to not want to go on holiday with DH as he’s taking Pot Noodles?

What I'm finding wild is the comments suggesting that they'd rather sight see than eat. Surely its not either or?

The only holidays I've been on where there's minimal food focus is where the days have consisted of excursions, such as Scottish Highlands, Iceland, Norway etc. But even then I take the opportunity to go to a nice cafe. I will take a couple of days to chill out and will research restaurants to visit as its not fun having every day jam packed.

On beach/city holidays, are people really sight seeing from waking till bed time. Out 12/14 hours a day, for the full 7-14 days or whatever they are away, staring at churches, cathedrals, museums etc? I tend to feel I've taken everything in after a few hours

I like sight seeing but that sounds stressful and miserable. Having a long lunch or dinner, sat in a restaurant, maybe by the sea, in an atmospheric ambient restaurant, trying new food, having a glass of wine and relaxing with your friends/partner etc, is absolute bliss. It would ruin my holiday If the person I was on holiday with wanted to retire to their bedroom as soon as we had got back from sightseeing

Get out of the space where you are entreating him and he's teasing you. Have a conversation, you're going to hate going out for dinners, I am going to hate not. I'm going to cringe at you eating noodles, you're going to cringe at me spending money. We have different approaches and values to this one issue. Can we agree that I accept that food isn't that important to you, and that you wish to fuel up cheaply, and that you accept that I will use a budget of £x on enjoyable meals for me and the kids. Compromise is, I will find some cheap snacks and lunches, and you will come out for 2 meals with us. Maybe?

What was he like when you were dating??

Imagine going on a first weekend away with someone and inviting them for dinner, and then they say ‘nah I’m staying in with a pot noodle’ 🤣

I think it’s crunch time - if he cannot compromise for say, 2 meals out and order a bloody pasta with tomato sauce or whatever the most plain thing on the menu - well I couldn’t be with someone that inflexible.

😂😂

I’m interested to know why you think “Italy is bloody rip off and a waste of time”

I am genuinely curious because I love it. Interested to hear it from your perspective.

I used to be with a man who wanted me to watch TV with him ie sit next to him while he watched Arnie or Stallone blowing things up and doing other man stuff. No. Definitely not. Some things aren't meant to be shared. Leave him alone with the kettle and take your kids for a lovely meal.

When you got married, did you have the speeches before the pot noodles, or after?

Ugh this would be deeply unattractive for me but as you knew what he was like around ‘foreign muck’ when you married him, then this is just par for the course and let him get on with his pot noodles.

Well quite apart from the fact that’s either completely untrue or wildly exaggerated, how do you pronounce bolognaise @Fraaahnces?

That's fantastic, to really enjoy different types of food in different places when you're on holiday. But we all like different types of holiday. For me, that would be a waste of time when I could be sightseeing or hiking instead. There's no problem with that - only if two people come together who like very different things... as seems to be the case with OP and her husband.

Not just English 😂
I know another nationality where people commknly take their food with them. They do swlf catering often and I personally know someone who brought spaghetti with them to cook because they were more expensive in shops in Italy😂 For hotels though people of course take full advantage of paid hotel food since it's already in price. Like full advantage

Indeed. I get pleasure from food, including food from all around the world. However, I live a stones throw from a diverse city where I could eat the cuisine of pretty much any nationality I chose, cooked by a chef of that nationality any night I chose. What I can't do any night I choose is walk around a foreign city, discovering what there is to see, so would never choose to spend several hours of my holiday time sitting in a resturant. Yet somehow this makes me 'joyless', 'immature', 'a little Englander', undatable/unshaggable (lol), mean...just because I can enjoy my food but still enjoy other things more.

Okay... I voted YABU because you said in your OP that this has happened on previous holidays. Why did you think this would be any different? As someone else said upthread, you just prefer different things. He's up for sightseeing and sees that as more important, you're up for the cuisine, and you see that as more important.

Go and enjoy the cuisine with your kids. Are you all happy to enjoy sightseeing together during the day? If not, you're not going to see much of each other while you're away...

My partner and I never go out for meals when we go on holiday - it's not something we're interested in. We LOVE going out hiking though, so we spend all day doing that and then self cater at night. It works for us.

In your scenario though, it sounds like you both want different things. Question is, can you both live with that and both get the type of holiday you really want? All the best, @Astridastro .

I’m interested to know how Pot Noodles passed the “not foreign muck test? Noodles are Chinese.

I know. I said that ”BoloGnaysie” was CLOSER to the authentic Italian pronunciation than “Bollonays”, not that it was 100% correct.

I’d be less bothered about him sitting in and eating his Pot Noodles - assuming he’s not moaning about you going out and he really can’t face unfamiliar food as opposed to being difficult - than the ignorance. Italian food isn’t particularly sauce-based, for example. If you stick to the mains on menus, it will be fairly plain meat and fish for the most part. At least find out what you supposedly can’t eat.

Reminds me of a friend who insisted Italian food was very spicy. No, it really, really isn’t. Do some dishes have spice? Sure. But it’s not a spicy cuisine.

It’s like some people have filed all foreign food under 1970s curry house and refuse to believe any evidence to the contrary.

I certainly wouldn't eat pot noodles on holiday but equally the idea of lots of courses and eating late doesn't appeal to me at all. We eat at 5pm at home because of the toddler so anything after 6pm feels late. Before toddler we ate about 6pm.
I wouldn't want to be starting dinner any later than 7pm and not that several nights in a row.
So maybe there is a compromise to be had here? He tries the food but you eat at a better time for him and then if he doesn't like the food he can have something 'safe' in the hotel room.

Same here.
We both enjoy eating.
A few glasses of wine and a meal is an evening out for us..

One less hungry mouth to budget for! Enjoy all the amazing fresh food and leave him to his pot noodle!

There's much more to Italian food than pasta and pizza. I don't eat those either and I lived in Italy for a year and are very well. Their cuisine is very varied

This!

Of course go and enjoy the food, his loss!

Honestly, I wouldn't have married someone like this. My dad was horribly fussy about "foreign food" and it meant basically we never got to go on holiday abroad as a family.

One of the things I love about DH is our absolutely mutual appreciation of good food, and particularly on holiday. I just could not be with someone who is miserable about it. In the meantime, there is nothing to do about it now but enjoy your meals out and leave DH with his ridiculous pot noodles. Stupid man.

He sounds like a three year old.

This is so ludicrous and funny

Yes leave him with his pot noodle

I think I'd just leave him tbh

Not if you've already paid for AI.