Duggars by the Dozen 45: Life with Josh in Prison and Marrying as Fast as They Can

[Nothing if not critical]

I absolutely get going on vacation to turn your brains off - but if I wanted that, I’d go for a cheap beach vacation rather than a city trip to Paris or London. YMMV 

Maybe the Duggar kids aren’t unusual in their ignorance. I’m sure there are many more like them, but I’ve also met plenty of American tourists who were the exact opposite - interested and open to new experiences. So I really didn’t want to blame James’ behaviour on him being American.

Plus, as I said, I don’t expect Americans to know a lot of European sights or history - tbh most Europeans aren’t exactly knowledgeable about American history (or geography) either. ( I did think London might be different - don’t you guys watch British shows at all? )

Anyway, if your interests lie elsewhere (art, clubs, whatever), im not going to judge you. James was different - he just didn’t appear to have any interests at all. And that was sad.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Nothing if not critical

[Mama Mia]

2 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

I absolutely get going on vacation to turn your brains off - but if I wanted that, I’d go for a cheap beach vacation rather than a city trip to Paris or London. YMMV 

Maybe the Duggar kids aren’t unusual in their ignorance. I’m sure there are many more like them, but I’ve also met plenty of American tourists who were the exact opposite - interested and open to new experiences. So I really didn’t want to blame James’ behaviour on him being American.

Plus, as I said, I don’t expect Americans to know a lot of European sights or history - tbh most Europeans aren’t exactly knowledgeable about American history (or geography) either. ( I did think London might be different - don’t you guys watch British shows at all? )

Anyway, if your interests lie elsewhere (art, clubs, whatever), im not going to judge you. James was different - he just didn’t appear to have any interests at all. And that was sad.

I don’t know — while James has traveled a lot, this is probably the first, or certainly one of the 1st, big trips he’s done without his parents or much older siblings. I’m sure he’s used to everything being planned out for him - usually down to the last detail by a production crew for filming.  He’s on his first trip where’s he’s the adult, he’s been on a long flight - 9-12 hrs minimum if he had a short layover from Arkansas , with a 6 hour time zone difference, has an unexpected stop in a new city.  If it’s not a place he’s been dying to go to, why would he know where to visit? He’s having to try to factor in what kinds of transportation, how to get it, , time to get back to the airport and through security and where everything is. If he checks a guide site and finds a couple things that look interesting - are they 20 minutes away from each other? An hour? How do you get from one to the other, is there a wait? How long will security at the airport take? And on and on, when you’re already exhausted and only have limited time to kill. I think an unexpected side trip can be a fun and exhilarating bonus - but also stressful, especially if you’re already tired. Just kind of aimlessly wandering at least gets him out of the airport and seeing a few things.

[Nothing if not critical]

1 hour ago, Mama Mia said:

Just kind of aimlessly wandering at least gets him out of the airport and seeing a few things.

Oh absolutely, and as I said in my first post, I definitely give him points for that. Just saying that if he’d grown up differently, with parents who’d taught him how to handle such a situation and a better knowledge of the world in general, he could have had a much better time.

[Four is Enough]

16 hours ago, patsymae said:

. Because who wouldn't want to head for the Hard Rock Cafe when you get to go to Paris?

I think that and McDonald's would be very low on my list... like off the bottom. 

16 hours ago, feministxtian said:

Even my redneck ass would head straight to the Louvre and the Arc De Triumph first...maybe the Eiffel Tower. The odds of me ever making it to Paris are slim and none. 

Those are pretty good ideas, and I would add the Cathedral of Notre Dame. (I'm a cathedral girl)

[Meggo]

14 hours ago, Kiki03910 said:

I live in New Mexico. A shocking number of people east of the Mississippi think it's a foreign country, and I was once asked why I speak English.

ha ha ha! I worked with one of those people! She asked if she needed a passport for a trip to New Mexico. She was full of ridiculous statements (we wrote a list once because they were SO funny) 

37 minutes ago, Four is Enough said:

I think that and McDonald's would be very low on my list... like off the bottom. 

Those are pretty good ideas, and I would add the Cathedral of Notre Dame. (I'm a cathedral girl)

I was in London when I was... 21 maybe? And did go to McDonalds. Because I was killing time and it was right there and I was curious. And because it had a second floor (I think?) and a window that overlooked a really busy street in London. I was travelling alone and decided to just hole up there with the biggest book I could find in the bookstore. 
It's intimidating when you're travelling alone. Although my hubs and I looooove to find ourselves a little hole in the wall bar when we're travelling and just park ourselves there. We spent a whole afternoon that way at the foot of Machu Picchu, we found a little place in Scotland that way, we met some guy in Dublin that way who wanted to give us his wedding ring (it was St. Paddy's day - he was in his cups). Those are our best travel memories. We still hit up museums and attractions etc - but sometimes - whiling away the day at a pub is not a bad option either. 

[IrishCarrie]

I gotta say, I've travelled the world and there have been many, many, many times when my eyes lit up to see a McDonalds or Burger King sign!!!

Not because I don't eat local cuisine (it's generally my favourite part of travelling) but because sometimes I get overloaded with new impressions and thoughts and knowledge and experiences. And sinking into a Big Mac, fries and a Diet Coke with a McFlurry for afters resets me back into a comfort zone where I can begin again.

🤷‍♀️

Edited May 18, 2023 by IrishCarrie

[OHFL2009]

I once stopped at a McDonalds in Istanbul solely because I wanted a receipt that showed I had spent more than a million at McDonalds. At the time $1US was equal to something like 1.25 million Turkish lira, so my meal cost around 3,000,000 lira. Teenage me thought it was so cool. 

[Gobsmacked]

When we travel I often pop into Starbucks to buy a tea that will hopefully taste the same at home. Comforting after a long day sightseeing or travelling. We hit the local pubs later!!

[Bad Wolf]

5 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

 

Those are pretty good ideas, and I would add the Cathedral of Notre Dame. (I'm a cathedral girl)

When we were there in 2019 with grand wolf 1, Notre Dame was being renovated after the fire. We sat in a nearby cafe and looked at the outside. Introduced the grandson to escargot and crepes. He liked the snails, but thought the crepes were too sweet. I waa glad he was willing to try new things.

[Margarita]

I am also a New Mexico driver's license holder, and have been asked by AIRPORT staff for a passport to travel domestically. My word.

[SPHASH]

I did visit Paris in 2019. Skip the Louvre way too crowded especially in the Mona Lisa room lots of pushing and shoving.  Versailles was beautiful  but crowded as well. Excursion guide left me behind and one person knocked me down so hard my shoe fell off. Did a short river cruise was able to see Notre Dame and the fire damage from the boat.  Tried Duck ala Orange and escargot.  Duck was good escargot OK.

Last fall I did a Greek Islands cruise.  Stayed in Syntagma Square (sp) in Athens prior to the cruise.  There was a McDonald's across the street from my hotel and there was always a long line there.  

[libgirl2]

33 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

 

Last fall I did a Greek Islands cruise.  Stayed in Syntagma Square (sp) in Athens prior to the cruise.  There was a McDonald's across the street from my hotel and there was always a long line there.  

I have been going to DR my whole life and for years there was no "America" food places. Sure you could get a pizza or a burger but they were all from local places. How I would crave my junk food. The last time I went about 20 years ago, they had Pizza Hut, Burger King, Outback, TGIFridays, Dunkin'..... people like going there, it is a novelty. Interestingly enough, I noticed a higher percentage of overweight people then the times I had been there before. 

[SPHASH]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

I have been going to DR my whole life and for years there was no "America" food places. Sure you could get a pizza or a burger but they were all from local places. How I would crave my junk food. The last time I went about 20 years ago, they had Pizza Hut, Burger King, Outback, TGIFridays, Dunkin'..... people like going there, it is a novelty. Interestingly enough, I noticed a higher percentage of overweight people then the times I had been there before. 

I've been to Europe three times visiting various countries each time.  Trips last 10-14 days and I confess by the end of each trip I start craving American fast food.

[HereticHick]

James is on a Carnival Cruise right now. 

[monkeyrocks71]

42 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

I've been to Europe three times visiting various countries each time.  Trips last 10-14 days and I confess by the end of each trip I start craving American fast food.

I've been to about a dozen countries, but, I travel on the cheap, so, most of the time, it's street food and/or local grocery stores. We (my daughter and I) usually get one or two meals that are  representative of the country we're in (gallo pinto in Costa Rica, bangers and mash and seafood chowder in Ireland, etc.), but the rest of the time, it's street/grocery/snack food.  Which is interesting in itself.  You don't find churros or burek in most American places, and even American-esque food can be different - my daughter fell in love with Cockta, which is a sort-of-like-Coke-but-with-a-twist soda in Croatia, and we howled at the "McEnnedy American Way" brand of frozen food in the local Lidl which was absolutely what the stereotype of American food would be - all packaged in so much red/white/blue WITH the statue of liberty - but, didn't always get it right (ie  Hot dogs! Peanut Butter! The world's saddest looking bagels! And Chicken strips...with curry dip???  Ah well, they tried). And the foods we'd never seen before and sometimes couldn't even identify....And for goodness sake, don't touch the produce in Italy without putting on the gloves first!

Foreign grocery stores are one of my low-key favorite parts of traveling.  

[Four is Enough]

8 hours ago, Meggo said:

Although my hubs and I looooove to find ourselves a little hole in the wall bar when we're travelling and just park ourselves there.  We still hit up museums and attractions etc - but sometimes - whiling away the day at a pub is not a bad option either. 

Mr. Four is excellent at finding where the locals eat and having us get meals there. The food is usually very good and cheaper than the touristy places. Although we've only tested this in the US and Canada, we hope to see if it's true abroad, too.. But I can see the advantage of "re-setting" the palate on a trip by going to an American fast food place. For some reason I thought things tasted different.

[FleeJanaFree]

I’m a solo traveler and try to eat local. But a friend joined me in Vienna and we decided to stop at Mcd’s just because we were very pressed for time between tours, and were also curious if our normal orders would taste healthier/different. Tasted exactly the same to me. 
 

Incidentally my friend also went on a big tangent that trip because of how similar the meal sizes were compared to the USA and she thought we got a bad rap that way. (“American meals are unnecessarily huge!”) We were both really really surprised by the lack of vegetables offered with meals or as options as well. Maybe we just has bad luck at restaurants but we ended up going to the market to buy fruits and vegetables because we felt we were severely lacking after a few days. 

[GreenBeans]

11 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

I gotta say, I've travelled the world and there have been many, many, many times when my eyes lit up to see a McDonalds or Burger King sign!!!

Not because I don't eat local cuisine (it's generally my favourite part of travelling) but because sometimes I get overloaded with new impressions and thoughts and knowledge and experiences. And sinking into a Big Mac, fries and a Diet Coke with a McFlurry for afters resets me back into a comfort zone where I can begin again.

🤷‍♀️

I once lived in China for several months. And while I LOVED local food and the whole immersion thing (I lived with a Chinese family, too), every once in a while I felt like I just had to pop by a Starbucks. I hardly ever go to  Starbucks at home, but there in China, knowing exactly what to expect when ordering (both in terms of the ordering process and taste) could feel really comforting.

[HoneyBunny]

11 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

I gotta say, I've travelled the world and there have been many, many, many times when my eyes lit up to see a McDonalds or Burger King sign!!!

Not because I don't eat local cuisine (it's generally my favourite part of travelling) but because sometimes I get overloaded with new impressions and thoughts and knowledge and experiences. And sinking into a Big Mac, fries and a Diet Coke with a McFlurry for afters resets me back into a comfort zone where I can begin again.

🤷‍♀️

For us, it’s Subway. When we are tired and dirty after a day of sightseeing, Subway is like a gift. We take it back to our room, shower, eat and crash. We’ve had Subway sandwiches in at least 30 different countries and they all taste the same and feel familiar. 

[SassyPants]

We travel a fair amount. When we traveled with kids, we might rent an RV or VRBO with a kitchen or kitchenette. With the kids, we would generally eat our meals in. If not, it might have been breakfast and dinner in and lunch out. Lunch might mean soup or sandwiches. Since the kids are now gone, we might stay in a hotel, but those accommodations would using come with breakfast. We also eat a lot ethnic food (Indian, Asian, Italian). 

@HoneyBunny I love the idea of Subway, shower and sleep. I’ll have to remember that. Nothing worse than being tired/jet lagged and trying to decide on what and where to eat.

[nvmbr02]

We have also traveled quite a bit, primarily in Asia and Europe. We do grab American fast food chains while traveling at times. We always go for street food where available and usually plan for at least one nice meal out a day, preferably somewhere not too touristy. We tend to grab the fast food when one of the kids doesn't like the meal or to supplement whatever the hotel lounge has offered for evening meals. When we were in Osaka, we were right next to a Mcdonald's and the kids got Mcdonald's at least 5 times during our week-long stay. We normally wouldn't eat that much fast food, but it was an easy meal for them for when they were tired of being out, and they could eat in the room while taking turns with the shower and getting ready for bed. And since they were teens, DH and I could go up to the lounge for a few snacks and a glass of wine. While I don't notice a big difference in taste at Mcdonald's, I enjoy some of the things we can't get here, like the teriyaki chicken sandwich in Japan and the bulgogi burger in Korea. 

We also enjoy local grocery stores and always make a stop for snacks and sometimes easy meals depending on where we are staying.

[lumpentheologie]

18 hours ago, IrishCarrie said:

I gotta say, I've travelled the world and there have been many, many, many times when my eyes lit up to see a McDonalds or Burger King sign!!!

Not because I don't eat local cuisine (it's generally my favourite part of travelling) but because sometimes I get overloaded with new impressions and thoughts and knowledge and experiences. And sinking into a Big Mac, fries and a Diet Coke with a McFlurry for afters resets me back into a comfort zone where I can begin again.

🤷‍♀️

Thanks for explaining it this way! I admit to having been judgy about people going into American fast food chains abroad, but sensory overwhelm is something I’m pretty familiar with and that makes a lot of sense. 

I’ve only ever eaten at places like that out of necessity myself — it’s fast, cheap, and widely available. I didn’t really realize the taste was also a draw for some people and not the price you pay for the other things. 😅 If there was food from home that I actually liked when I travel I think I’d be pretty excited about that too. 

I love how much I learn about life from FJ thread drift!

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by lumpentheologie

[Alysabeth]

I’m from the UK and this reminds me of the time I travelled to the US, jet lagged and on the way to our accommodation we stopped off at McDonald’s for something to tide us over. The server looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for ‘chips’ (fries) and ‘tomato sauce’ (ketchup) 🙈

 

I was in rural-ish WV to work the summer as a camp counsellor so they probably weren’t all that used to English tourists! 

[CarrotCake]

4 hours ago, Alysabeth said:

I’m from the UK and this reminds me of the time I travelled to the US, jet lagged and on the way to our accommodation we stopped off at McDonald’s for something to tide us over. The server looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for ‘chips’ (fries) and ‘tomato sauce’ (ketchup) 🙈

 

I was in rural-ish WV to work the summer as a camp counsellor so they probably weren’t all that used to English tourists! 

This already happened within the Netherlands with a friend of mine. She was ordering 'friet' with a very southern accent while in the northern part of the country they say 'patat'. It took three tries for them to understand 😁

The patat/friet discussion is about the biggest divider when it comes to the north and south of the Netherlands.

[lumpentheologie]

4 hours ago, Alysabeth said:

I’m from the UK and this reminds me of the time I travelled to the US, jet lagged and on the way to our accommodation we stopped off at McDonald’s for something to tide us over. The server looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for ‘chips’ (fries) and ‘tomato sauce’ (ketchup) 🙈

 

I was in rural-ish WV to work the summer as a camp counsellor so they probably weren’t all that used to English tourists! 

Hahaha I had the opposite experience in an isolated burger joint in the Western Australian desert. I was so proud of myself for remembering to ask for tomato sauce instead of ketchup! But the guy taking my order was very nasty to me and said I couldn’t talk properly because I said “toMAYto” instead of “toMAHto”. Like what, have you never heard an American accent? Have you never seen a movie? Do you live in a cave?? 

Chips legit mean a different food in the US though so I understand the confusion there.