplane food, mind you: Enjoy traveling. Do not rush from site to site, viewing everything through the faulty guise of a camera lens. Soak in the details, however minor they may seem, and try to—as that old cliché so simply states—take time to smell the roses.
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Great information. I love travelling and the winter holidays are best to go out with family and friends. there are many places in India for the best winter holiday. here is the list 5 Best Winter Holiday Destinations In India
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As per my opinion Mountains are the real beauty of any country but not only a particular country is the the natural beauty of World….. It gives feeling like we are in heaven.
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Can you tell me a estimated amount required to spend 6 days in Washington including hotel price . thanks in advance .
Spending quality time with family is always a good thing to do , I have recently visited to Switzerland with my family and booked online experience that was pretty cheap and fun , really like your article appreciated buddy.
Hi, thanks for the huge list of good ideas! I reconnected with an old childhood memory of travelling on house boats.
Wow, that’s a great list. The Free Tours By Foot sounds amazing and such a great way to explore a city. Have you guys ever tried indoor skydiving? It’s not cheap, but it’s a great activity for the whole family. Some of the centers even offer a Virtual Reality experience. With more and more tunnels popping up it’s become quite easy to find a spot nearby. For those interested check out dropzone.com/indoor/ . They’ve got a nifty tunnel finder.
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Hi There,
Thank you for putting together a list for Fall vacation. It is so informative and exciting. We love the nature! We should be planning a trip to Aspen Mountain, Colorado soon. The infographic on emergency is so well done and very handy for travelers.
visiting california is always enjoyable. thanks for sharing your feelings about california. Have traveled any other countries? I’ve been travelling for last 2 years and I would like to share some of my great experinces with you. do you accept guest post?
Everything in this blog is nice. Fabolous infographic and presentation also. I also want to go there for these types of rides which are shown in this blog.
First of all, you need to find out what type of vacation each member of your family prefers. At lunch, dinner, or watching your favorite TV show in the evening, try discussing your upcoming vacation together. Listen to suggestions from everyone, remember where you have already visited and, taking into account the interests of the child, try to choose the right direction. It should be borne in mind all the details: the possibility of excess spending, the size of the vacation budget, the presence of health problems, interests, hobbies and hobbies. If you are organizing a trip with your child, you will have a wonderful joint vacation!
NYC is a great place to celebrate Halloween, and good opportunities for celebrity sightings too!
Please meet the winners of the 2019 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship at this post: https://myfamilytravels.com/family-travel-forum-announces-winners-of-2019-teen-travel-writing-scholarship/
Hi, just wondering who won, every time I click the link it just takes me back to the homepage
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Thank you for sharing … I love to do a river rafting….thankyou so much for giving details about all things
Thank you for sharing the Information and images… Its very good and I am traveling soon on this place
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Hello Charles,
Thanks for your note. As stated in the post above, it has been sponsored by You Fly, We Drive, who has paid to market their services to readers of our website and forums. We hope you and other readers find their car transport service useful.
The terms and use clearly states… ” that no post on this forum should advertise or engage in promotion”. So how do you explain this article that was at the end of a link in your forum?
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What a great present to ask for! I’m so impressed that you managed to find the 40 things to give away and I’m dying to know what the others were.
The moon landing marked the culmination of America’s Cold War human spaceflight program and positioned itself as a global leader in science and technology. Apollo 11, the mission Armstrong and Aldrin flew with colleague Michael Collins, represented the U.S. accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal on a seemingly impossible timeline. Fifty years later, the world is remembering the historic mission and its impact on society and science, thanks to all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE.
I am also a collector of space memorabilia and I run a website dedicated to Space Exploration memorabilia https://www.space-collectibles.com . In fact, I leave in Paris, France. (Yes, that does mean I drink too much wine and eat too much cheese) . Since the age of 21, I became a big fan of Space Exploration as I studied in Cap Canaveral Florida, and worked with the engineers that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. So, this is perhaps the reason why I became a pasionate Space Collectioner of photos from the space race in the 60’s from Nasa and Soviet programs. I whish I could be in all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE
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Great post, I love it!
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I love traveling and I will take my parents to another country. Your writing gave me some useful information, I can arrange an effective trip.
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Hey, Grandparents are the blessing of God to there kids and I am a professional travel agent of “Thia’s Travel Services” planned lots of successful tourism if you are planning or looking for more luxury trip and affordable tours with your friends and family feel free to keep in touch
Hey thanks for such a nice article, there is nothing better than getting away with the fam or group of mates into the wilderness and just relaxing while staring into those embers. I go camping regularly and I know you stated unplugged but if you dont play an instrument I highly recommend bringing along a nice loud Bluetooth speaker to jam away with all of you friends into the late night. That and beer ofcourse.
Thanks again and keep up the good work
Hershey is such a fun town to visit with so many family-friendly activities. We loved driving up to spend the weekend when we lived in Maryland.
Excellent post, Firsta! I enjoy reading about your travel experiences! Can’t wait to read your next blog post!
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Doing so saves money on your shipping costs. Most travelers are charged for gas as they are free. Tourists save money on car rentals and pay for their travels.