Off On A Trip - But Little Enthusiam

by Joe Grundy 26 Replies latest jw friends

  • Joe Grundy
    Joe Grundy

    Never was a JW, but been here a long time.

    Off on a trip in a week or so, UK to Andorra to stay with a friend for 10 days or so (beautiful place) then a week or so wending through France back home.

    Did the same trip the last couple of years -it was wonderful. Met some lovely people, including an ex-polce woman over coffees and calvados after dinner.

    But ... I don't feel so enthusiastic about this trip. I'll visit the Cathar sites and other places.

    Maybe- just maybe - I've come to the conclusion that these trips are not as much fun if you don't have a companion to share it with.

  • Simon
    Simon

    I agree - the people you make a journey with are as important as the journey itself, you need someone to say "wow" and share the moments with.

    But that glorious countryside and those views!

  • blondie
    blondie

    I saw a travel show on that area just this month. Looks like fun; just make friends with the locals. Could be traveling with a selfish whiner, alone is better. Check back with the highlights.

  • Xanthippe
    Xanthippe

    I love the Cathar castles and the scenery in the south of France. St George's Gorge, Lapradelle-Puilaurens, Quillan and medieval Carcassone. I know what you mean it's not the same traveling on your own. I've done it three times now and it can be lonely but I like going where I want and doing whatever I like, that's the upside of it and when you're in a restaurant eating you can enjoy the buzz around you. Have a great time.

  • Joe Grundy
    Joe Grundy

    Thanks, Simon. The Pyrenees (sp), the mountain air, it is just stunning. The weather is wonderful - however hot it gets the air is clear and dry (a mountain climate).

    This is a place I could live - but (as I've come to learn in my travels) you need someone to share it with. It's not the place, it's the experience - and the experience is enhanced by who you're with.

    Forgive me, but sometimes I wonder whether some exJWs on this site could benefit from a friendship outside of JWland and a visit to some of these stunning places.

  • Joe Grundy
    Joe Grundy

    Last year, on my meandering trip up France, I picked up a couple of hitch-hikers at Ax Les Thermes. They were heading for Carcassone, I was going to Limoux, so it worked out OK. They had walked the path over the Pyrenees.

    Limoux produces exceptionally good sparkling wine. I stayed at a family-run hotel. The daughter was a very good looking girl. I thought she was a university student (19 -21) but she was actually 14, so the conversation took a different turn.

    Although France has changed a lot (and not for the better) I do enjoy wandering through small towns and stopping where the mood takes.

  • compound complex
    compound complex

    I appreciate your sentiments and the opportunity to talk, Joe, as we have never conversed before.

    Alone for 16 years, I see both sides, as herein expressed, to the matter. My family is from Alsace-Lorraine, and it would be wonderful to visit my roots. It's all I can do nowadays, however, to prepare for a 200-mile trip for my 50th HS reunion.

    Do you speak French?

    Bien des choses de ma part . . .

  • Joe Grundy
    Joe Grundy

    OK - here's the deal'

    I leave Newhaven for Dieppe at 2330 23/8/16, return the same route leaving Dieppe 1800 08/0916. Spare seats both ways, AFAIK, no cost.

    I'm willing to take a passenger.

  • Simon
    Simon
    sometimes I wonder whether some exJWs on this site could benefit from a friendship outside of JWland and a visit to some of these stunning places.

    I think anyone could benefit from a trip to somewhere so nice. Watching the Tour de France recently really shows off the beauty and history of France.

    But I agree 100% on the exJW part - I think a huge mistake many exJWs make is allowing the WTS to still define and set boundaries for their life and their relationships. Just as they only associated with JWs when in, they then cling to other exJWs when out as though the WTS is the only possible source of association and friendship. Really, just let it go - exJWs have to have one of the highest concentrations of dysfunctional jerks I've ever come across and many just wallow in it, to their own detriment, lacking the gumption to move on.

    Not all, but many - way too many.

  • Joe Grundy
    Joe Grundy

    Coco:

    Non, il petit peut selement. My French is not so good.

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