People watching.

Something Sassy said made me think .....people watching must be one of the best past times one can do.

Do you do it.....if so where? are you discreet or not so subtle about it?

Absolutely, there is a really nice cafe that lets dog in on the cliffs.  We go for a walk on the beach and then sit with a coffee people watching.

Cafes are definitely the best place Sassy.
I love the café culture that we have here now....we don't always have the weather to sit outside, but more and more places now provide cover and heaters so we can sit outside and people watch.

Alternatively, little cafes abroad.....spot the nationality or the lookalikes, amazing how many ordinary holidaymakers resemble the famous.

Our best one was in Tenerife a few years ago...we kept seeing this Ray Winston lookalike, turned out it was actually him.

OMG, I used to drool over Ray Winstone!

sassy wrote:OMG, I used to drool over Ray Winstone!

He's great isn't he...and oddly attractive.

He drove a little red sports open top car in Tenerife.....he is a big burly bloke and he actually seemed far too big for the car he was driving....he reminded me of...

Ugh. Ray Winstone is horrible.

I love people watching. Who doesn't? I could do it for hours with earphones on listening to music. The people going by are in my own video.

sassy wrote:Absolutely, there is a really nice cafe that lets dog in on the cliffs.  We go for a walk on the beach and then sit with a coffee people watching.

That is very convenient, not too many let dogz in nowadays.

People watching, we count all the obese who pass by, you will be amazed at how many, also on our island.

What is there to watch though?

Hot - Humid - Holiday Weekend at Disney World - Florida
Where the crowds are massive - loads of foreigners and standing in
long lines in that heat for 45 minutes or longer for a 8 minute ride!

God forbid you left your important crap with your ankle buster parked {stroller}
with everyone else's while riding on that 8 minute wonderful A/C cool place, that
you'd had to stand in line with your screaming/impatient child that had just suffered the emotional melt down of epic proportions - that just triggered a chain reaction for another 10 - 15 other toddlers to echo the same emotional upheaval.

WAITING to get in - looks exactly the same as WAITING TO ESCAPE ...


Back 'pre-internet', we didn't know about all of those perks that you'd get
if you paid for the 'VIP' package:
A.) Jumping The Line - allowed you to be escorted past those over heated, long lines of exhausted parents and screaming toddlers as your smiling Disney Guide opened those roped off sections and allowed you instant access to the 1st in line for the next air conditioned ride that all of those hot/angry/upset humans were now glaring at you as your butted in front of their position that they inched their way along that roped serpentine walk way like cattle to the slaughter
B.) One-On-One Time with your child's favorite Disney character in a A/C private room away from the heat and other screaming adoring kids wanting to ruin your child's time with Mickey & Mini or Donald & Daisy
C.)Special Reserved Seating for that nights fire works ...or find a section of the concrete that wasn't spread with someone's spilt drink/child's upset stomach or just some sticky substance that you weren't sure what it was but you sure didn't want sit in it but there isn't any seating to be had - unless you're one of those exhausted toddlers fast asleep in their strollers - sunburned and over heated - fast asleep until the first of those loud **BOOMS** startles them awake and they regain their ability to SCREAM LOUDLY again
D.) Reservation Table at any of the pre-selected dining places along the route you've paid that extra $150. - $500. for your Special VIP tour guide to reserve for you
*********************
But for the 2 days; we'd planned on spending 3 days ...but after 2 days of those crowds and the bruises/cuts on our ankles from people shoving those strollers into our legs - numerous time spent waiting in lines for our 5 - 8 minute ride to be 'Line Jumped' by some VIP group - my 8 yr old son and my 5 yr old nephew both had had enough of the 'Happiest Place On Earth' and just wanted to get the hell out and never return. 

Moral of my story; while spending those 45 minutes waiting in line for another 5-8 minute ride ...we got to see the best and the worst of humanity that can be encapsulated within confines of a place misnomered for 'Happy Family Fun' - while children scream - parents threaten all forms of mental & physical abuse if they don't STFU - witnessed 2 Latino Foreign VIP groups engage in a total knock down drag out battle royal while the 2 VIP tour guides were on their radio's calling for Security/Help/911 within the 'Happiest Place On Earth' and chaos exploded around us and I was so happy that neither of my charges understood any Spanish

Major wrote:

sassy wrote:Absolutely, there is a really nice cafe that lets dog in on the cliffs.  We go for a walk on the beach and then sit with a coffee people watching.

That is very convenient, not too many let dogz in nowadays.

People watching, we count all the obese who pass by, you will be amazed at how many, also on our island.

That is so true....fat parents with fat kids, often stuffing their faces as they walk along, it's criminal.
And so many young women are overweight....far more women than men.

Raggamuffin wrote:What is there to watch though?

People Rags...they are fascinating.

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:What is there to watch though?

People Rags...they are fascinating.

Not really ...

4EVER2 wrote:Hot - Humid - Holiday Weekend at Disney World - Florida
Where the crowds are massive - loads of foreigners and standing in
long lines in that heat for 45 minutes or longer for a 8 minute ride!

God forbid you left your important crap with your ankle buster parked {stroller}
with everyone else's while riding on that 8 minute wonderful A/C cool place, that
you'd had to stand in line with your screaming/impatient child that had just suffered the emotional melt down of epic proportions - that just triggered a chain reaction for another 10 - 15 other toddlers to echo the same emotional upheaval.

WAITING to get in - looks exactly the same as WAITING TO ESCAPE ...


Back 'pre-internet', we didn't know about all of those perks that you'd get
if you paid for the 'VIP' package:
A.) Jumping The Line - allowed you to be escorted past those over heated, long lines of exhausted parents and screaming toddlers as your smiling Disney Guide opened those roped off sections and allowed you instant access to the 1st in line for the next air conditioned ride that all of those hot/angry/upset humans were now glaring at you as your butted in front of their position that they inched their way along that roped serpentine walk way like cattle to the slaughter
B.) One-On-One Time with your child's favorite Disney character in a A/C private room away from the heat and other screaming adoring kids wanting to ruin your child's time with Mickey & Mini or Donald & Daisy
C.)Special Reserved Seating for that nights fire works ...or find a section of the concrete that wasn't spread with someone's spilt drink/child's upset stomach or just some sticky substance that you weren't sure what it was but you sure didn't want sit in it but there isn't any seating to be had - unless you're one of those exhausted toddlers fast asleep in their strollers - sunburned and over heated - fast asleep until the first of those loud **BOOMS** startles them awake and they regain their ability to SCREAM LOUDLY again
D.) Reservation Table at any of the pre-selected dining places along the route you've paid that extra $150. - $500. for your Special VIP tour guide to reserve for you
*********************
But for the 2 days; we'd planned on spending 3 days ...but after 2 days of those crowds and the bruises/cuts on our ankles from people shoving those strollers into our legs - numerous time spent waiting in lines for our 5 - 8 minute ride to be 'Line Jumped' by some VIP group - my 8 yr old son and my 5 yr old nephew both had had enough of the 'Happiest Place On Earth' and just wanted to get the hell out and never return. 

Moral of my story; while spending those 45 minutes waiting in line for another 5-8 minute ride ...we got to see the best and the worst of humanity that can be encapsulated within confines of a place misnomered for 'Happy Family Fun' - while children scream - parents threaten all forms of mental & physical abuse if they don't STFU - witnessed 2 Latino Foreign VIP groups engage in a total knock down drag out battle royal while the 2 VIP tour guides were on their radio's calling for Security/Help/911 within the 'Happiest Place On Earth' and chaos exploded around us and I was so happy that neither of my charges understood any Spanish

Those places are a nightmare.
We have them too, Alton Towers being one of the most popular here.
Last time I went there young son was wanting to go on all the rides, the queue's were horrendous. My mum was with us then, she obviously didn't want to experience any of the bigger rides, so she had waits for up to an hour with no thrill at the end.
It was also boiling hot...and like you say, not everyone is as well behaved as they should be.

I,d rather go fishing!!!!

Syl Stated >>> Those places are a nightmare.
We have them too, Alton Towers being one of the most popular here.
Last time I went there young son was wanting to go on all the rides, the queue's were horrendous. My mum was with us then, she obviously didn't want to experience any of the bigger rides, so she had waits for up to an hour with no thrill at the end.
It was also boiling hot...and like you say, not everyone is as well behaved as they should be.

If memory served me correctly; and I'm talking back in the 80's - our 2 day adventure {ankle busting/heat/exhaustion/wasted most of our time waiting in lines} cost us nearly $450. - not counting the food. But T-shirts/funny hats and drinks & drinks & more drinks because it was sooooo hot & humid. 

But did you know or were you offered any of those 'SPECIAL VIP' packages with your own 'SPECIAL TOUR GUIDE'?  I will say; my neighbors took the Disney Cruise from Florida to some where down in the Bhahama's and they never got off of the Cruise Ship - didn't even want too.  There were 3 couples and 10 kids in their entire group - said it was the best money/vacation they'd every spent and they'd do it all over again in a minute! 

It's about £130 for a family ticket at Alton towers and a similar price at Blackpool pleasure beach which is the one we tended to go to with kids and grandkids cos it's nearer. We never had special packages....paid on the day.

Like you said it's all the little added extras that top up the price....so treble that cost, especially when it's raining which it tends to do often here.

My idea of hell is being stuck on a cruise ship. Can you imagine going somewhere you have never been to and not actually dismounting and having a good scoot round?

Actually my idea of hell is a cruise of any description.