Those Texans really get around don't they?! I'll tell you though, I lived in Dallas for close to two decades, and San Antonio for about 7 years now, and I can't tell a Texas accent from other southern accents, and its not that I have the same accent so dont hear it. I was born and raised in Massachusetts. Seriously! You people who don't live there really must have some ear for accents! I'm impressed.

My family and I were having fun with this website today, having each other guess where the speaker was from. Rarely we're we correct. http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_languag...nguage=english

Here's a Dallas accent. http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_languag...&speakerid=905

Were....rarely were we correct!

Well as a ex-pat Texan who was running a sleazy nightclub in Amsterdamn once told me "Don't mess with Texas"!

What were you doing in a sleazy nightclub, Pal?

It's strange, but I usually can often hear the difference between an Texas accent and one from other parts of the south. Not always, but when I hear it, I know "that person's from TX". Strangely enough, almost always it's men speaking when I pick up on it. It's sort of deeper octave and rumbly or something.

I can also hear differences between MS and GA accents. Not every time or even most of the time, but it's another one of those "if I think I know, I'm probably right" things. Except if they're from in between or thereabouts, they can throw my guess off (as in, I can think I hear either GA or MS and then they turn out to be from AL or N. FL).

News Flash - The world is long over the 'amercan tourist' phenomenon. It mainly started in the 50's when relatively affluent Americans were first able to travel to still war sombre Europe. No other country's people were able to travel in such mass.

Since then prosperity has returned to Europe and travelling masses now include just about all classes of western Europeans, eastern Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, russians, and more recently Brazilians, and many others.

So considering that for the last several decades the world has had armies of tourists with all levels of sophistication I don't understand why American tourists are unique or interesting to talk about in this context. Strangely in the heads of many Americans 'tourist' still='american tourist'

Yes, Walkinaround Americans understand there is a world other tourists, probably better than the Brits realize their empire is long over.

Since the forum users are almost all American, it's bound to be about America and its citizens at home or abroad.

I'd love to hear about European travellers visiting America and their funny stories.

"Looking for a douche"
"Getting carded at 65 by a 16 year old"
"Not knowing about 15% tips"

I've posted both of these stories over the years but I'll share them again.They are not stories of USA tourists aboard but their reaction to me/us in the US

When we first moved to the US DH signed up for the wand thing that Mobil provided - it downloaded your info so you filled you car and left without having to go into the 'shop'. Very useful in MA winters.

I went to fill the car but I was in full sunshine and couldn't see the register properly and I was filling the car when an employee came out of the station and said that the 'wand' hadn't registered so I needed to go inside and pay.

I said that I wasn't sure it'd registered and I had intended to go inside and check, I thanked her for her help.

She asked where I was from and when I said England she replied - we get a lot of you in here, you need to go home!

I filled the car wondering how to deal with her. Now (10 years later) I would have stopped filling the tank, and followed her indoors, ask to speak to her Manager and suggest that she took a 'Customer Service' course.

The second was funnier, while in a local restaurant but eating at the bar my DH got into conversation with a lone eater. At one point after asking where we were from he asked if we spoke English in England!!!

Happily I was looking at one of the TV screen and didn't meet my DH's eyes - Oh the things I wanted to say but thankfully didn't

So considering that for the last several decades the world has had armies of tourists with all levels of sophistication I don't understand why American tourists are unique or interesting to talk about in this context. Strangely in the heads of many Americans 'tourist' still='american tourist'>>

it is of course entirely possible, even probable, that tourists of other nations are saying and doing as many noteworthy things as americans are; however, with a few exceptions we can't understand them, whereas [most of the time] we do understand you.

Even when stories that demonstrate the worst about Americans, it is still not bad enough for some Brits.

As noted before, I used to like Brits before these boards.

I have a funny American tourist story to telll, but apart from that one instance, I have found the Americans I've met In Europe, here in Australia and in NYC to be delightful. My only complaint would be that sometimes, particularly while waiting in queues, Americans can become very loud.

I'm Australian and the only two really obnoxious people we've come across in Europe were both middle aged Australian women, both were really cringe worthy!

My funny american tourist story....... I was waiting in the queue at St Peter's in Rome for an audio guide only to hear aN American woman ahead of me in the queue going nuts and complaining very loudly because of all the languages available she couldn't find one in American. Her husband was embarrassed and quickly paid for two English audio guides.

November_moon its spelled Australian! No wonder sometimes we are mixed up with the Austrians!

"Even when stories that demonstrate the worst about Americans, it is still not bad enough for some Brits.
As noted before, I used to like Brits before these boards."

Amen to that. It seems that a few of the Brits here have nothing better to do with their bitter, petty lives than to hunt up stories that portray Americans in as negative a light as possible and than fall all over themselves in their rush to post the links here so they can snigger and indulge their bigotry and hostility to Americans. Fortunately, most of the people from the UK that we've met IRL are nothing like that and have no respect or liking for these forum boors.

I am Australian and was told we had to wait to get to see King Tut's mask in the specially designed room as there was a visiting South American Head of State. Our Lady Egypt guide told the security guard at the door that we were Americans and we had seen everything and didn't want to wait. We were let in immediately!!

<<"Seriously! You people who don't live there really must have some ear for accents! I'm impressed.">>

No need in my case to be impressed. The family that I spoke of told us where they were from. In any event,the people from my state give us more than enough reason to spoof on them.

Any one here can feel free to take a pot shot at the people in Rhode Island. We've got good fodder.
Course, there's only 3 of us in the state and most of us are too poor to travel .......

I'm an American and we always tell stories about badly behaved Americans to our American friends when we return from a trip. It's fun and awful at the same time. I like to think of them as cautionary tales. What's the big deal?

Anybody here traveling to Boston area in October for the GTG? I'd like to hear you tell your stories---sounds like fun. I'm new to the Forum (couple of months) so have no idea what to expect, but thinking about going.
Re accents. Some people just have a "linguistic" ear and pick up accents without meaning to. I hear differences between Texas vs Georgia vs Kentucy vs Alabama.

<i>I'm an American and we always tell stories about badly behaved Americans to our American friends when we return from a trip. It's fun and awful at the same time. I like to think of them as cautionary tales. What's the big deal?</i>

I hate stereotypes and I hate to be stereotyped.

As an American living abroad my children and I were subjected to being stereotyped all the time and it sure got old and gave us a better understanding of why stereotyping is also a form of ignorance. We were blamed for Bush, the ubiquity of Starbucks, optimism, obesity, loud voices, etc. etc.

This thread rubs me the wrong way because when you live elsewhere long enough you realize that no culture holds the monopoly on ignorance or bad behavior while traveling or otherwise.

I find this thread full of very limiting ideas and for me travel is all about being broadened. I'm sort of surprised how many jumped on the bandwagon of "those French", or "those Germans", "those Brits", or apparently the worst offenders of all - "those CRAZY Americans".

Just another opinion...

But how do you know you are doing it accurately, unless you ask them, or like Cybor, were traveling with them? I think I have a pretty decent ear for accents--my ear can discern a Tidewater VA accent, a Savannah GA accent (distinct from GA), or a true New Orleans accent, (which sounds more like "soft Brooklyn" than the south), probably because I lived in each of the cities, but I can't tell a Texas accent from other southern accents despite having lived there for decades, as well as having lived in GA, LA, and being married to someone from MS! . So, I'm just not getting it.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, my crazy American (or boorish) tourist encounter was Place de la Concorde, Paris, a group of American teens yelling for their video camera, "we call them Freedom Fries".

And my favorite European in America encounter, was the Brit, standing in the middle of a beautiful square, smack in the middle of historic Savannah, asking in a very confused manner if I could direct him to historic Savannah.

Sorry, hit submit too soon....I should add that it's quite understandable, considering what is historic to him and what is historic to us in the US! .