Breaking up with your favorite destination is hard to do
The world's only museum to tell the story of heartbreak is in the Croatia capital of Zagreb. It has the vivid name of The Museum of Broken Relationships. It showcases tokens of affection from the donors' lost loves and former marriages, such as teddy bears. It's a gallery for broken hearts.
But you can be as easily smitten with a favorite destination as with another person. You can also fall out of love with a destination, too.
One of the fun things about relationships is that ridiculously giddy feeling you have when things are great. Let's say you're in love with Disneyland. You can't stop talking about Disneyland to your family and friends. Your ears perk up anytime you hear a bit of news about the place, and you can't help chiming in about what you know as an insider—having been there yourself.
It's natural for excitement to wane a bit over time, though. You can't be head over heels about a favorite city, beach, mountain, or tourist attraction your whole life. Your feelings will ebb and flow.
Which leads to this question: When is it time to break-up with a destination, to stop going back, to call it quits?Here are top signs your favorite destination is no longer working for you:
1) When talking about vacation ideas with friends and family, you catch yourself mentioning some other destination far more often than your old favorite.
2) You have trouble planning a repeat visit to your favorite destination. You used to be so enthused to do research and to hear about what's new. But now, before your return trip, you just want to get on the plane and hope that when you arrive some special, old time magic kicks in and makes you feel reconnected.
3) When you arrive, you find yourself complaining more than oohing and ahhing. You feel the place has done you wrong by closing down favorite spots. Or by being overrun by "tourists" or by graffiti or by the opening up multinational chain stores you could find back home.
Experiencing two or three of these signs? Trouble is brewing. Consider talking to a travel agent for some independent advice. Maybe there's a new Prague, a new Vegas, a new Kauai out there you haven't yet explored.
Maybe at some point, your heart may want to cry out: "Atlantic City, I loved you as a child, I loved you as young adult, but now we're through. We're done. It's over."
In the meantime, Croatia needs to invent a special exhibition at its Museum of Broken Relationships—one that showcases the souvenirs, photos, and mementoes of favorite destinations loved and lost.
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever broken up with a favorite destination? Have you been able to stay on good terms with an ex-favorite destination? Sound off in the comments. We welcome you to also vote in our poll to say whether you've ever been in love with a destination, meaning, repeatedly visited it. Thanks.
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