Favourite Summer Vacation

This week, your blog assignment is to share with us your favourite summer vacation.

Remember to keep names unmentioned.

My most memorable summer vacation was backpacking through Europe with my family right after grade 8 graduation.  I remember a lot of amazing moments from this trip, even thought it was a very very long time ago.  I remember the months and months of planning.  My parents with a tourist book for about 8 countries, trying to decide where we should go and what to see in our 3 weeks overseas.  The decision ended with a flight from Toronto to Holland and then England. I remember seeing Big Ben (not as exciting as you would think, just a big clock) and Buckingham palace.  At the time Prince William was "the thing" and there were hundreds of people in the crowd staring up in the windows hoping he would look out and wave - which he didn't. We took a ferry, which was more of a cruise ship from England to |France.  Me and my brother thought this was a fantastic trip, however it did get boring as it was not as BIG as a cruise ship, just fancy. Landed in some small and boring town in France.  We took a train the next morning to Paris.  From the train station we walked to the hotel, it was beautiful, felt like a hotel in a movie.  I remember our room was not ready and we were told to go wait in the dining room.  Me and my brother were sitting on the fancy stools at the bar table and i remember 2 of the most fantastic dressed ladies I have ever seen.  It was like a typical stereotype French woman.  Tall, thin, fitted blazer coat and pencil skirt, HIGH HIGH stilettos.  There were sitting at a table with what i assume were their husbands and i remember that both husbands were eating a large lunch, steak and potatoes and salads, and the women...nothing.....they were smoking... and smoking...and smoking.... I had never seen 2 fancy stunning ladies smoke so much in my life.  My family decided to take a walk and find the Eiffel tower (spoiler alert - famous almost kidnapped story approaching)  So we walk out of the hotel all 4 of us and parked on the street directly in front of the hotel was a large dark car, like a sedan of some sort, the windows were so darkly tinted, you couldn't even tell if someone was inside. As we walked by the driver window went down and I only saw a forehead and eyes.  Now keep in mind I was your age, 13 ish, thought I KNEW EVERYTHING, so i stared and then kept walking with my parents.  About half way down the street my father tells me to run back and grab a map from the hotel concierge .  So I go skipping down the street minding my own business, now the window of that very dark sedan was scrolling down and a man leans out the window.  He calls to me in french - yea no idea what he said- again I had attitude so I shot the old man a dirty look and went into the hotel and got my map.  When I walked out of the hotel I saw Mr Sedan get out of his car and lean on the door as I was walking out. He started hollering at me in French - yea still don't know what you are saying buddy- but I am definitely worried now.  He starts walking towards me like he was gonna grab my arm and I take of running.  Assuming I was going to see my father waiting on the corner- like he said- yea he was not there.  I panicked and ran faster and found they had walked around the corner. I told my dad what had happened - his response -  "It was probably nothing.|"  We saw the Eiffel tower, where we were almost robbed by gypsys,  I saw the Notre Dame Cathedral and even checked out Mona Lisa!  I am sure I could go on for days about Italy, Spain and Portugal of course, But I will save all that for another day!  I cant wait to read about your vacations.