Well I'm not sure how much fun your vacation will be in a cast when you slip off your sweaty flip flops on an uneven stretch of cobblestone and twist your ankle. Sandles, by the way, which have a strap across the back of the foot, are very different from flip flops. And personally, I would be disgusted with myself if I had to look down at feet black with dirt all day long.

I've worn flip flops in Rome twice with no problems - if you wear them all the time and are ok with VERY dirty feet then I'd say you are fine.

Now I did "throw a flop" in Ireland once! But those were cheapo flops - I would think Crocs wouldn't have that problem

OK, I just had a timely conversation with a co-worker who limped by a while ago. She got a pinched nerve and shin splints from wearing flip flops in Paris last Fall. She says it is getting worse, has spent a fortune in therapy and other doctor bills.

She said she had no idea that she would have permanent damage and it didn't start hurting until she returned.

She is not heavy on her feet, she is tiny and thin.

Yee-ouch. Thanks for the story, SeaUrchin. Maybe I will stick with my sneaks after all!!

I had planned to bring my teva flip flops as even walking all around Disney World they were comfortable and no blisters. The tourists with the brandy new white sneakers were hobbling with their blisters. I also wore my tevas all over the Grand Canyon when we went camping and rafting. I intend to carry a nicer pair of shoes to put on before I enter a nice place - such a dinner or a church/vatican. BUT I WAS NOT THINKING ABOUT DIRTY FEET! EEEWWW.

muzzy ~
truly, though my feet are too old to like a day on pavement in flip flops, I don't know that you'll get any dirtier in Rome than anywhere else - outside of the Forum, parks or other places where you find some real dirt - the gutter, say. But how much time are going to spend in the gutter? (Sorry, very personal question ...)

muzzy~ you won't get any dirtier feet in Rome than at Disneyworld. the people who always post this complaint are people who also don't wear sandals themselves. they just imagine this would be so.

I avoid wearing sandals or flips in big European cities because of idiots like...me. A couple of weeks ago I traveled back to Brussels for a few days and used my husband's wheelie carryon bag. Unlike mine, it's wider at the base than at the top. So while wheeling it along the metro platform, I ran right over some poor guy's sandal-shod feet. Owww! I felt so guilty, I had really nailed him. I heard him complain to his friend that this was the first day of the year he'd gone out in sandals.
Big cities like Rome and Paris (and Brussels, apparently) are full of tourists (or clueless semi-locals) who don't always watch where they're going and will accidentally tramp or roll suitcases over your flipped-out feet.
When I'm in a big city and don't want to wear regular shoes, I wear a pair of Stuart Weitzman closed toe slides. They're pretty, comfortable and my tootsies are protected.

Euro style note: Toeless shoes are in this season!

Well, I'm one of the people who would never consider wearing flip flops in Rome and I wear sandals and flip flops all summer long. I can handle somewhat dirty feet (although I think its gross); I just simply think it would be so totally uncomfortable. I'm physically fit and very used to walking and standing for long periods of time, and my feet throb after two or three days of walking around the cobblestone streets of Rome. I have blisters and aching feet, and this is with comfortable, well-worn shoes. I couldn't imagine wearing flip flops all day on top of it.

Tracy

Another poster from Europe asked just what was meant by flip flops. When most Americans think of flip flops they think about those rubber or plastic , toe thong things.

Yes they might be perfect for strolling around Disney World, stopping to stand in line for a ride..but walking a few miles all day long, they would be agony.

The closed toe , open heel shoes are probably fine if you are used to walking in them. You are in a city, people are in a hurry, your toes are in danger! Not to mention things on the sidewalks you might really not want squihing up between your toes.

In Rome with the cobblestones and narrow sidewalks , they'll be hard to keep on your feet. Dodging traffic, with shoes that might decide they are going one way when you are going the other might put you in peril.

The rubber flip flops are called by the Army, Shower Shoes..the Navy however refers to them as Go SLows...because of the danger in losing them!

Take a sensible pair of walking shoes, even a sandal that will stay with you in whatever circumstance you find yourself.

Take the flip flops if you will be at the coast or in resort areas. For cities , take precautions!

If you must wear flip flops take some handiwipes in your purse and clean your feet in a restroom. Or take some handcream and use that.

As some have indicated, there are what most Americans think of as flip-flops (and what Europeans think of as suitable jsut for the shower,) and thong-type sandals.

But that's a style and customer issue. I find that most who think they are comfortable in flipflops in their everyday life do not pound stone all day, as many do in Rome. There are some sandals that are more supportive (many mentioned above,) but typical flip-flips will find you fith filthy, aching feet at the end of the day.

Personally, when my husband and I stop for cocktails at a reasonably nice place at the end of the day before returning to the hotel, it's nice to feel cleaner, and more polished, than flip-flops. So: much depends on how you want to look and feel at the end of the afternoon.

I can see why Crocs of FF can be bad for practical reasons, such as not providing the cushion/support you need to walk for long periods (I almost always wear some type of athletic shoe).

But I don't understand the criticism about dirty feet. Aren't Crocs, FF (if rubber) and feet all washable? And not just washable, but more easily washed than leather or suede closed shoes? I have had horrible times trying to wash regular shoes (and get them to dry in time), and think from that standpoint, Crocs/FF might really be an advantage.

My perspective was filthy feet, not filthy shoes. It seems that shoes show less dirt than obviously filthy feet. Admittedly, this is probalby more of an issue when touring the Roman ruins than general museum touring and other places that are disty and with dirt paths.

Since I often wear ballet flats with insoles, I find the leather pretty easy to wipe quickly if they look dirty. 'A lot easier than cleaning dirty looking toenails, etc.

To Marium in Belges,
Flipflops to Amricans are those shower clogs made of rubbery material. Slides have no backs, can have flat or wedge heels and maybe called mules.

Okay, on the issue of flip-flops-they are everywhere, there is an atelier in the 10th in Paris where you can design your own-I have, for two summers straight, worn NOTHING but cushy Rocket Dog flip flops through the streets of Rome, Venice, Florence and Sorrento-and it was the only thing that I could wear that would not rub my heel, and with a 1 to 2 inch foam rubber footbed-I never got dirty feet-that just didn't, and never has, happened. I have worn my fancier flipflops into the Landsdowne in London for drinks, nobody gave me a second glance. Also the Hassler in Rome.

Flip flops do rule, in the summertime of Europe.

No, make that Royal Lancaster, in London, not Landsdowne!

To the best of my recollection, I have never arrived anywhere inappropriately dressed. "When in Rome..." pun intended... I like comfort. I tend to not be a dirt magnet anyway - old sneakers are still white.

This was a perfect thread for me - I will bring my flip flops and some more shoes and if need be I will "suck it up and buy some more shoes!"

2 sandals, 1 flip flops, 1 sneakers... that's my pack list for footwear for Europe in the summertime.