6 Naughty Things to do on Vacation
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Many of us take pains to book a nice hotel with decent amenities and then proceed to spend as little time there as possible. But have you ever noticed how relieved you and your travel companions are when you blow off a scheduled activity? On our last morning in Walt Disney World last year my family and I had to choose between cramming in one more theme park visit, or hanging out at our hotel. We stayed put and visited our enormous and deserted outdoor pool. My daughters were allowed to officially “open” the water slide, got complimentary sheriff badges and hats from the lifeguard, and had the slide to themselves for hours. It’s the part of that trip they talk about the most. Travel writer Georgia de Katona of <a href="http://www.bohemianjetset.com/">bohemianjetset.com</a> seldom misses an opportunity to pursue outdoor sports and adventure, but she had a moment of truth this summer in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, when she arrived a few days ahead of her husband to get some writing done. On her first morning she was preparing for a day of work and “about halfway through my shower I had one of those light bulb moments and realized that I was in charge. What I really wanted was to go back to bed and sleep. So I did. Around noon I wandered down to the pool. I read my book, sunbathed, swam around, snacked on tacos, and did nothing I had been telling myself I was ‘supposed’ to do.” (iStock)
If you think ducking into a movie while visiting a foreign country defeats the purpose of visiting the destination, think again. One night in Portugal, editor Lisa DeLisle and her husband ditched their dinner plans and caught what could be described as a forgettable American movie. “It was in English with Portuguese subtitles, so it was fun for us,” DeLisle says. “And the cool thing was they completely stopped the movie in the middle and had an intermission. Everyone went to the bar for drinks, smokes, snacks, and socializing for about 20-30 minutes and then the movie resumed.” Would it be worth skipping several hours of sightseeing in Paris to watch an old movie? You better believe it, says New York-based shopping writer Jennifer Paull. “Paris has incredibly atmospheric movie theaters, from tiny, musty revival houses to gleaming big-screens on the Champs-Elysees,” she notes. “Parisians are serious cinephiles so I feel like a local when I settle into my seat and hear the murmuring of opinionated moviegoers all around me,” Paull says. (iStock)
If you can’t imagine leaving your destination without taking in its top attractions, keep in mind that your vacation spot probably has a lot of other things going for it. During a trip to Rome a few years ago, one of my colleagues steadfastly avoided every last historical sight because all she and her companion cared about was the food. They left the city with no regrets. De Katona notes that she and her husband “love Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Well, let me amend that - we love the music that happens in New Orleans during Jazz Fest. The Fest itself is too crowded, too dusty, and too hard to navigate with all the music happening. On the other hand, so many of the musicians playing the Fest drop into the various clubs in town to play with local bands after the Fest,” which permits her and her husband to enjoy the music at their leisure. On the other hand, don’t deny yourself the mega-touristy attractions if that’s what you want to see. On a last-minute visit to the Empire State Building, <a href="http://www.allbusiness.com/4058092-1.html">AllBusiness.com</a> blogger Ken Walker came across a lobby security guard shutting an emergency exit door and before he knew it, he had gotten the guard’s okay to hoof it to the top. “I took all 1,860 steps to the top in less than 40 minutes,” Walker recalls. “What I learned was, just because the destination is crowded or touristy or ‘overrated,’ that doesn't mean you have to see the sights the same way everyone else does.” (iStock)
While eating McDonald’s French fries in France may seem like the height of culinary unholiness, consider that it’s not always about the food. Paull remembers when her father went to a “McDo” in Paris “not once, but several times. He wasn't craving a Big Mac but was instead curious to see how Parisians spent a typical weekday morning. The fancy cafes were full of tourists, but when he glanced in a McDonald's he noticed plenty of office workers and students. So he started having breakfast there, noticing differences like the tablecloths and real flowers on the tables. He said he heard more French spoken there than in the famous pastry spot Dalloyau around the corner.” Walker admits to getting a bit tipsy at a McDonald’s in Nice, France, which served both red and white wine. “I sat outside on their patio as I watched people come and go from the beach,” Walker says, “and I thought, ‘It's not every day than an American has the opportunity to enjoy [waiter service] and some nice wine at a McDonald's!’" He adds that “the French fries were exactly the same -- it was rather eerie,” though the fries came with mayonnaise for dipping. (Wikimedia Commons/Johndhackensacker3d)
By now you’ve probably conditioned yourself to pick up <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515699,00.html">thoughtful, reasonably priced souvenirs</a> to the point where if you spot a trinket that’s a bit on the wild and pricey side, you rule it out. But every now and then it’s okay to get lost in the moment and rule it back in. Just be prepared to live with your decision. New York-based freelance travel writer Emma Sloley, cofounder of romantic travel site <a href="http://www.wanderlusting.net/">wanderlusting.net</a>, notes that on her last trip to Mexico, “my husband insisted we buy a child-size wooden skeleton from a store in San Miguel de Allende. The skeleton is smiling in a way that can only be described as macabre and is holding a yellow trumpet. It's patently ridiculous and impractical, but somehow it seemed like the perfectly right thing to buy at that time and place. We wrapped it painstakingly in bubble wrap and tape, successfully got it home, and it's been sitting in storage ever since, waiting for the day when having a slightly creepy Day-of-the-Dead-style child skeleton on display seems appropriate.” (iStock)
At home, whether we’re part of a couple or larger unit, we split up to handle errands, play dates, or have time to ourselves, yet on vacations we’re often reluctant to do this because romantic or family vacations are all about being together. But we all know what happens at home when there’s a little too much togetherness. Splitting up on vacation every now and then doesn’t mean you picked the wrong destination – it’s simply an acknowledgment that you’re continuing to indulge your different interests and have your own space. I would rather slam my hand in a car door than go to a crafts fair with my family. And I’ve done both. De Katona recalls a night vacationing in Trinidad, Cuba when she let her husband hit the town “with an eccentric English painter we'd met named Simon” while she relaxed in the roof hammock at her B&B. She remembers that “sometime very early in the morning my husband stumbled into bed smelling like he'd been steeped in the rum the island is famous for. When we awoke, he told me that he and Simon had gotten called into the living room of some local lobster fishermen for some friendly arm wrestling. Turns out, my husband beat the local champ and got to sit in the 'Barcalounger of Honor', where he and Simon and the whole gang of lobster fishermen proceeded to drink rum and trade tall tales till all hours.” <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/travel/index.html">Click here for more from FOXNews.com Travel</a> (iStock)