This summer was the first in many years that we had a 'normal'-length holiday. With Lee being a teacher and me being self-employed, in the past we've theoretically had six weeks in the summer to do with what we wanted - which was mostly go on holiday. This year, of course, with Lee now working in a non-teaching job, we found ourselves limited to two weeks like most people - a bit of a shock to the system!
Our love of long holidays first started back when the price of package holidays suddenly increased - or maybe it was just that our youngest turned two and suddenly we had to pay for him. Before that, our holidays had been more frequent than long - we'd have a two-week holiday in the summer, but then we'd probably take a few extra breaks as well, visiting friends and family, hiring a cottage or camping somewhere. But then we found ourselves looking at the cost for four flights as well as a hotel - astronomical. So we started looking at alternative methods of travel. We considered the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, but that was pretty astronomical as well. Then we started thinking about driving... It would be a whopping drive to Spain, but it wouldn't be so bad if we broke it up - it's not as if we didn't have the time. Of course, if we then paid for hotels throughout France to break up our journey, we were still looking at an expensive holiday. That's when we hit on camping. So that's what we did - we drove slowly through France for a week, stopping at campsites on the way, we had a week in a hotel in Spain, and then we drove back up through France for another week, camping as we went. A three-week holiday for a fraction of the price of a two-week package. The long holiday was born.
The problem (or not) is that long holidays easily escalate. The following year, we did a similar thing, staying in a different Spanish hotel, but this time we decided to give ourselves a few more days to enjoy the campsites rather than just passing through. The next year, we decided to do away with hotels altogether - we could go on holiday for over four weeks if we didn't have the expense of a hotel! So we drove around France, camping all over the place, and we still managed to get our sun on the south coast. The year after that, we decided to make the most of the money we had at the time by visiting Australia and Hong Kong. Of course, if you're going to go all that way, there's no point in going for a fortnight - you spend half your time on the plane! So, making the most of the luxury of having six weeks off work, we went away for just over five of them, taking the opportunity to travel around Australia and to stop at Hong Kong to break up the journeys. The following year (last year), we were back to budgeting, but we didn't want to reduce the length of our holiday. So back camping round France we went (with a week in a campsite in Spain), for almost the entire duration of the summer holidays. Going for less time seemed almost incomprehensible - we'd got so used to spending our entire summer away.
Then this year it was all change. We no longer had six weeks - we had two. Of course, we squeezed as much as we could out of it - Lee took a half day on the Friday, leaving as soon as he'd finished work, and we came back on the Sunday evening. Technically, we had two weeks and two days, which you don't get to do when you book a package, but it was still three weeks shorter than what we were used to. I was concerned - I knew two weeks was logically a perfectly reasonable length for a holiday, and I knew we were lucky to be able to have anything at all, but it was so different, and I worried it would be gone in a flash. I remember halfway through previous holidays thinking I was glad we weren't only going for a fortnight as I was nowhere near ready to come home. This year, I'd be coming home whether I was ready or not.
So the summer dawned. We managed to get on an earlier ferry than booked, arriving at our overnight hotel in Abbeville early enough to have a wander, play at the park, eat at a restaurant, visit a funfair and watch fireworks before bed. Given that we'd only expected to roll up in time for a late dinner and then bed straight away, we already felt like we'd got an extra day out of our holiday. We moved on to our favourite campsite in Dinan the next day, where we wandered the town, ate a delicious lunch and relaxed around the pool. The following day we moved down to Carnac in the south of Brittany - close enough for us to have time to meet up with friends in Dinan before heading south. We spent a week camping in Carnac before heading east and spending two nights in a lovely (and cheap) campsite near Le Mans. Four more nights in Melun on the outskirts of Paris, including a trip to Fontainebleau, a day in Paris itself and a credit-card-punishing day in Disney, and it was time to head home. But here's the thing: it didn't seem short. By the end of the two weeks (and two days), I was ready to come home. Not in a had-enough way (it's rare that I've had enough). Just in an I've-had-a-lovely-holiday-but-now-it's-time-to-come-home kind of a way.
I was surprised. I was dreading the holiday being over too soon, but it actually felt like a nice break. Come to think of it, last year I had been more than ready to come home at the end of over five weeks, but that was mostly down to some unfortunate weather and a few mini-disasters - and I certainly wouldn't have been ready after two weeks.
I think part of it this year was down to not travelling too much. Last year, we must have stayed in at least ten campsites, but this year it was only four (plus a hotel). We didn't want to spend precious time in the car, so we made sure we didn't travel too far this year. We also made sure we stayed at least two nights everywhere (except the first night) - we wanted time to relax and didn't want to waste time putting up and taking down the tent. We fitted in lots of days out, but also made sure we had time to chill out by the pool or next to the tent - I got through nearly as many books in a fortnight as I normally do over the whole summer!
A huge part of it was also down to the change in our non-holiday lives. When Lee was teaching, he'd spend evenings and weekends working, so we needed every bit of holiday we could get. We cherished those weeks on holiday because it was virtually the only opportunity we got to spend real time together as a family - plus if we weren't physically away, Lee would have found himself catching up with work, and I'd have been working or doing jobs around the house. Now, life is different. We spend weekends together. We spend evenings together. Even though the holiday was only two weeks, we knew there were only five work days before we got to have a weekend off together again - it's a whole different world.
Largely, though, I think it was down to expectations. If you expect to be away for five weeks, of course you wouldn't be ready if you had to come home after only two. You plan your time and your mindset depending on how long you've got. I never feel disappointed when it's time to come home after a weekend break - I might think it would be nice to come back another time, but I only ever expect to be away for the weekend. In this case, I knew we only had two weeks, and we planned accordingly. It was long enough. It was fine. I now feel confident I can cope with normal-length holidays!
Of course, the one downside of our shorter holiday is that we didn't have time to travel very far south. And while I know that south isn't a guarantee of good weather (last year's week in Spain saw rain every day and highs of 22), it kind of helps. We were pretty lucky with the weather this year given that we didn't get further south than Brittany - only one afternoon of rain! - but we didn't really have the baking hot, lie-on-the-beach kind of weather that makes you feel like you've had a proper summer holiday. So next year we're thinking of hiring mobile homes in campsites, rather than putting up the tent, to give us time to travel just a little bit further south. Plus it helps to know I'll get my hot-weather fix in Tenerife in less than four weeks' time. Holiday-obssessed, moi?!
