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lundi 9 avril 2012

H is for...

Holiday.

It's only the beginning of April, but already I'm dreaming of going away, getting away, being somewhere else. I don't even know if it's going to be possible to go away somewhere with the girls this summer - my finances are really, really dire and by the time things get sorted out (assuming they do, actually, get sorted out) it might be too late.
Also, my dad apparently wants us to go to Scotland for 2 weeks, which is just unimaginable. What the hell would we do? The weather would most likely be crap (no surprises there), we'd have no means of transport other than the extortionately expensive and very slow public transport service and my dad's getting too old to do much driving about. I would like to take the girls to St Andrews, just so they can see it, but it's an awful lot of hassle for an afternoon in the East Neuk.
Plus, more importantly (and, no doubt, more selfishly), going to Scotland really wouldn't feel like a holiday for me. Especially as I'd most likely have to work too.
So. Yeah. Holidays.
I like to take the girls to new places, new countries, new cultures. In their short (holidaying) lives, apart from England and Scotland, they've been to the Alps (La Toussuire, 2006), the Pyrenees (St Lary Soulan, 2007), Lake Como (Varenna, 2008), St Jean de Luz (Ciboure, 2009), Bilbao (2010) and Genoa (2011). This year, I'm fancying either Italy again (but you already know that from Saturday...) or possibly Lisbon, another city I loved the one time I was there.
But it's expensive and we can't afford to go for long - as I'm travelling alone with the girls, self-catering is out of the question; I do enough shopping-cooking-washing-up-laundry-cleaning at home as it is. I don't want to do the same on holiday. That wouldn't feel like a holiday either.
No, if we're going anywhere, it has to be a hotel, and preferably (for the girls' sakes) one with a swimming pool. And that, obviously, pushes the price right up.
And, as I'm clearly totally delusional right now (despite not having had any Easter chocolate whatsoever), I'm ALSO thinking about taking the girls away for a couple of nights in a hotel in May, just to thank them for being so understanding about the crappiness of these last few months, so good about lending money, so sweet when the tears have flowed down my face like rain.
I mean, I really can't afford that, but it's nice to dream...
I remain hopeful that we'll get some time away, just the three of us, this summer. We've done it twice, and it's been fun. I'm sure it can happen again. I've found that the Holiday Inn in Lisbon is only €67/night, and it has a pool on the roof. We just have to find reasonably priced flights...
But it's all a pipe dream right now. I can't afford to book anything. I can just dream of a day when I'm not here, sitting in front of my computer, day in, day out.
Do you realise that there hasn't been a single day - including Sundays, public holidays - that I haven't done at least some work since we came home from Scotland at the end of December? And that there most likely won't be one until this maybe-maybe not holiday in August? (Unless I can pull things together in May, but I'm not sure about that at all.) Do you realise that I haven't been outside of Montpellier, haven't been anywhere other than the university and the city centre, actually, since about November (except for Scotland at Christmas)? Seriously, I lead the most boring life in the world.
Oh, how I need a holiday this year!

5 commentaires:

Dawn Embers a dit…

Sounds like you also need a hug. *offers hug*

I wish I could go on a holiday out of the country, or a holiday in general. My mom can leave to go visit friends and both parents have gone on trips over the year but the last trip I went on was a trip over to Utah to visit my dad. That was back in October. Let's go on holiday and let others do the work. ;-)

Unknown a dit…

You could always take a car to a campground. It's much cheaper than a hotel stay, and just as nice.

Good luck with the challenge!


Dianna Fielding
sociologyfornerds.com

Arlee Bird a dit…

A holiday would be nice, but I'm not in any financial shape to do anything right now. Besides, going away for a holiday means having to leave home and I like staying at home.


Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out

Sarah a dit…

Happens to us all. Last year I didn't have enough money to go to the UK because I had to pay for repairs and maintenance on my car, so we rented a little chalet on a campsite in Lozère, basically just up the road. Had a great time.

The Hopeful Romantic a dit…

You need to rectify that as soon as possible it sounds like! However, if you really can't get away how about booking a day to yourself to just have fun - maybe get some friends round for some food, get them all to bring a dish and just chill out :)