Family Holidays

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Family Holidays

I always remember family holidays when I was young and living at home, as being great adventures where almost anything could happen.

My dad was a bus driver in Dublin so money was always tight, compound that with the fact that there was nine kids in our family (Irish Catholics huh!), it all culminated in their not really being that much money left over for any sort of vacation.

But, my dad being my dad, he managed to save for two holidays a year, mostly by working overtime and double shifts … the first was are regular summer holiday when my dad would book a holiday house in the West of Ireland or take us all camping … and the second holiday was Christmas … we didn’t go anywhere but my dad didn’t have to work, the family were able to be together for a few days and we had an absolutely fantastic time, I remember almost every one of them.

My dad, also coming from an Irish Catholic family, has plenty of brothers and sisters around the place so we also would go to stay with them on occasion, not the whole family at once, two or maybe three of us at a time with my dad … at least he had free transport around the country when he was working with CIE (the old Irish transportation network).

What I remember most about those family holidays was the family part, we were all together, nobody had to go to work or to school, nobody had to get up early … although most of us did, we’d all go out and do really simple things like walking in the countryside, picking blackberries, seeing if we could get any winkles or mussels from the local strand, or of the older boys would go off and get ourselves into trouble.

Family holidays these days tend to be somewhere foreign, although that may change in the near future with the way the money situation is going, that’s where I get my love for Spain and everything Spanish from.

I am writing this just before our full-time permanent move to that wonderful country, where everything seems to be a lot cheaper, the sun shines most of the year, and people seem more optimistic … ready to carry on smiling no matter what the future brings.

My son is all grown up and in college, but when he does come over to visit us … which I hope will be often … it will always seemed like a family holiday.

One of the things I like most about Spain is that wonderful mix of family with everything, family outings, family meals, wherever the Spanish go – the family are involved, sharing in the experience.

It’s great to see all the members of the Spanish family from the youngest babies to the oldest grandparents, all sat around enjoying each other’s company, relishing in each generation.

I know that there are places where you can vacation in the world … resorts, hotels, restaurants, etc, which have a policy of not allowing children … over 18s only, I’m not bemoaning the fact that some people just want to have a peaceful time, and of course some people just don’t like children.

I’ve never been on one of those holidays, but I would imagine that a beach without children running about on it would seem very strange indeed, a resort without the sound of children’s laughter as they splash around in the pool would be a very silent and dull place … that horrible man from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang springs to mind … no, not for me!

I am, and will always be, in favour of family holidays!

Anyway, enough of that, this is just an introduction to some of the other articles that we have on TC holidays about family holidays.

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Have a good one!

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