I LOVE RICK STEVES!!!
 

I don't care what any of you say but I just ((L)) Rick Steves! He is to European tourism what Bill Gates is to the computer world. Rick isn't just some wealthy nerd of a tour guide, he's an educator of the local customs and flavors of each village he graces with his dreamy presence. I've never met the man but I am just dying to do so. Why does everyone poke fun at his lovely flaxen helmet hair and gentle, weather-worn face? He has a sweet, non-threatening effeminate voice. And that seductive lisp is just icing on the gateau! I like him so much that I've purchased the short reversible skirt, Rick Steves keyring compass, pocket pack and travel wash from his fabulous website (www.ricksteves.com). Did you know that not only can you wash your underpants with it but you can wash your face with it as well?? It's ph balanced. How ingenious of Rick to invent that!!

Everyone is just jealous that he got rich by going on 30 European vacations a year drinking all the beer his robust bladder & liver can handle and telling people how they can do the same, and for cheap. I just wish that he would add something different to his shows. I would love to have him dress in the local costume of each country he visits. I would be in heaven if I could see him wearing a kilt, with his soft lips pursed onto the stick of a flat bagpipe, blowing, blowing until the bag swells and his fingers dance on the holes to create a melody. Also lederhosen, a tight t-shirt with chino pants with a thin black moustache, or that Greek wedding outfit for men. But my true fantasy is to see Rick dressed in Roman gladiator attire......... Ooohhhhhh, I'm fanning myself as I type this!! I'm all flushed... I need a glass of water pronto!!! Who needs Brad Pitt when we've got Rick Steves?

I hope one day we shall encounter each other, our eyes meeting while eating crepes on the Rue Cler, or as passing strangers ambling about in Cinque Terre, or eating some goat cheese in a desolate patch of the Swiss Alps, or just having him beer goggling me in a garten in Munich. I'll be sure to wear a dirndle (extra tight and just a bit unlaced, to ensure my bosoms are well noticed) when in Munich just in case he's there. Rick is always welcome to enter my back door ((K))

Anyone have any ideas as to who Miss_Dior is really? It must be a regular here. Fun read though!

Blacktie- where are you when we need you?????

Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Dior. Rick Steves is married.

I don't think Miss Dior would mind a wife, do you? She's not a "wifely" sorta gal. Clearly, the loverly type! Maybe she prefers that he has a wife to go home to, n'est-ce pas?

Hmmmm perhaps this is his girlfriend? Can't be Mrs Steves, I have seen her trudging along behind Mr Steves with a child on her back and one dragging along behind, she wouldn't be posting a love letter :)

Oh I love Rudy Maxa, They are so not alike.... :)

You know, I don't dislike Rick Steves. I'm not a follower, but I'd like to think that if were to become successful, that I'd remain essentially the same.

On the other hand, I've been in the computer biz for a long time and not as a Microsoft competitor. Comparing him to Bill is just being mean to Rick. Nobody in the information technology business thinks much of Bill. At least Rick has a 50/50 chance of being liked. Give him that!

So true, Clifton, when my computer crashed the tech had alot to say about Gates.

Miss Dior: I actually met Rick Steves about ten years ago. A friend dragged me to a lecture at a local high school. He was very personable and I bought his book which he autographed for me. If you're so enamored, I'll be happy to sell it to you for cheap. It's in perfect condition and it might be very valuable some time in the very distant future.

Aw shucks, Rick is just a NORML red-blooded guy.

Faux is sooo glad you love Rick Steves, Ms. Dior. As someone else pointed out, however, Steves is already married.

Whether you like or dislike Steves (his haircut, his clothes, etc.) is certainly not worth thread after thread on travel boards.

Faux thinks everyone would agree that Steves gave a lot of inexperienced travelers the courage to go it alone in Europe. Enough said.

This thread is sure to acquire 100 posts in 3 days.

Sigh. . . .

<<He is to European tourism what Bill Gates is to the computer world.>>

So true. Is there really anyone out there who has to use it for professional purposes who LIKES MS Word?

Miss Dior

How do you like the Rick Steves reversable skirt? Would it be too heavy or warm for a trip to Italy in June?

Wow, Miss Dior that was great! I never heard of Rick until I recently found his book on Amazon. I really like it! After reading some of the replies, I can tell that Rick is the "Martha Stewart" of travel...the man you love to hate. I must admit that Miss Dior has painted a picture of Rick that fascinates me. I shall look for his PBS show.

Glad you are wise enough to use all available resources for travel info and one big advantage Rick Steves has over those of us here...you actually know what he looks like and how he dresses...AND where he REALLY stays the night!

I like Rick Steves too. He makes independent travel look so easy, affordable and inviting. I also like the scenery in all of his programs.

"I can tell that Rick is the "Martha Stewart" of travel"

The only difference is that while Rick visits the bars, Martha is about ready to spend some time behind them.
((H))

I would love to see a movie about Rick and Martha being forced to plan and execute a one month trip to Europe together.

... my personal regrets, airlawgirl, leaving you to face this unkempt phenomenon all alone!

... my fingers are numb, I'm apparently in shock, but giggling ... Miss Dior, if you can cast RS in such a positive light, you might be up to a make-over and doo on W.

... but permit me to beg off, a least for a while ... I'm over on US helping bennnie name the new puppy.

He calls himself the "training wheels for adventure travel" and in many people's opinion is more akin to Mr. Rogers than Martha Stewart. He certainly has some of Martha's drive for success, but he acts with considerably more ethical methods - he's a big donor in support of homeless shelters here in the Seattle area, and does nonstop work on behalf of nonprofits and church groups around the region and country.

I sometimes find his style a little off-putting, but there really is substance there, in his very Lutheran, Seattle, straight arrow approach to travel and the world.

Look here for an interesting article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pac...020/cover.html

I love this post...hilarious! Can I join the bandwagon? I too love Rick Steves. Sure, I don't agree with all of his travel approaches, but I think he gives terrific advice, especially for first-timers to Europe. I've followed his advice on several different trips, including where to stay and places to eat, and haven't been dissapointed. I honestly don't understand all the Rick-bashing that takes place on these boards. If you don't like his style, don't read his books! I for one am completely jealous. If only I could find a job that involves traveling to Europe to write a tour book, I'd be living in bliss!

Tracy

Since half Seattle must be on-line, what's the latest on the frugal Jeff Smith? Any travel in his future?

MaiTaiTom, I toast to your comment! ((c))

Pretty funny (really.)

Jealousy is often an inspiration for satire.

"I would love to see a movie about Rick and Martha being forced to plan and execute a one month trip to Europe together."

Gauging the personalities of our two intrepid heros, I believe there would be a much better chance that they would executue each other first.
((H))

http://www.nizkor.org/features/falla...d-hominem.html

Sue_xx_yy, nice site. Thanks for passing it on.

Now we can keep score on the Talking Heads we see on TV and in Congress.

It's interesting that on an earlier post many people hated Rick Steve's but if you look on a post about what guide book to use it's Rick Steve's!
I like Rick Steve's, he's not my travel guru but I admire a success story. He certainly is that.
Now that he's a such a huge success I wonder what he does when he wants to eat at a really nice place. Or does he register under an alias if he wants to enjoy a posh hotel? After all, there comes a time in life when it's fun to treat ourselves.

He does have some more-expensive hotels listed in at least some of his books.

Treesa - I'm just greeeeeeeen with envy :&, you actually got to meet him. I'll bet he's even more gorgeous in person. He looks like he smells really good too, like a combination of Herbal Essence shampoo and Brut aftershave. Mmmmmmmmmmm.................

Ginn - I didn't really care for the reversible skirt, it really looks as if it was specifically designed for tourists. When wearing the black side, you can still see the beige, as if the black skirt had a beige lining and vice versa. I didn't mind spending the $50 though, because it all goes to Steve!

For the record I AM genuinely fond of Mr Steves. The only thing I'm jealous of is his wife. I don't know if it's my hormones or if it's just because Steve is so darn attractive but at work today I found myself daydreaming about Rick wearing a peasant type outfit while plowing a field. He was wearing a loose white "poets" shirt with soft baggy brown trousers and black boots. Kind of like what the guys from Duran Duran wore circa 1982. I imagined him with slightly longer hair, so it would move in the gentle breeze. Right now a typhoon couldn't move a single hair of his out of place. Then I (dressed in my dirndle) approched him with his lunch. Lunch consisted of bread, hax'n mit brot, risotto with grilled meats, stewed prune compote, a couple of Wispa bars and a 6 pack of Kronenbourg. Sigh...

Keep that shark Martha Stewart away from sweet guppy Rick, she'll eat him alive and then spit him out.


Rick if you're reading this, email me!!!!!!!! I don't want to get married, I just want 45 minutes ((L))Je t'aime mon amour ((K)) XOXO

Your outfits would make Christian green with sickness. Mr. Steves write that his wife only wears What he buys.

Miss Dior, Your outfits would make Christian green with sickness. Mr. Steves write that his wife only wears What he buys.

Rick Steves buys his wife's clothes!?
Oh well, there are odder marital arrangements.

Miss Dior, the way Rick races through things, 45 minutes would be 44 minutes too much. He would be long gone by then, his smiling face stuck out of a train as it roared toward new adventures.

POT-RICKS NOW:(heard in A'dam cafe)
Hey you don't talk to (Rick), you listen to him. The man's enlarged my mind...he's a poet-(travel)warrior in the classic sense. Sometimes you'll say hello to him and he'll walk right by you and won't even notice you, then suddenly he'll pull you into a corner and tell you do you know that "if" is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you..If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you...I mean...I'm a little man... I'm a little man...he's a great man...I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across floors of silent seas...
(my apology to Dennis Hopper and Francis Coppola)

Oops, I meant to hit the goofy, smiley face button instead of the frowning one.

You forgot Rudyard Kimpling:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!


--Rudyard Kipling

The Rick and Martha tour idea cracked me up...

Martha: Rick, what did you do with that gelati cup? Oh, and you dripped on that ahem.. plaid... shirt.
Rick: I dunno. I think it blew out of the train when I leaned out.
Martha (peeved): Do you know what we could have made from that cup? What a waste. This is NOT a good thing... and furthermore...
Rick (impatient): C'mon, we got to get off the train. Oooo... look, melons!

oh, Blacktie- I swear, you're becoming indispensable to me! "unkempt phenomenon" "frugal Jeff Smith"...definite tear-inducers! More to the point, excellent question! Didn't our frugal Jeff just miss getting a free vacation to the Big House? He'd sure have a captive audience there for his latest vintage find, now, wouldn't he? (hmmm....come to think of it, that may well be HIS dream vacation!) luv ya, Blacktie!