A Christmas Carol meets A Tale of 5 Cities (Christmas Travels in general)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Christmas Travels in general
Date:	06/12/08 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Seeing the best of other places at the best time of year

Disadvantages: Sometimes you have to trade snow for sand

Next week I will be teaching a class on Christmas in the UK, which got me thinking. Growing up, Christmas meant family traditions without necessarily typically British ones. We had stockings - mine with a carton of juice to accompany the chocolate I would start eating before 6am - and pillow cases. We had walks on the (cold) Lancashire beach. We did not however have turkey or Brussels sprouts or sherry trifle, and we never watched the Queen's speech. Christmas in England is ok, but I don't hesitate when the chance to be abroad for the 25th arises, and this year will be my 5th in a foreign land.


1994: California

While I was in 2nd year at secondary school, we went to California for Christmas to see my aunt and uncle. It was my first trip to the USA, and my first long distance flight. I still remember the films we got on the plane - Getting Even with Dad, and The Client. We left the UK in mid-December, swapping a bitter winter climate for a milder west coast one. The USA is a bigger, brasher version of home at the best of times, and they really go to town at Christmas. The other houses on the street were lit with more lights than Blackpool's illuminations. The shops were awash with Christmas everything - the way England is now, but perhaps wasn't as much 14 years ago. We went to the beach on Christmas day, and wore shorts and t-shirts, such a novelty back then. A few days before, I got my snow fix though as we went to Knott's Berry Farm where I got to sledge on "imported snow". It was such an adventure being somewhere so completely different, and my school friends where super jealous. We flew back between Christmas and New Year and had presents on January 1st, rather than lug them across the Atlantic. That has been my only US Christmas, but my sister was once in DC around that time of year, and told me that at the White House they have trees for each State - something I would love to see.


2002: Heidelberg

In 2002 I was spending a year in Germany as part of my degree. Rather than go back home to see my mother and sister, they flew out to see me and spent a week in town. 6th December is a special day in Germany, and traditionally you get chocolate Santas. At our company instead, we got chocolate advent calendars. Dozens and dozens of them. Since I've been known to eat these (a) not just in December - I often start in October, since they start selling them then, and (b) not just one chocolate per day, this was not a problem for me. I got 6 of them, and stashed them in a desk drawer. On Christmas Eve we climbed to the top of the hill to visit the castle and gaze down on the city. On Christmas Day, Germany is not quite as shut up as the UK. Busses run. Places open. After a morning watching Dawson's Creek (videos being taped off Chanel 4, were delivered to me in person a few days earlier), we had lunch and then went to the circus, catching a bus which turned up exactly as scheduled. On Boxing Day we went to a theme park, catching 3 perfectly punctual trains. Christmas decorations in Germany were much more low key and tasteful, with some pretty Santas climbing up buildings, and some nice, twinkly lights. At our work Christmas party, all the food was free, and included a 5 course meal, a popcorn seller, a donut stand...pretty much anything you wanted. They even had special plastic tumblers with glittery "snow" in them. I treasured mine for ever until some evil colleague back in the UK threw it away a few years later while I was out of the office at a meeting.


2005: Australia

After graduating, I joined a national Graduate Scheme whose major perk was the chance to do an elective in a different country. I spent four months in Australia, coming home December 28th. In the run up to Christmas day, I travelled quite a bit. I saw the massive, modern Christmas tree in Melbourne erected in front of the ancient cathedral, and queued to see the Meyer windows. I went to the Christmas cultural events in Brisbane (namely open air films on the banks of the fake beach in the city). I saw Christmas trees all dressed up in the depths of the rain forest. On the 25th I was in Byron Bay with some friends who were also travelling. We had a picnic by the hostel pool following a morning at the spa - yes, the spa was open on Christmas day. We booked in for massages and stints in the flotation tank, and it felt blissfully different from a Christmas back home. While two of the girls were in the spa, Jenny and I went for breakfast at a cafe where they were treating it as any other day - they didn't even have special Christmas prices on their menu, but we left a big tip. We bought Santa hats and wore them with our board shorts, and I remember being miffed that it was slightly cloudy on Christmas day and we didn't end up donning our bikinis as we had the day before when we were splashing in the sea. The following day I caught a flight back to Sydney - again, no special Christmas season fares - to enjoy my last few days down under, flew back home and promptly slept through New Year's though escaped with very little jet lag.


2006: Brussels

My mother's insistence that flying at Christmas is a bad idea influenced our trip the following year. We went to Brussels on Eurostar, rendez-vousing with my sister in London. We stayed in a fabulous Aparthotel directly overlooking the Christmas markets. I'd suggested Brussels since the website told me correctly that things opened on Christmas day, but we were still surprised by how much. We went for a walk on 25th and found the mini-supermarket open, selling the freshly baked bread we'd been indulging in since our arrival. In the afternoon the whole Christmas market opened up, and we went on the big wheel, ate waffles and took a spin around the massive open air ice rink. We came back on Boxing Day but had to spend a day in London since no Virgin Trains were running, so we went to the theatre - my first time in the proper West End, and a handy Christmas present for the two of them.


2008: Pre-Christmas in Mexico

Christmas in Mexico so far is surreal. There is a massive Christmas tree in Chapultepec, sponsored by Coca Cola (all the "decorations" are Coke bottles). There are ice rinks in at least 3 locations (though one is, sadly, plastic). The biggest of these, in the Zocalo, is free of charge because, in a nutshell, the government likes to treat the city's poor people - this is also why they made silly fake beaches in the summer. Me, I think getting rid of drug crime, or at least sorting out some drinkable water, could be a better use of the money, but I'm not complaining. I love to skate. All the companies I work in have massive, gaudy, American-style decorations. The fancier shops, which cater to the upper class Mexicans, and the many ex-pats in the city, have been stocked with American goodies for over a month. They are all playing carols too - traditional diddies, like "White Christmas", without any glimpse of irony. I think the one thing Mexico is not going to have, is a White Christmas, since most days it's topping 20 C at the moment.

I walk through the Cathedral square a few times a week, and love coming up out of the Metro, first thing in the morning, to see a massive tree towering overhead. I like the way they have "dressed" the old buildings in the square, just as they did for the Independence Day in September. I love the Christmas windows in the department stores, featuring everything from some alien elves who appear to be on the Moon, to a bear called Bollo who flies around, sitting on a Pelican's back.

My absolutely favourite thing though, is the way it looks like a Poinsettia farm has exploded over the city. Everywhere you go, places are awash with the red flowers. Several shopping areas have Poinsettia "trees" with layer after layer of the plants stacked upon one another. The parks have had all the flowerbeds replanted with them (it's warm here, so they can survive outside). They are plentiful and cheap, sold on every street corner, in sizes ranging from mini to maxi, and they are beautiful.


2008: Costa Rica

This year I am having a Costa Rican Christmas. We get 3 weeks off work here, and though I could have gone home, it seemed silly to waste this opportunity to explore a bit more of this part of the world. Plus, flights and a 2 week hotel tour are costing me the same as a return to Manchester would. On Christmas day I will be in the rain forest, on New Year's I will be atop a volcano. In between I will see beaches and cities and who knows what else. I can hardly wait.


For me, spending Christmas abroad is magical. I would much rather be enjoying the experience of being in a new place, than being at home (sorry family), and as much as I love to travel, I love to travel at Christmas the most.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Summary: The most magical time of the year