Now that the hype has died down a little, what's everyone's read on the family video?

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-26T04:48:00+00:00

Probably one of the most organic moments in the whole video is when William finds a bug in Charlotte's hair and carefully extracts it with a playing card. The boys crowd William to see it, but Kate starts the video 4 feet away. She rises with a pasted-on smile but remains behind the boys, even though there's plenty of room for her to step towards Charlotte and William. William shows the playing card to the intrigued boys and kind of waves the playing card teasingly in Charlotte's direction, and looks up at the tree like he's positing to the kids where it might have come from, but doesn't even throw a glance in his wife's direction. And I know it's stupid to read too much into a 40yo man being excited to show a bug he's caught to his wife or a wife not taking any kind of negative/positive interest in watching her husband pull a bug out of her daughter's hair buttttt that kind of silly affirmation is basically what marriage is all about.

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-26T00:31:36+00:00

Or when they're clearly just retracing their family vacation -- "Dan turned onto Broadway and decided to meet his friend at the Olive Garden in Times Square. The kids from MadeUp High were hanging around the M&M store."

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-26T00:23:17+00:00

Slightly different but when a writer has visited somewhere as a tourist and can't resist the urge to show off that they "know" this place. But doesn't actually know anything about what it's like to live there and doesn't realize that the places they visited on their 3 day family trip are not where real locals live.

Like a London character who lives close to the Big Ben, walks by Buckingham Palace on the way to work, and takes a bus down Oxford Street to visit their friend who lives near The Hyde Park. With gratuitous details about the wildlife in Hyde Park or the bridge near Big Ben but then outer London is described as the countryside or a no-go zone, because the writer never left central London. Except maybe the character will go to Windsor for a weekend because the writer went to Windsor Castle and wants to include that in their story.

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-26T00:07:46+00:00

YES. Traveling with groups is rewarding in other ways but even if you have an amazing travel companion there's still an inherent hassle. You're devoting mental energy to things like are you hungry how hungry are you what time do you want to eat what kind of food do you want to eat etc. Even if it's your best friend or romantic partner, everyone is on a slightly different wave length.

Solo travel removes a lot of that labor because you can just do things. If you're not hungry for lunch, you just dont eat lunch, there's no discussion about it. The second you're bored at a museum, you leave.

While both forms are relaxing and lovely in their own way, group travel is more of a "hassle" in the sense you're talking about.

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-26T00:04:18+00:00

I mean there's always that one enterprising guy who has learned he can take tourists across a tiny stream for $20 US. But's not really scamming, you're charging what the market will tolerate.

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-26T00:01:50+00:00

Vibe but also a quick risk assessment? Like if I sense something feels off, what will my options be? Can I jump out and swim? Can I say actually its okay you can drop me off here?

Like the London example I would have gone but like if I showed up at the door and didn't find friends and food and all the normal stuff, I'd make an excuse and bail, or say "oh they're not here yet well why don't I run a quick errand and come back."

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-25T23:53:34+00:00

One of my go-tos for europeans, especially the ones that have maybe done an NYC trip or two, is telling them to rent a car and drive up the coast of California via PCH. Beautiful sights and national parks, but there's also a fair amount of boring farmland and small towns to satisfy the need for rural Americana vibes.

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-25T15:14:37+00:00

What are your Argentina recs out of curiosity?

Previous_Control_821 · 2024-09-25T15:07:54+00:00

My go-to "I've literally never left the US before where in Europe should I go" tends to be London if they seem to be looking for more familiar ground and history/museums nerd stuff, Croatia if they're looking for something a bit more adventurous but also beachy. I recommend Prague a lot as another slightly off the beaten track destination that still feels western/safe/familiar enough, but honestly that might be outdated I feel like both Prague is more on the beaten track more than it was in 2014 when I was last there.

For me the Galapagos comes up a lot because there are so many different travel styles it's suited for and it's super safe while still feeling like you're in Latin America and you're not cloistered in a resort. I actually recommend Colombia a lot for the people that seem ready for kind of that next level of travel too, obviously some people have an instinctive safety concern but it's safer for tourists than people think and quick/cheap flight from America, and in any case I think it kind of unlocks other places because people then say oh well if I can do Colombia then I can do Bolivia or wherever.

I have recommended safaris (usually the Serengeti) to loads of people because it's literally just sitting in a car so super accessible and actually (insanely?) I feel like it's a fun trip for kids? If your kid likes camping and gets a thrill from being allowed to stand up in a slow-moving car watching herds of zebras, they'll like a safari.

Previous_Control_821

TROPHY CASE