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Do you chuckle to yourself when you read postsabout your Hometown from one trip ponies

Do you chuckle to yourself when you read postsabout your Hometown from one trip ponies

Old Jan 20th, 2004, 03:46 PM
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I live near Hollywood and actually took a star's bus tour for the first time in my life when a friend was visiting. The guide was mistaken about some things but I didn't point them out, I figured it didn't really matter to the tourists, now I am a little guilty about that.

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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 12:06 AM
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It's not my hometown, but I've lived in Brussels for over four years and it's equaly amusing/irritating to hear people (including Fodorites!) say that Brussels doesn't have any sites worth seeing beyond the Grand'Place or that people shouldn't bother to spend more than a few hours there.
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 01:49 AM
  #23  
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Chardonnay, I had a very similar experience in Chester when we took some friends on the open-top bus.
The guide made one or two errors but like you, we said nothing.
I had to chuckle at one poster here who was most put out because Chester had a modern shopping precinct. I think that we are supposed to shop in the market wearing mob caps and carrying large wicker baskets.
 
Old Jan 21st, 2004, 04:26 AM
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I chuckle much when I read about hotel choices in NYC but I also understand what the tourist is up against. I happen to be a "local" who's been in almost every hotel in Manhattan (minus the seedy ones). When you "scout" for a photo shoot and someone else foots the bill, you can't imagine the things you get to see.

I also chuckle at restaurant choices but understand, if you don't live here and go out regularly, how else would you know? Each neighborhood has its own hidden jewels. The only way to find out about them is to know a local with good taste. On average, I eat out six times a week. Who else does that? (Tulips, Michael Romano is a doll and still going strong but USC has seen its glory days. It's time to venture onwards.)

I can tell you when museums open and close because I go to them. I can also get you house seats to the theater, tickets to a premier, and second row seats to Seventh on Sixth simply because I work in show business and these are some of the perks.

When you live in a city like NY, it would be a shame (as one poster said) not to fully immerse yourself in what this city has to offer. I think the same can apply to every city, otherwise why live where you live?

I got a big chuckle last week when two Italian tourist couples stopped me in Venice to ask for directions simply because I was toting around my "gimi" carrello. They figured there's no way a tourist would have one. See what happens when you really immerse yourself.



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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 07:14 AM
  #25  
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The one trip ponies can learn a lot from the "home-town heroes". One of my "hometowns" is Toronto and I pop into the Canada Fodors forum from time to time to see whats happening. There is a guy on there called BAK, who is amazing...this guy should be writing a travel column. With the amount of research he does and his breadth of knowledge a first-timer would be in good hands.

Are there others out there who have that kind of insight into your hometown, Fodorites?
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 08:28 AM
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It is so true that we should all learn to see our own backyards as a tourist. I moved away from my homestate of NC for many years, and when I came back I visited many of the most popular spots for the first time (Biltmore, Hatteras light house, etc.) and have also gone to many more local sights. I always passed signs on the highway pointing to many of them and just never stopped. I think the toughest thing for a local is to provide first hand advice on tours and hotels. For a one-time visitor, the hardest may be "what is the best ___ restaurant?"
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 09:56 AM
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As a long-time resident of the Bay Area, I am always amused by the questions about (pick one)the homeless, the hippies, the homosexuals as factors in deciding whether to visit San Francisco. I'm equally amused by some of the answers, seemingly from those whose entire stay seemed to remain within a six-block radius of Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf.
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 10:00 AM
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Sylvia, absolutely! For photo ops!

You should have a law where you all have straw roofs, no antennas and no cars parked where it will ruin our photos, lol.

I still chuckle at a tourist I overheard while we were looking out over the rooftops from Doge's Palace in Venice, she said, they shouldn't allow them to have TV antennas, they ruin our pictures.
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 11:11 AM
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OMG!! ROFLMAO!!! I can't believe your timing, sally, with this post. I was just writing yesterday on another post about how a one-trip-pony on this site contradicted me about Lisboa, the home of my ex-husband. I have literally called my ex on his mobile to get travel help for people on this site, only to be berated as WRONG, WRONG, WRONG by this "pony" and others.

I also have to laugh at so-called "experts" of London, the city of my birth, especially those who state, "We stayed at a beautiful, luxury-class hotel for only $50 a night in London during high season." Darling, unless you know the manager or are redeeming "points," you are sleeping in a WC for that price. Or, "Milo's Bubble & Squeak in Wapping is just as nice as Gordon Ramsay." But, bless their hearts, some are just trying to help, which is their redemption. Cheers, John G.
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 11:22 AM
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ROFL, what else can you expect from a one trick pony?
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 11:55 AM
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Now, that was funny, Mimi. You are quite the wit, Oscar Wilde has nothing on you! Even my Jackie O is laughing at that one and her mascara is running.
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 12:22 PM
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Living in the midwest, I chuckle when my hometown is knocked or put down simply because it is not a tourist mecca or considered fashionable by the coastal elite. Granted, parts of the midwest do not offer as much for the tourist. But many of the "fly over" communities scoffed at by those that dictate what is fashionable are actually great places to live. (And I suspect there are many places neat to visit but that wouldn't be much fun to live at/in).
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 12:33 PM
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I also wonder if they occasionally guffaw and chortle.
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 12:39 PM
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Well, FoodSnob, I eat out 6 nights a week as well. And on the 7th night, God created Chinese take out. I am sure our paths have crossed at some point. These past 2 weeks we have visited Biltmore Room, Ola, and Geisha. Next week we already have Mix and Babbo lined up. Are you by any chance a member of the James Beard House? We are there about twice a month. I agree wholeheartedly about making full use of the city, otherwise why pay the ridiculous taxes and such to live there?
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 02:40 PM
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Tulips, if you are looking for a new place in Manhattan, you might try Lever House at 390 Park Ave. (212-888-2740) I was there before Christmas for dinner. The food is quite good, but the best thing about the place is the "buzz." Lots and lots of celebs, especially at lunch (which means long wait for table). Very slick decor with "honeycomb" motif. Try the lobster appetizer with homemade tartar sauce and rack of lamb. Good wine list that is not too expensive. When you walk down the "runway" enrance you feel as though you are boarding a spacecraft. Fun! OMG Isn't that Joan Rivers with a new forehead sitting with Nathan Lane?????
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Old Jan 21st, 2004, 11:21 PM
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Thank you ThinGorjus for the Manhattan tip. And you're so right about London too!
And can I just add to this discussion that I am always annoyed when people visit the red light district in Amsterdam, and then complain that there are prostitutes.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2004, 01:15 AM
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It always makes me laugh when people ask for restaurant recommendations in London, and you'll get a reply that reads " me and DH found a great little Italian near our hotel. Can't remember the name, but come out of the tube station , turn left, turn right and walk 100 yards". As if you'd follow that!

What annoys me is when tourists say that Paris is much better preserved than London, so much more beautiful. Well, perhaps if we'd let Hitler in, we'd have avoided the Blitz and London would be better preserved too! I actually feel quite proud walking past a block of old houses with a modern one smack in the middle, knowing that that was a bomb site.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2004, 04:47 AM
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One wonders how men ever got to the moon, let alone a space station, given that they got there on nothing better than the advice and efforts of people with literally no first-hand experience in travel to that region of the universe.

Perhaps someone could start a thread entitled, "D'ya think Neil Armstrong feels smug at the thought of all those zero-trip ponies at NASA?"
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Old Jan 22nd, 2004, 05:07 AM
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Well, Sue, if there were restaurants, shops, cafes, hotels and nightclubs on the moon (not to mention cheese shops), I'd be much more inclined to take the advice of the locals over the astronauts (talk about inappropriate packing and poor planning--they brought a golf club! As if the moon had golf courses! What guidebooks were they using??!!)
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