…go to the same place every time? Not likely! We love too many things about too many places; and, not for nothing, we want to expose our boys to varied experiences (fine, within the relatively limited confines of Western Europe – when Elon Musk works out his rocket-plane and can get me to Tokyo in 45 minutes, I’m there, but not before, it’s just too dashed far away). There are noticeable differences between a Swedish vacation and an English one.
An English one! England is a perpetual “hot” choice. Cheaper currency (thank you, Brexiteers); steadily improving food (thank you, French tax exiles); great flight options (thank you, Norwegian Air). British Airways even started up a direct connection between London and New Orleans: this does us in Birmingham no good, but it’s a sign of how popular England is as a destination. England is high up on our Hot Pix list.
But so is…Madrid! Outside of the obvious fact that I work for a Spanish company, and could tap into some of those resources, Spain is a darling destination. It’s even warm enough to visit in Spring, as opposed to Summer – that means lower prices. Throw in a few days in Portugal and you’ve really got something.
It all makes me feel like each trip is becoming one of those Olympic bid/award situations, minus the bribes and dancing girls. Who wants to host the Grays? Make your case! In 2014 and 2016, cheap flights really helped dictate our decisions. Milan was, and remains, a great connection from Atlanta. ATL-MXP fares are consistently cheaper than others – London, Paris, Frankfurt – partly due to lower gate fees that MXP charges the airlines. I jumped at a parcel of $600 NYC-Milan tix back in 2014, before anyone had head of “basic economy”.
And, in 2016, Turkish Airlines was trying to make inroads into the trans-Atlantic market, which disrupted a couple of routes. Turkish Air said, “fly through Istanbul, it’ll only take you 12.” They then offered (and still do) really cheap fares to entice fliers. Not our thing, frankly, that’s a long connection (it puts Tokyo in play), but computer flight pricing algorithms kicked in in a few locations to drive down pricing, notably at the time, ATL-ZRH: $900 in Economy Plus, score! I suspect the algorithms have gotten smarter since then.
Anyway, Britain, Ireland, Iberia, Scandinavia, Central Europe, Greece, Croatia…all these places will perpetually remain “hot” destinations until they prove me otherwise. I hope to get to all of them, and I’ll be scanning Google Flights to see which has a cheap flight.
But this year? It’s France. Paris; Loire Valley; Brittany; all over two weeks. I can hear some groans of disapproval – isn’t this a tired choice? “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” Sure, Loire in June will be loaded with tourists. Doesn’t that tell you something? No place can coast indefinitely on reputation alone; France delivers the goods, consistently.
Now, you’re not going to “discover” some hidden gem of a bistro, or a secluded vineyard no one knows about. It’s all on Yelp. Give that dream up, this is well trodden turf. What you will get? Refinement – care in food, in décor, in architecture, rivalled probably only by the Japanese. Who do not make wine, so there’s that.
Listen, my boys will soon be 10. At some point, and better sooner than later, they have to learn what’s good in life. "Son, this is velvet not velveteen. A gentleman must know the difference." We’re going to Paris/Loire/Brittany, the flight situation will just have to work itself out.
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