The ’80s — How The Summer Holidays Looked Like
Many young people today would consider silly even to try to arrange a summer holiday from the ’80s as they parents and families had, back in the days. I believe, half of the adults wouldn’t be able to manage without the internet, smartphones, electronic payments. And almost all of us would pack our bags and turn back home with the first knowledge that the hotel room doesn’t have an air conditioner. The eighties were the age of fluorescent colors, fantastic music, minimal swimsuits, weird hairstyles, and great memories. What was missing then or was not invented yet, is precisely what created enough space for the unique magic of our careless childhood. How summer vacation in the ’80s looked like?
The Flight And Hotel Booking Was a Blind Date.
Noting that flight tickets 30–40 years ago were more expensive and less available, and there was no internet, the booking was a real bug. Still, for many, it was the time for the first flight in life, so it meant something. Elegant stewardesses, advanced technology, comfortable seats and curtains on the windows — Wau! It was an incredible pleasure and experience to travel by plane. In the ’80s, you could take with you whatever you wanted. There were almost no limitation and safety procedures. And the strangest thing — smoking was allowed on planes! All the adults were smoking cigarettes!
We traveled on family holidays with own car. Those were adventures that lasted … and lasted. First, Mom ironed shirts and carefully rolled into the bags, measuring every inch of the trunk, while dad was nagging that it won’t fit, and not to forget we got to put inside a parasol, a handy refrigerator and a canister of domestic wine (just for the case in destination never heard for wine). Then, food. Basically, it was cooked more than for national holidays, for the state of emergency. When the car was ready, the trunk overloaded, the carrier on the roof tight up, our summer holiday could begin.
As the lousy radio signal was trying to dominate the space, Mum was remarking we should contact the cousins in some town by the way, and Dad was explaining again how we need to get as early as possible to find the hotel. Little retro- teenagers, sister and I, in the back seat were putting headphones and played on the greatest MTV hits on our super-cool devices called — the walkmen.
Well, here is the part about the hotel. You have absolutely no idea where you are going. The building just appears in front of you. No TripAdvisor, no photos, no reviews. If parents were experienced travelers, they picked up the phone a couple of weeks before and booked a room. But if they weren’t, we could expect a real hotel-hunt. Imagine, morning slowly moves away in the car without the air conditioner, everyone is nervous, stopping from one hotel to another to find an available room. Finally, the hotel for us. It takes another half of a day to get everything out of the car and move into our temporary home. Still, you were doing this with enormous child’s enthusiasm, because, only a few meters separate you from the sea. From the public phone, parents reported home we have traveled well, and that’s when the holiday begins.
Colorful Tourists & Ice Cream Machine
Back in the ’80s, fashion has just started to be loose. Many fashion rules were broken, and women used every occasion to express their rebellious and free-minded attitudes. So the coastal countries were always full of people dressed in colored patterns, various creations and for our time, there were lots of funny hairstyles. Also, a lot of carnets, pink dresses, men in navy shirts, inconceivable miniature shorts and a bunch of enormous shoulder straps on everyone! Swimsuits that revealed more than they were covering (both men and women) were so fashionable. The point was to apply as much body oil as possible to the skin and to lie in the sun all day. The absolute transformation of the skin tones was imperative. Spending the days on the sun was so easy in the ‘80s… Among all this heat, a makeup and plastic jewelry was essential. As kids on the beach, we used to make necklaces and bracelets from straws, and the most delicious thing was to buy ice cream from the machines, whining to our parents in every next hour for this frozen sugar and water. Everything scented with coconut and summer.
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