Laughing Out Loud

LaughOutLoud

Interesting armchair analysis there, Kate! :~) I suspect my friend was very much in touch with the reason(s) he broke up with her. <BR><BR>I'd met this woman a number of times and pegged her as being pretty materialistic. Now, being materialistic is not a crime -- nor is going to Europe primarily to shop -- but people like that are probably better off in a relationship, and traveling, with someone who shares their values. <BR>

I like shopping when I travel. I have not been to Europe - planning to go this summer - but I like to shop overseas for several reasons. One, I am looking for things I know I cannot get in the United States. I do my homework before I leave and find out what item is unique to the country I am visiting. Two,if I know I can buy something at a lower price abroad than I can buy it in the US, I will buy.<BR> I like to shop in grocery stores and drugstores because it is often cheaper than eating out and the experience is like modern cultural anthropology. I remember shopping in a grocery store in Cairns, Austrailia and it was facinating to see how Asian and Italian food has become an integral part of the Austrialian diet - a great change from the traditional English diet. <BR>Also, like the poster above, it is facinating to taste the differences in foods from other countries. It is interesting to see what is sold in stores abroad that are not sold in the US. Shopping in "regular" stores is also a great way to meet the local people. This is my favorite reason for shopping.<BR>I also adore museums, churches, etc. Shopping is a way of experiencing the way the locals live today. So I guess shopping is my way of looking at culture in the present while I go to museums to look at culture in the past.

oh really. Now who's giving armchair analysis? I'm sorry I took your original bait.

I'm in the shopping-is-a-chore crowd, although I agree that looking for daily necessities is a good way to experience the culture. My daughter and I are staying in an apartment during our upcoming Paris trip, partly to have an excuse to go through food markets. (It's also a way to afford separate bedrooms, since she alleges that I snore!)<BR>I would rather spend money (and time) on museums and such than on stuff. Of course, if I had more to go around, I might not be so firmly in the no-stuff camp. <BR><BR>

I love to shop at home, so it's a natural extension to do the same when traveling. Food/cook shops (oh I could wax poetic about Harrod's Food Court and Dehillerin), hardware stores (found a cheese grater in an Italian hardware store that's a work of art), and flea markets (where else would I find a weird potato masher?) are my favorites.<BR><BR>I'm a tactile person, so after days of museums where I can't touch anything without being arrested, I love to go into a store where I can pick up a Waterford vase and stroke a cashmere sweater without causing an international incident. Even if I don't buy anything, I've had the thrill of touching works of art. Some people do drugs to get high, I do patting linens and smelling cheese.<BR><BR>I, too, find Christmas and birthday gifts for friends while traveling. I don't set out to look for anything, but I find a $6 Waterman purple pen for my girlfriend's daughter (who loves purple) and a notecube of Monet's waterlilies for Oldhand and a sheet of paper covered in Palladian designs for my niece...all things they could do without but why should they?<BR><BR>Keila, if you really want to change your habit of not shopping, then you need to figure out why you don't like shopping. Is it the crowds? The pressure to buy something? The same stuff over and over again? Stuff that doesn't interest you? If you determine you really and truly don't like shopping, then don't force yourself. After all, it's YOUR trip, YOUR hard-earned money, so why do something that doesn't please you? (I hate live theater, no apologies, I'll arrange for tickets for others on the trip, I'll enjoy them telling me about it when they return, I'll spend the evening in a pub while they attend Cats, everyone is happy).<BR><BR>

Hate to shop--here OR abroad. But it's a necessary evil. If you want people to sit through your pictures when you come home, you must bring them a bribe (this goes for family, too, or they'll fall asleep). To make it easier on myself, I decide what I'm bringing back before I even go. That way I don't spend time browsing with no clear goal. When possible, I also do it all in one or two places. In London, I go to Harrods, Fortnum & Masons or Harvey Nicks, grab a basket and get gifts for everyone from the food court. All the stores will mail them home for you (not cheap, but beats lugging it around with you for the rest of the trip AND it usually makes it home before me). I'm heading to Scotland and Ireland in a few weeks and I got really lucky. Mentioned to the person I'm seeing in Edinburgh that I want to bring tartan scarves back for two friends and she went ahead and purchased them! This is the kindest woman in the world!!<BR><BR>An exception: My husband and I are avid antique buffs, so we spend a huge amount of time in dusty shops, at flea markets, etc. That's not shopping to me, that's part of the entertainment!

No, you are not alone (as you can see from the list of responses) and I'm glad I'm not either. I just came back from a two week Caribbean cruise and it seemed like the majority of people spent their entire time in each port just shopping. How stupid when there is so much else to see and do. I did spend about ten minutes shopping in a few ports since I like to buy a mini flag of the country I'm visiting. But that's as far as my commercial endeavors go.

The wife and I busted our bunions on our last trip, seeking small shops with just the right gifts for two of our relatives. The wife likes to shop, I do not. But, through dint of diligence, doggedness, and downright grim determination, we found lovely and appropriate gifts. These were wrapped and mailed upon our return from the Far East. A couple weeks later comes this letter saying "we have decided, since we have all sorts of stuff when we have no more room in our house, that we no longer will be exchaning Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, or others, and will instead send cards." Guess who is going to get but nothing from us in the future, including cards. No more sore feet, no more hassle with shopkeepers, no more toting stuff back thousands of miles. Screw 'em, I say. Harrumph.

Here's the flaw in your criticism. Shopping does not mean you have to buy. I shop throughout my trip but rarely buy much because it is too heavy to bring back. Just enjoying the atmosphere of the shops and shoppers is fun. Being part of the scene just like if you were to sit in a bar and drink or attend a play or visit a museum. In the end it is not different.

Here is another one who absolutely hates to shop abroad and waste the precious time in the stores. But I am always dragged to the stores by my two teenagers and my husband any way, and I will do anything to eliminate this part of our vacation.

I love to shop-anywhere, anytime....<BR>but esp. on my travels. I shop for gifts while on my travels and I am guaranteed to give a gift that my friends or family do not already have. And, I would be shopping anyway. I love to look for unusual things for myself or for my house. I hate grocery shopping at home but I love to shop in foreign grocery stores for different things. Also, I bring things back that remind me of the country or place...a teapot from Ireland, etc.<BR><BR>Shadow

topper

Keila,<BR> I, like John, love to shop at home , especially for clothes. I also agree with Patrick that I can find just about anything here , often for less. Therefore, I rarely shop abroad. Don't want to carry it, hate souvenir stuff, just don't enjoy it. So, why do it? The one country I make an exception is Italy. If I see something there, especially shoes, that I haven't seen here, I'll buy it. I generally look around town before I go.( I also like French and Italian pharmacies).

I shop only for antiques, but I do that at home too. Then about the only other things I ever buy are foodstuffs that are not available where I live or are outrageously priced in comparison to what I can get them for in europe. i also look for kitchen equipment that I have never see at home, or books not published here yet or never . But clothes, or cosmetics are never on my list . craft items that can only be bought locally, prints or paintings , any thing local to the region that are not available at home are wonderul things to look at even if you don't buy

To me, shopping abroad does not include souvenir shops. I don't know many people who shop at souvenir shops! They just have cheap junk that looks trashy. I like shopping at boutiques for clothing or other things to see what other cultures wear or have in their homes!

I hate to shop - at home or on vacation.... so I don't. Why would you change if you're happy?

Glad to see you are not alone - or me either! I hate shopping, and only do it at home out of desperation, so I certainly don't do it abroad. However, I will admit that while in the British Isles in 1985, when the dollar was way up against the pound, I bought Waterford, set of china for my daughter, cashmere sweaters in Scotland, etc. etc. etc, and had a ball!<BR>Everything was a real bargain, but now nothing is - so I don't do it. I absolutely love not being bogged down with &quot;stuff&quot;, and am so glad that I discovered how great it is not to be shopping in Europe. I enjoy the museums, walking, and eating so much more. I also stopped taking pictures some years ago, and also love the freedow of not having a camera!

I don't have time to go shopping! I have so much else to see and do at all these great destinations. I spent 3 days in NYC and all people could say was 'did you go shopping?' - shopping?! with all there is to see in 3 days! Its the last thing on my list of must-do's.<BR><BR>If you do buy when abroad, by the time you get it home, I find it has lost its appeal and looks either out of place or tacky!