Suzan Willcox

We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when traveling
with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris, want to
hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We have a
car. Any practical advice welcome!

Padraig Breathnach

"Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when traveling
    >with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris, want to
    >hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We have a
    >car. Any practical advice welcome!
Teenagers can differ quite a lot (it is easy to forget, but they are
people, too). Give us a clue about what sort of things they might
like, and whether or not you can feel happy about leaving them out of
your sight.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Jcoulter

Padraig Breathnach <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > "Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >>We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when
    >>traveling with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy
    >>- Paris, want to hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the
    >>countryside. We have a car. Any practical advice welcome!
    > Teenagers can differ quite a lot (it is easy to forget, but they are
    > people, too). Give us a clue about what sort of things they might
    > like, and whether or not you can feel happy about leaving them out of
    > your sight.
    >

For instance in Paris one might love the Orsay another would be happy to
spend the day at Virgin Records on the Champs Elysee

Charles Hawtrey

"Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> crawled to the nearest
keyboard and summoned the courage to write:

    >We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when traveling
    >with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris, want to
    >hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We have a
    >car. Any practical advice welcome!

My experience is that things go more smoothly when you ask THEM what
they want to do, rather than planning a schedule of things you hope
they'll like. Sit each of them down (how many do have?) and ask them
for one or two specific things that they want to see. Then put them
on your itinerary, even if you have to go a little out of the way.

France isn't an obscure place so it's likely there already are one or
two sights they'd like to see. You may want to provide a guidebook (a
small one with lots of pictures) to help them decide.



--
the hums do not intrude

Mxsmanic

Suzan Willcox writes:

    > We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when traveling
    > with teenagers?

Teenagers will be happiest in places where there are other teenagers,
which includes most touristy areas. They are usually more interesting
in watching and interacting with each other than in seeing any tourist
attractions. Unfortunate but true. It's the hormones.

People can appreciate a foreign trip just before puberty, and then again
from the early twenties or so on, but during their teens there are more
pressing concerns that tend to distract them.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

Mike O'sullivan

"Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when
traveling
    > with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris, want
to
    > hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We have a
    > car. Any practical advice welcome!

Don't forget the Gameboy!

Olivers

Mike O'sullivan extrapolated from data available...

    >
    > "Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >> We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when
    > traveling
    >> with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris,
    >> want
    > to
    >> hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We
    >> have a car. Any practical advice welcome!
    >
    > Don't forget the Gameboy!
    >
The first ten days won't be bad, simply downhill as relationships go. By
the end of the second week, if you've not been jailed for murdering them in
their sleep (usually about 10AM, when you're ready to get on with the day),
simply inform the local police that you've uncovered a terrorist plot and
have them jailed until you're ready to depart (or improve the quality of
your future life and lower your expense levels substantially, by simply
ababdoning them to their fate).

It's not bad....back in 1983, we spent a month in Northern Europe with a 16
year old (who really was interested in history and culture more than boys)
and a 10 year old who tired quickly of visits to churches or affiliated
religious institutions, found Belgium and France largely acceptable on
account of frites, survived Germany on fresh asparagus, discovered and kept
clamoring for more steak tartare in a Paris breasserie, and was and is
convinced that Napoleon is not interred in the tomb in which it is claimed
that he rests. She did best in old castles converted to hotels and quaint
German towns peddling Christmas decorations and kitsch.

It does help to early in the trip to drive off and leave them penniless in
some tiny village where no one speaks English or owns a boom box
(returning after about an hour). Of course, now you have to deal with
earphones, MP3 players and the like. Before departing from the US, simply
tell'em that European stores don't sell AA and AAA batteries, so they might
as well leave their electronic gear at home....no, not because it disturbs
their parents, simply causes you to be aware of the vast sums being spent
to allow them to wander about, mute, dumb and uncomprehending, seeing
little and learning nothing.

I suppose that, all things considered, taking them is better than dumping
them off on their grandparents, certain that they'll slip away, drive fast,
smoke seegars or dope, drink beer, raise Hell, and cause their parents to
have to pay extra to fly home early.

TMO

Suzan Willcox

My teens are 15 and 18 yr old boys, plus their 21 yr old sister. They will
be most interested in outdoor activities, so I'm looking for opportunities
to hike or bike. They can go off on their own. They are experienced
travellers, and will enjoy trying new foods -- and for the older two, drink.
I am wondering what towns on our proposed areas (Rhine - Alsace - Loire -
Normandy) might be the most interesting ones to stay in (about 3 days each)
from their vantage point. Should be just large enough for them to explore
on their own without being bored. Your experience with any of these areas,
as well as stops enroute to any, would be welcome.

"Charles Hawtrey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> crawled to the nearest
    > keyboard and summoned the courage to write:
    > >We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when
traveling
    > >with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris, want
to
    > >hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We have
a
    > >car. Any practical advice welcome!
    > My experience is that things go more smoothly when you ask THEM what
    > they want to do, rather than planning a schedule of things you hope
    > they'll like. Sit each of them down (how many do have?) and ask them
    > for one or two specific things that they want to see. Then put them
    > on your itinerary, even if you have to go a little out of the way.
    > France isn't an obscure place so it's likely there already are one or
    > two sights they'd like to see. You may want to provide a guidebook (a
    > small one with lots of pictures) to help them decide.
    > --
    > the hums do not intrude

Dave Smith

Suzan Willcox wrote:

    > We have 2 weeks in France. What should we be sure to include when traveling
    > with teenagers? Am considering: Alsace - Loire - Normandy - Paris, want to
    > hike and bike and otherwise be active while in the countryside. We have a
    > car. Any practical advice welcome!

That would depend a lot on their interests. If they are interested in military
history, take a trip to the battlefields of Verdun and to the military
cemeteries of WW I and II. The American cemetery of Meuse-Argonne is beautiful,
as are the Commonwealth War Graves Commission scattered around France and
Belgium. There is also a nice military museum in Les Invalides in Paris. If you
visit Strasbourg, the old town is a nice place for them to wander around on
their own. Just make sure they are busy enough that they don't slip back to the
hotel and watch television. It might help if they could learn a bit of French
before going, and to remind them that people who don't speak English aren't deaf
or stupid, that it is better to just speak slowly, not louder.

Most teens visiting Paris like to go to the Pere LaChaisse Cemetery to see Jim
Morrison's grave. It may not be of interest to you, but the rest of the cemetery
is well worth seeing.

Padraig Breathnach

"Suzan Willcox" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >My teens are 15 and 18 yr old boys, plus their 21 yr old sister. They will
    >be most interested in outdoor activities, so I'm looking for opportunities
    >to hike or bike. They can go off on their own. They are experienced
    >travellers, and will enjoy trying new foods -- and for the older two, drink.
    >I am wondering what towns on our proposed areas (Rhine - Alsace - Loire -
    >Normandy) might be the most interesting ones to stay in (about 3 days each)
    >from their vantage point. Should be just large enough for them to explore
    >on their own without being bored. Your experience with any of these areas,
    >as well as stops enroute to any, would be welcome.
I don't see the Loire Valley as hiking country: it lacks interesting
terrain. But, being level, it makes for easy cycling.

Sadly for me, I no longer have a teenager's perspective on the world,
so I'll tell you a little of what I like, and you can judge if your
family might share some of my interests. There are a number of towns
and cities along the Loire which have general appeal, and which might
have the buzz of life that younger people might particularly enjoy. I
suggest that you research Amboise, Saumur, and Angers.

If the younger members of the party would like to strike out cycling
on their own, the stretch of river between Saumur and Angers might
suit well, particularly the half nearer to Saumur -- lots of places
meriting a stop of fifteen minutes to an hour, such as mushroom caves,
wineries, troglodyte dwellings, pleasant villages. One place I often
stop is Les Rosiers, a village about halfway between Saumur and Angers
which seems unremarkable, but which has several very good restaurants
(see, I'm not a teenager, but as the parent of teenagers, neither are
you, and you might like good food). If you want a little more detail,
say so.

If you plan to visit Normandy, a question which needs to be considered
is how interested you and your offspring are in WW2, as that is one of
the major possibilities for visitors -- the D-Day beaches, the
Mémorial at Caen, other war museums in just about every town and
village (don't do more than one, as they all have much the same sort
of stuff). You can also check out cheese or cider production. The
coastal area, where most tourism happens, is fairly level. Upper
Normandy might provide good opportunities for energetic hikers or
cyclists, but I don't know it too well.

I like Normandy, but I find it difficult to say why. The terrain is,
in general, not particularly scenic; most of the towns and villages
were destroyed or badly damaged during the war; my interest in WW2 has
been sated. Perhaps it's the cheese and the cider and the
high-cholesterol food.

Don't miss the Mont St. Michel.

I'll leave Paris for our resident experts like Mxmanic, who is into
the young scene.


--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Jeremy

Padraig Breathnach <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>. ..

    > I'll leave Paris for our resident experts like Mxmanic, who is into
    > the young scene.

In case Mixy isn't reading this thread, I can step into the breach and
provide the advice he would give: "spend the entire time staring at a
computer, it's so much better than experiencing real life".

J;

Xavier

    > Most teens visiting Paris like to go to the Pere LaChaisse Cemetery to see
Jim
    > Morrison's grave. It may not be of interest to you, but the rest of the
cemetery
    > is well worth seeing.
C'est tres amusants ! Vos pôles d'interets sont vraiment tres curieux !
Il y a tellement d'autres choses a voir que les cimetieres et les eglises...

Mxsmanic

Padraig Breathnach writes:

    > I'll leave Paris for our resident experts like Mxmanic, who is into
    > the young scene.

I would not say that I'm into the young scene (or any other scene); I
simply have teenagers and their parents/chaperones as clients sometimes,
and of course I see zillions of teenaged tourists on the streets. They
are probably the age group least likely to profit from a trip to France.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

Mike O'sullivan

"Xavier" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > > Most teens visiting Paris like to go to the Pere LaChaisse Cemetery to
see
    > Jim
    > > Morrison's grave. It may not be of interest to you, but the rest of the
    > cemetery
    > > is well worth seeing.
    > >
    > C'est tres amusants ! Vos pôles d'interets sont vraiment tres curieux !
    > Il y a tellement d'autres choses a voir que les cimetieres et les
eglises...

Careful, you'll annoy George W.

Miguel Cruz

Dave Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Most teens visiting Paris like to go to the Pere LaChaisse Cemetery to see Jim
    > Morrison's grave. It may not be of interest to you, but the rest of the cemetery
    > is well worth seeing.

Do today's teens have any idea who Jim Morrison was?

miguel
--
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