My fantasy of an ideal vacation would take the form of a little cosy hut on an island, white sand, blue see and me lying on the beach looking very tanned and muscular, sipping fresh juice and surrounded by a few very good looking books. I don’t know why I still believe somewhere in my head that this would be an ideal vacation. It might be the power of publicities and images, or the fact that I have never done it (and it seems so fashionable and cool!). Truth is that I really don’t like being in the sun (neither can I read in the sun), and I can’t think what I could do on the beach for more than an hour a day without getting bored. This far goes the fantasy, in reality, I have friends that tried to convince me to take 2-3 weeks off and go hike in the mountains or make a trip (with a group) to a far away and exotic country. I have never done that either. On the subject of vacation, I’m like this careful swimmer who doesn’t like to go too far from the safe shore. I like it 3 to 6 days, preferably with the possibility to practice a leisurely 1-2 hours a day, (to keep me in good shape and the bad conscience away), to be surrounded by the people I like and don’t get to see much usually, and have the time to catch up on a book, a movie or an exhibition. Should I be bold and try a completely new life experience on my next vacation? One day I might, when I’m ready.

Hmm. It depends on what you mean by "ideal," and of course by "vacation." I think many of the things I would really like to see and experience are things that are probably closed to me. For instance, what would it be like to spend months at sea in true sailing fashion; or to really climb a mountain; or to live for a time in one of the isolated mountain villages of southern Europe; or to live through the seasons on an island; or to participate in a royal court; or to be a serious athlete or dancer. Of course these are not "closed" in the sense that I could make it a major part of my life to experience these, but this isn't worth it to me because of what else would be lost. So what does one do? One can certainly spend vacations doing "baby versions" and convince oneself that one has got the general idea. Does one? How do these things scale? What is the immensity of living in solitude really like, or the very intricate social ritual of tea ceremonies or high court? To move from a general, cultured perception, or an intellectual perception, into physical understanding without years of time spent seems almost impossible.

Hi everyone,

Well I feel quite lucky as my ideal vacations are not expensive ones. I love to escape not going far away but in some places where nature's beauty will replace cellular phones, computers and tv screens. I like to be in a group to meet new people and share with them these moments. In fact, I have already find ideal vacations.

Last summer, I went trecking in Marocco's moutains with a group of fourteen people : one week in a valley with beautiful landscapes, nice people. Not too physical, as we had a warmfull marocco team with mules, but a 5h per day walk, half time feet in the river. Eating delicious food made by our cook, at night by the candles light. No road, no telephone, no tv, no electricity in the villages we crossed. Totally another world. Walking in this valley was a good way to take time to think about myself, a kind of meditation.

Other ideal vacations : sea kayak in Corsica : a great way to discover this beautiful island : a group of ten people sailing from small beach to small beach, sleeping in cute creeks where noone else can go. Everything we need is in our kayak : we cook ourselves together, a good way to exchange and talk. The only annoying thing is that there are no shower, no fresh water to wash yourself, only the sea water. But it is worth it ! I have already done it twice. And next vacations, I will go one week sea kayaking in Croatia, just to escape doing a little bit of sport, not going far away, meeting new people, seeing beautiful landscapes, and finding back myself.

As music is my first love, I was trying to think about ideal vacations involving music, sharing music passion with others. For example, I thought about one week in Ireland, on a bicycle tour, where every night, in a different village, the riders could enjoy celtic music in some little pubs. If you have any ideas about ideal vacations involving music sharing and discovering, let me know :)