The Griswolds we’re not

I haven’t had a lot of time to post lately, as we’ve been on our European vacation since leaving our exchange house in Gapinge, Holland. First we took a short cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines from Rotterdam, and stopped in the ports of Le Havre, France and Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK. We were surprised to realize that we had no interest whatsoever in Le Havre, which is French for Shit Hole, and we promptly returned to the ship for one of their delicious pina coladas with spiced rum and a poolside massage. Guernsey was a nice port, the largest of the Channel Islands, and I was thinking about my mother and how she used to tell me about the Guernsey and Jersey (another Channel island) cows when I was little. We had to tender to the port, and Sam loved that NCL used its actual lifeboats for the tender boats and the seas were rough, even better. The kids decided that Guernsey reminded them of Ålesund, and I knew at that very moment that this trip was so worth it.

I also had a few observations about taking an American cruise in Europe. It was worth the $18 for an unlimited soda card, even when I bought it on the 2nd day of the cruise. The bartenders tried to talk me out of it, not realizing that I’ve been jonesing for a Big Gulp with extra ice since February and I would have no trouble getting my money’s worth. There were very few North Americans on this particular cruise, and the staff seemed very happy to see us. Hence, we inferred that the other demographics were not as popular, and I could sort of see why. There’s a general feeling in the US that the people who take the short (and much less expensive) Bahamas cruises are not the most sophisticated of crowds, and we’ve found this to be true in Europe as well. These people pushed and shoved, careened into us multiple times at the buffet, and drank beer after beer while their children splashed loudly in the Adults Only hot tub. They were, in a word, uncouth. I had plenty of time to reflect on how well behaved our kids are, even when they are driving us crazy, and how easily they adapt to any situation. So far on this trip we’ve been on transatlantic flights, European flights, international trains, local trains, a cruise ship, local busses, taxis, charter busses, metros, tour busses, and bikes. I am proud to say that our kids take it all in stride, and Sam is still waiting for his chance to ride on a tuk tuk.