Cowboy, you always make my day.

yes janis, i get it. i think we all get it.

first you had a problem that someone wanted american coffee in europe (oh the horror of it). then when challenged your problem was something about "good ol' murking coffee" (presumably just a jab at being stupid and unsophisticated). then you said that your problem was that they THOUGHT they would be getting folgers when they ordered american coffee (in fact, when you do order american coffee in europe depending on where you are you can get anything from instant to filter coffee to watered down espresso).

or maybe somebody just ordered an americano (american coffee or whatever) because they wanted a bloody american coffee! talk about over-analysis.

key lesson - if you are an american in europe and want an americano, go right ahead and order it. no european will care. but do ensure there are no other americans around like janis or you may have to explain what you thought you would be getting vis a vis what indeed you will be getting. and certainly don't turn to that fellow american with a wink and try to make conversation with something like "i was just DYING for some good ol' amurkin coffee".

maybe some french people order coffee in america thinking it will be like their café at home. maybe they too become objects of ridicule on french travel boards for years to come.

We've just been for 4 months & guess what....
1: Winter time
2: took two children under twelve
and had the time of our lives!
We met many wonderful people. Ate a lot of beautiful food and created special memories that we will treasure forever.
This was achieved by not being frightened to try anything, being openminded and prepared that sometimes you might go out of your comfort zone. Nothing about our trip was negative - the whole thing was an experience, the good and the bad.

WE visit italy every year with not one but two teenagers and always duringg summer and every time I say to myslef NEVER do this again during the first few days but then I get mesmorized with everything that I love about Italy and then I plan my next trip as soon as I return and I keep taking those teenagers:) again and again and again

We went to Italy with various age children in August. And it was HOT. But we learned to appreciate the meaning of midday siesta, and of those wonderful wooden shutters on the windows. Do what the locals do. That's the point of visiting another country anyway, isn't it? :-)

We take our granddaughters to Europe when they are 13 - just us and them, and it's been a great experience (3 now). I would never wear white running shoes and speak loudly in English in museums.

Ciao everyone!

1. Trust the weather man from my home country when packing my bags.

2. Ask a Portuguese cab driver to take me to a cheap hotel. (ended up in a Motel named Don Juan)

1. Wear a bathing suit in the sauna
2. Drink Jack Daniels

While I try not to say that I'd "never" do anything, there are some things that I don't see myself doing, or at least not without one heck of a good reason that I don't know of right now.

Things that I don't really see myself doing include:

-Travel to Europe with very young children. I think that traveling to Europe with kids under 6'ish would be a huge hassle. Why not stay in the US (or at least within North America) where you likely have your own car, car seats, etc? There are so many places to go in the US why not do that while the kids are young and it's much easier not to fly? I would think that it would be much easier to accommodate the needs of a young child on a driving vacation than on one that requires 8+ hours in a plane.

It does suck when little kids are running around in a museum, church or restaurant but I hate that just as much at home as when I travel. That's not saying that people should keep their kids at home under lock and key but simply that they should have rules and enforce them. My parents didn't let me get away with that and I expect other parents to have the same consideration for others as they did. On my recent tour to Egypt there were a couple of younger kids, probably around 10-12 years old. They were great and very well behaved. If all kids could travel as well as those kids, and have as attentive as their parents, then I can absolutely see an argument for taking young'ish (older than about 6 or 7 but still young) kids on international vacations.

- Travel anywhere internationally without duct tape. I'm a farm girl, ya never know when duct tape might just save the day. :)


- I will never get annoyed when people don't speak English (unless it was the UK and Ireland portion of Europe, then I'd get a bit grumpy). I will ask if someone speaks English if a situation needs explanations because so many people in Europe do, and chances are that their English is much better than my Italian/French/German/etc and charades. I politely ask, don't expect them to say yes, and then procede with garbled speech, charades and a smile. It's perfectly okay to ask, just don't expect it or get pissy if they don't. If they do speak some English but aren't perfectly fluent, speak clearly and a bit slower. Louder doesn't help but writing things down might incase they have a better understanding of written English than spoken English.

- I will never order an American coffee while in Europe. Granted, I will never order any other kind of coffee either as it all tastes pretty disgusting.

- I would rather not travel with someone who takes forever to get up and around in the morning or usually goes to bed by 8pm, just wants to shop, is afraid to try anything to eat that is not the exact same as at home, spends all the time on the phone or internet with people back home.

- I will never travel with someone who doesn't have a good sense of humor and at least a somewhat decent sense of adventure.

- I will never travel without knowing the local language for at least please, thank you, bathroom/toilet, help, yes and no.



As for other's lists, I have to laugh. I'm going to Italy in August, on a bus tour and will be checking a bag. All things that others have said they'd never do. To each their own, that just happens to be what works best for me for this trip. What works best for me would drive other people absolutely bat sh*t crazy. :)

Schuler: I think one of your never-do rules cancels out the other. If you're drinking JD in a sauna, chances are pretty good the suit doesn't stay on too long.

Iowa Red: >>It does suck when little kids are running around in a museum, church or restaurant.<< Gawd yes! I don't mind the parent trying to teach their doe-eyed dwarf about Monet or Miro. It's the idiots who let their spawn wreak public havoc that make me seethe. Don't they have enough respect for others and themselves to take these kids out of the room? Personally, I think the extreme self-esteem parenting movement has created more than a few monsters.

As to coffee: Americano, cappucino, Folger's (blech) - I'll drink anything remotely resembling the stuff if it has caffeine. I'll notice the difference and I may complain, but I'll drink every last muddy drop.

1. Eat anything involving tripe (that's a worldwide rule for me).

2. Get in the path of a Japanese tour group that's on the move.

this is a great thread if I say so myself :)

Paul1950--Thought yours was really funny. Sarah2010--Loved the Don Juan motel story.