Oy.
Fanny packs are in with the artsy young crowd. My D hangs with film wannabes at film school and you could have bowled me over… she’s sporting a hippie style Fanny pack all the time. She never hears the end of it from Mom:) not going to happen if we travel anywhere together. Pretty sure locals in Spain or Italy are not going to know it’s hip
Well, if it’s good enough for Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto… (Yes, it is possible that I checked out that Jared Leto photo more than once.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3080442/Anne-Hathaway-tries-bring-fanny-pack-sports-oft-mocked-accessory-chic-NYC-stroll-husband-Adam-Shulman.html
Crossing the street looking the wrong way first.
^^ That’s why they paint the crosswalks to say “Look right before crossing.”
Tipping generously
The UK drives on the wrong side of the road, but on the continent Europeans drive on the right side of the road.
My husband and I notice that when we eat breakfast at the hotels we stay at , we are the only people talking to each other and smiling at each other. Everyone else looks bored and detached from the people they eat with…
We ate breakfast once in an Italian eatery at the Frankfurt airport. There was an American pair ( coworkers , not husband and wife ) that were really embarrassing to witness. They were loud , demanding and trying to change everything that the breakfast special included.
I was once approached by two older Danish women because I put bleu cheese on my salad plate at a buffet and that made me stand out as American…they told me it was traditionally eaten as part of dessert
^Oh lord. People who try to change specials and get special treatment in restaurants are embarrassing even here in the US. What gets into people to think they are so special? I cringe if I’m eating with someone like that!
When we went to Belgium (which has people from all over) you couldn’t tell any difference between people until they started speaking. Unless dressed for work everyone wore tennis shoes of some sort and casual clothing.
A while back while on a tour in Spain the guide said he could always tell where the different groups were from even at a distance by the amount of hand language they used while speaking.
At least Americans are generally “nice” tourists these days - polite, cheerful and reasonably willing to spend. The days of the loud and obnoxious or arrogant American have long gone.
The most hated groups these days among hospitality service providers in Europe are the newest of the new rich - mainly Chinese and Russians (loud and disrespectful to the frontline staff). Another generation and I am sure this will change too.
“The days of the loud and obnoxious or arrogant American have long gone.” – I agree.
“People who try to change specials and get special treatment in restaurants are embarrassing even here in the US. What gets into people to think they are so special? I cringe if I’m eating with someone like that!”
Seriously? Asking for something on the side or whatever is embarrassing? How?
what marks one as American? T- shirts with English sayings. Sweatpants. Sneakers. Being overweight.
I was in Bruges recently and I was chilly so I bought a gray cloche. It worked perfectly. I thought I looked very Belgian!
Europeans wear scarves more than Americans, too. Both men and women.
Ha! I ate at a breakfast restaurant in Liverpool last month, was in a hurry so I left a 20 pound note for a 15 pound tab and left and they came running after me!
I get told that Americans reflexively smile at strangers. Most other cultures don’t.
Smiling at strangers: depends. I am midwestern, and I do. Here in NY, that is not done. I get asked for directions (and $) a lot bc I actually look at people’s eyes, not off in the distance! So the US is a huge place that is very different even within, no?
Looking the wrong way first: In NY, a hipster once said to me…“I can tell you are not a New Yorker bc you looked both ways on a one way street”. And I said: “And I can tell you’ve never been hit by a bike messenger going the wong way on a one way!”
The truth is, wherever I have gone, you see a huge disparity in both external sophistication of the folks, and reaction to you, just like here.
PG–if what I described isn’t what you are doing, don’t take it personally.
I think the kind of customer i described is clearly implied. especially following lje’s comment.
“Here in NY, that is not done.”
New Yorkers also walk with their heads down, and they walk fast. Tourists are always looking up.
The people I was referring too were not just asking for something on the side. They basically asked to rearrange a good deal of the breakfast special ( which was really excellent BTW )
They just came off as being obnoxious and entitled , so I felt embarrassed . I try to NOT be the stereotypical obnoxious tourist everywhere I go , but then I also work in tourism and I know what we deal with 