OK its January and four months until my next Europe fix - to keep myself entertained I'm thinking of trips past. I started remembering some of the local characters I've seen on several of my trips and wondered if other travelers had also seen them - they're memorable! Or share your own! #1 Venice - the elderly man who walks thru the city pulling a large crate with a palm tree in it, singing songs about love. We saw him walking thru the city three times in the course of a day. #2 Cordoba - another elderly man who has appointed himself as traffic control in front of the Alcazar. The tourists drove up - he would motion them to stop, to go, where to park. The coke truck drove up, same routine. The police car came by - "Passe, passe". He was busy all afternoon! #3 Sevilla - Now I wasn't sure if this one was legit or a scam artist but I'd guess a scammer. She was a middle aged woman in front of the Cathedral late at night around 11pm. She came up to us and with a British accent told us how glad she was to find some English speakers. She had a very involved story about how she was supposed to meet some friends but they were delayed on a ferry by fierce head winds coming from Tangiers. The ATM would not take her card - she had a place to stay BUT all she had to eat all day were two small oranges she had picked off the trees. Could we spare a few euros? It was quite a pitch, almost worth a euro for entertainment value - I'm thinking with a little practice I could pass a few months in Spain each year funded by the kindness of strangers. So Fodorites, have you seen these characters? or share some others to entertain us all on this dreary winter's day.

My favorite was the fellow walking his fish on a leash in Burano.

Well, this wasn't in Europe, but in NYC several years ago. We had taken our sons on a day trip to the World Trade Center pre 911. (Hubby and I had both worked nearby and had a hankering to see the neighborhood.) An elderly Chinese couple were taking their duck for a walk along the concourse! The duck followed them for a while, and whenever he went off-course, the man herded him back. Eventually he put the duck into a burlap bag and carried him off. Needless to say, our boys were hysterical!

I hope that duck wasn't walking his 'Last Mile' so to speak.

Adding one more - the 50ish gentleman in Amsterdam who performed on a dangling rope clad only in a pair of glasses and a thong!

There was the businessman who was running to "catch" a train (for which we were not even slightly late) and stepped on the back of my sandal and sent me stumbling on the platform without a shoe. He apologized quickly and ran off, and then as we sauntered past him 30 seconds later at the door to the train car, he tripped and sent all his papers flying. Poor guy. It was very comical. We referred to him afterwards as the clumsy man. I still have no idea why on earth he was in such a rush to get on a train that wasn't leaving for London for quite a while.