Yes, my youngest is 13 and a girl. She would prefer a beach vacation but is open to europe...she's the easy one. My boys are the ones resisting. You know, maybe I'll just put em on here and let them read all of the fantastic ideas and advice you all have provided...

The first time I went to Rome, there was a huge fashion show going on and super models were walking all over the streets. Maybe you could tempt your boys with that? haha

Also being able to have a glass of wine with dinner or going out and buying a beer legally is fun.

And you could let your boys stay in a hostel nearby every so often. They would meet soooooooo many interesting young people from all over the world. I think giving them the opportunity to do stuff on their own would be good for them. You can do the siteseeing and dinners together but then let them go out.

There's just so much history in Europe, it is such an amazing opportunity for them. I wish my mom took me to Europe with her! Instead, I'm trying to drag her out there while there on my RTW. Those boys are lucky! :-)

You: mother
Them: under the age of majority

You: paying for trip
Them: getting free ride

You: decision maker
Them: too young to know the incredible experience they're missing

Bottom line - you pay; you decide. If they don't like it, I'd line up a babysitter for them while you go off and enjoy yourself. Btw, I'm speaking as a parent here myself. It's one thing to compromise and give them choices in Europe - it's another to hand over the entire decision-making to them.

Well put, whereforart.

WhereForArt may have a point to some extent. I however, belive they just need to start traveling (have they done much traveling?), especially in Europe, and they may even appricate it on a leval above what someone older can. Especially after going to Europe I realized that my generation (same as their generation) is going to live in a world that is even more globalized than the current one. I came to see that I would be encountering people from so many more differnt backgrounds on a regular baisis in my life, than my parrents do, that I like to understand something about as many cultures as possible. It can be as simple as going to a country and sitting down to have a meal or a drink with a local. Most American teenagers I talk to here think thats strange and wierdly mature. Its not. The few American teenagers I've talked to in Europe (not on some school tour--they are too constricting to really learn all that much about Europe) understood what I meant, because they too had had the experience.

I know this all sounds terrbly sappy, but, I am saying how my experiences in Europe last year when I was 16-17 changed me. I am frustrated that the kids are beeing accused of being "too young to know the incredible experience they're missing" because they are really not that. They are prehaps too ignorant to know the incredible experience they're missing, and that is something that we are all capable of changing. If you leave them behind they'll have no chance of gaining the great advantage of being able to appreciate something like this.

I had never traveled on my own before I went to Europe. I went planning to stay in Germany with a host family for a few months.
I caught the travel bug within the first few days.
I came home 12 months later (my visa/parrents wouldn't allow any longer) having traveled to 20 countries.

Try to let them have the experience. If you can get them there and don't drag them around into churches, I would be very very surprised if they didn't begin enjoy and appreciate the trip within the first few days.

Brambles... you hit it on the head. Keep spreading the word to the rest of your peers.

Good points...all of them. You know, I'm just going to do it. We're going to europe and that's the end of it! I'm 47 and if I'm ever going to do it, it had better be sooner than later...

YEA! That's it, just Do It! You will all have a wonderful adventure that you will never forget that will shape your lives forever.

bigmaude, I'm so excited for you! Your kids will love it. They can have the boring beach for spring break. :-)

Way to go! I don't think you will ever regret your decision - and 5-10 years from now your kids will be thanking you.

quote:

Originally posted by WhereForArt:
Way to go! I don't think you will ever regret your decision - and 5-10 years from now your kids will be thanking you.

I think by mid-way thru the trip, they'll be thanking you.

quote:

I think by mid-way thru the trip, they'll be thanking you.

'tis true - I stand corrected.

A+

Ok, now that Iv'e decided that we are definitely going I need more advice on places of interest for teenagers in the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Spain. Iv'e got Sinsheim, the Zeppelin Museum, and a Paris fashion show on my list so far. Think: short attention spans, raging hormones, warped sense of humor... Any suggestions?