world's worst tourists

Desmond Coughlan wrote:

The question is meaningless, for 'worst tourist' has as much relevance as
'best wine', or 'ugliest woman' [1]. Personally, I find Italians rather
irritating as they shout, and don't seem to know how to stand in queues,
but then Italian women are about the sexiest on the planet (after the
French, of course ... *cough*), that I'm prepared to put up with losing my
place at the checkout queue. :-)


I also usually find Italians tourists irritating for the very same
reasons - that's why as soon as my holidays begin I dash to places
outside Italy where I usually manage to pass as a tourist of unspecified
nationality (1) by simply not shouting and standing in queue. I'd add
that Italians speak foreign languages poorly and have often difficulties
in adapting to foreign foods, and this makes them very ugly tourists
(not all of them, of course).

Said that, I add that even uglier than Italians are those foreign
tourists that, as soon as they pass the Italian border, begin to behave
as the worst Italians, speeding with their cars, skipping queues,
shouting, etc.

--------

(1) Sometimes I pass even for a local. I attended a performance at
Innsbruck opera house this August. My wife and and me were dressed in
black. The parking lot and the opera house are on the same way, we had
just to cross the road. But we had not the time to cross the road. As
soon as we emerged from the garage, an Italian child shouted: "Mamma,
why are those two Austrians dressed in black?" "Maybe they are going to
the opera, dear"


--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy e-mail:

"Luca Logi" schreef in bericht
...
Said that, I add that even uglier than Italians are those foreign
tourists that, as soon as they pass the Italian border, begin to behave
as the worst Italians, speeding with their cars, skipping queues,
shouting, etc.

That's the only way one can survive in Italy......;-)

Sjoerd

Following up to Desmond Coughlan

[1] although Maggie Thatcher gets my vote for being physically _and_
morally repugnant ...

I don't think she was[1] particularly physically repugnant. I
understand a lot of politicians fancied her, but then that
probably just shows what a sick bunch they are.

1] before her mind went.
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
UK walking "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Spain,cuisines and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

In article ,
(Luca Logi) wrote:

Desmond Coughlan wrote:

The question is meaningless, for 'worst tourist' has as much relevance as
'best wine', or 'ugliest woman' [1]. Personally, I find Italians rather
irritating as they shout, and don't seem to know how to stand in queues,
but then Italian women are about the sexiest on the planet (after the
French, of course ... *cough*), that I'm prepared to put up with losing my
place at the checkout queue. :-)


I also usually find Italians tourists irritating for the very same
reasons - that's why as soon as my holidays begin I dash to places
outside Italy where I usually manage to pass as a tourist of unspecified
nationality (1) by simply not shouting and standing in queue. I'd add
that Italians speak foreign languages poorly and have often difficulties
in adapting to foreign foods, and this makes them very ugly tourists
(not all of them, of course).

we have traveled in Italy for years and enjoy Italians -- but the self
centeredness drives us nuts --- they seem incapable of putting
themselves in anyone else's shoes and so make loud noise under other
people's windows at 2 am [when asked to quiet down and put himself in
someone else's shoes i.e. 'would you want to have people shouting while
you are trying to sleep' the typical respond is but I AM awake then.]

folks who share a garden with locals tell me that it is typical for
people to pick all of the joint crop before it is quite ripe in order to
make sure others don't get their share.

the march to the front of the line is also typical -- more than once we
have joined with Brits and other Americans in lines to block Italians
from simply bullying their way ahead [Japanese tourists will also jump
lines routinely]


Said that, I add that even uglier than Italians are those foreign
tourists that, as soon as they pass the Italian border, begin to behave
as the worst Italians, speeding with their cars, skipping queues,
shouting, etc.

--------

(1) Sometimes I pass even for a local. I attended a performance at
Innsbruck opera house this August. My wife and and me were dressed in
black. The parking lot and the opera house are on the same way, we had
just to cross the road. But we had not the time to cross the road. As
soon as we emerged from the garage, an Italian child shouted: "Mamma,
why are those two Austrians dressed in black?" "Maybe they are going to
the opera, dear"

Go Fig writes:

How well do Europeans understand 'Euro trash'?

They don't understand it ... they live it!

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

"?ystein" wrote in message
om...
(Blackden) wrote in message
om...
Brits were judged the least welcome tourists in an Expedia survey this
summer, but European stereotypes of the Ugly American tourist are
still common,

Americans aren't bad but complitely ignorant. Sort of cute really, bad
is a completely different thing.

Americans usually redeem themselves for their actions by leaving big
tips, something brits rarely do.

tim



Jan

le Wed, 08 Oct 2003 11:55:26 -0400, dans l'article , S Viemeister a dit ...

{ snip }

Please! Until I joined this group I had never heard the term and
I have never heard a European use it. What does it refer to?

There was a book, decades ago (1950s, perhaps?), called 'The Ugly
American'. Most of those who (mis)use the term, have never read the book.

It was also the title of a film by George Englund, starring the sublime
Marlon Brando. 1963 or 1964, IIRC.

--
Desmond Coughlan |desmond [at] zeouane [dot] org
http://www.zeouane.org/

le 7 Oct 2003 10:10:52 -0700, dans l'article , Blackden a dit ...

Brits were judged the least welcome tourists in an Expedia survey this
summer, but European stereotypes of the Ugly American tourist are
still common, and Israeli and Australian tourists are often said to
match the British for rudeness and drunken misbehaviour respectively.
Does anyone have any anecdotes relating to this? Who *are* the world's
worst tourists?

The question is meaningless, for 'worst tourist' has as much relevance as
'best wine', or 'ugliest woman' [1]. Personally, I find Italians rather
irritating as they shout, and don't seem to know how to stand in queues,
but then Italian women are about the sexiest on the planet (after the
French, of course ... *cough*), that I'm prepared to put up with losing my
place at the checkout queue. :-)


[1] although Maggie Thatcher gets my vote for being physically _and_
morally repugnant ...
--
Desmond Coughlan |desmond [at] zeouane [dot] org
http://www.zeouane.org/

In article ,
Jenn wrote:

In article ,
(Luca Logi) wrote:

Desmond Coughlan wrote:

The question is meaningless, for 'worst tourist' has as much relevance as
'best wine', or 'ugliest woman' [1]. Personally, I find Italians rather
irritating as they shout, and don't seem to know how to stand in queues,
but then Italian women are about the sexiest on the planet (after the
French, of course ... *cough*), that I'm prepared to put up with losing my
place at the checkout queue. :-)


I also usually find Italians tourists irritating for the very same
reasons - that's why as soon as my holidays begin I dash to places
outside Italy where I usually manage to pass as a tourist of unspecified
nationality (1) by simply not shouting and standing in queue. I'd add
that Italians speak foreign languages poorly and have often difficulties
in adapting to foreign foods, and this makes them very ugly tourists
(not all of them, of course).

we have traveled in Italy for years and enjoy Italians -- but the self
centeredness drives us nuts --- they seem incapable of putting
themselves in anyone else's shoes and so make loud noise under other
people's windows at 2 am [when asked to quiet down and put himself in
someone else's shoes i.e. 'would you want to have people shouting while
you are trying to sleep' the typical respond is but I AM awake then.]

I think it starts from the way their mother spoil the kids, especially
the boys.

jay
Wed, Oct 8, 2003




folks who share a garden with locals tell me that it is typical for
people to pick all of the joint crop before it is quite ripe in order to
make sure others don't get their share.

the march to the front of the line is also typical -- more than once we
have joined with Brits and other Americans in lines to block Italians
from simply bullying their way ahead [Japanese tourists will also jump
lines routinely]


Said that, I add that even uglier than Italians are those foreign
tourists that, as soon as they pass the Italian border, begin to behave
as the worst Italians, speeding with their cars, skipping queues,
shouting, etc.

--------

(1) Sometimes I pass even for a local. I attended a performance at
Innsbruck opera house this August. My wife and and me were dressed in
black. The parking lot and the opera house are on the same way, we had
just to cross the road. But we had not the time to cross the road. As
soon as we emerged from the garage, an Italian child shouted: "Mamma,
why are those two Austrians dressed in black?" "Maybe they are going to
the opera, dear"

--

Legend insists that as he finished his abject...
Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move."

In article ,
Desmond Coughlan wrote:

le Wed, 08 Oct 2003 13:00:12 -0500, dans l'article
, Jenn a dit
...

{ snip }

the march to the front of the line is also typical -- more than once we
have joined with Brits and other Americans in lines to block Italians
from simply bullying their way ahead [Japanese tourists will also jump
lines routinely]

TBH, the French do this, too, albeit less. When I first came to France, I
recall standing in my bank in Lyon, and having a conversation with the bank
employee, whilst the next customer leaned against the counter, three or
four inches from my elbow, unabashedly listening to your conversation.
This is so commonplace, that most banks and post offices will now have a
sticker on the floor, or a sign, asking customers to respect the 'ligne de
discretion'.


in Italy they have been forced to come up with techniques as well -- we
have typically had to wait up to 2 hours in banks to just get a
transaction space at the window [A US bank would go out of business with
the service typically provided in totally non consumer oriented Italian
banks] BUT at least everyone was served according to the number on
their ticket. Train stations run information this way and many shops
have number machines as well.

Once when I hadn't noticed the number machine at the butcher counter in
an Italian supermarket, the butcher and the waiting Italians very
graciously let me take my turn anyway noticing that I had waited long
and didn't have the number.