Learning English - Going on holiday - with Mr Duncan

Holiday fever is here.

The sky is blue and clear.

The weather is fine and now is the time to hop on a train.

Step on a plane. Jump on the bus.

Take a long drive.

Just the two of us on a long getaway.

All our woes will subside as we run on the beach in the pale moonlight.

Sometimes it is good to have a short welcome break

and take time away from life's daily heartache.

It is something we all need, but sometimes neglect to do.

Our day to day lives become so hectic that we forget to take a break.

You don't have to travel far to have a good rest.

A short weekend break might be all you need

to recharge your batteries.

Which reminds me, I did make a lesson all about going on holiday.

Oh, yes.

I remember it well.

As if it was yesterday.

Yesterday.

Yesterday.

Yesterday.

Yesterday. Yesterday.

Yesterday.

Yesterday.

They say that to truly get away from it all,

you must first place yourself as far away from all the familiar features of your everyday life.

You should endeavour to escape the day in, day out routine

and shake off the shackles of the rat race existence.

Taking a holiday gives your mind a chance to ease its daily burden

and your body a well-deserved opportunity to fully relax itself.

Oh, yes.

We all need a holiday, a break, a getaway,

a vacation, a change of scenery.

We all need to get away from it all from time to time.

For most people, summer is the time for taking a holiday.

Some will stay in their own country and take a domestic holiday,

while others will take a long trip to another country.

They will go abroad.

They will travel overseas.

A person may travel just a few miles to a nearby country.

Or they might decide to travel to a completely different part of the world.

Thousands of miles away.

In English, the place you travel to is your destination.

You set off from your home and travel to another place.

You make a journey.

You go on a trip.

You take a vacation.

You go on holiday.

The average holiday lasts for about two weeks.

This is more common if the journey taken to get there is a long one.

The slowest form of long distance travel is by sea.

A large ocean cruise ship may take several days to reach its destination.

Some cruise ships stop off at many different ports as they sail around.

Cruise holidays have become very popular

thanks to the new super sized cruise ships,

some of which are built to resemble floating cities.

Of course, you will never find me

taking a longer boat trip as I am afraid of water.

It's true.

These days it is common

for those going on holiday to fly, even if they are travelling within their own country.

City hopping by plane is normal across both Europe and the United States.

A short flight is referred to as short haul,

while a long flight is often referred to as long haul.

A plane trip can take anything from a couple of hours with no stops to a couple of days with many stops.

Some people find flying less enjoyable these days.

The long delays at airports and the many security checks that passengers now face

have combined to make travelling by plane much less of an adventure

than it used to be.

Surely one of the best parts of taking a foreign holiday

must be sampling the local cuisine, tasting the local food.

Each country tends to have its own speciality dishes.

Some countries have become connected to certain types of food and drink.

For example, Italy is known for its pasta dishes.

France is known for its fine wines and the high class restaurants.

Turkey is well known for its meat dishes such as kebabs.

When people talk about English food, they often mention fish...

and chips.

What type of food is your country famous for?

Oh, that lesson was a lot of fun to make.

I hope your next holiday is a good one.

Be it a short break over a weekend

or a long vacation on a sunny beach.

Have fun.

And of course,

ta ta for now.