I can't think of a place I'd "never" return, and I've truly enjoyed some of the nevers posted above. We were entranced with Colmar, for instance. Admittedly, it was a day trip. We were staying in Barr, but it was a very pleasant day trip.

We always make a point of visiting Aix when we are in the area. Again, I wouldn't want to stay there because we prefer to stay in the country or in a small town, but it's a fun day trip.

We visited Freiburg in 2002 and thought the people were very helpful and friendly. I was looking for something in particular and between the two of us, we speak very little German. A lady on the street, overhearing me ask directions of a shopkeeper, went to the trouble of finding someone who spoke English to give us directions. I wasn't too fond of the food in Germany and was glad to get back to France for dinner, but the countryside was lovely and the people were very nice.

I was prepared to detest Texas the first time I visited (in 1982) and ended up loving it. I wouldn't want to live there, but certainly would go back for a vacation. We camped near Big Bend National Park and near El Paso.

We stayed in Seattle on our way to drive the Alaska Highway in 1994 and certainly enjoyed it enough to stop again on the way home.

Los Angeles . . . we live nearby and go in often, but the traffic is truly annoying. We love the museums, concerts and restaurants and there are absolutely beautiful sights in the area. If I didn't live here, I certainly would enjoy visiting, especially when you are having such nasty weather back east!!

This is in response to the Austrians. We had a great time in Austria. We were there for New Years Eve of 1999-2000. But, I must admitt that when the clock struck 12 in St. Stephens Plaz, you would never know it. Everyone was quite subdude. We were joyous with hugs and kisses and "Auld Lang Sine" (sp). Of coarse we felt like we were over the top, so we sang "Oh Canada". We didn't want to give the USA a bad image. Sorry Canada. There are several places I where I would not return. I have a love of southern Europe and like to return there, but northern Europe is not as interesting to me. I think it is the weather. I live in New England and when I travel I like dependable warm weather.

I guess I have had an occasional bad hotel experience but I really haven't been anywhere in Europe that did not have something positive to say about it.

For those trashing Germany, have you been to Berlin? I am Jewish and it took me years to go to Germany. I didn't like the food much (when you compare it to French and Italian food, well no European food lives up to French and Italian) but the people were very friendly.

I thought Berlin was a much more exciting city than London or Paris. I cannot wait to return.

I'm very surprised by the comments about Germany and Austria. We were just there in Nov/Dec and found the overwhelming majority of people to be friendly and helpful. We had a few situations where we needed directions or help getting an ATM card unstuck :D and were always treated with courtesy. Same goes for previous trips. We even had one woman go so far as to give us a lift in her car. The only place I've ever encountered an unfriendly attitude is at the German consulate in Los Angeles, but never in Germany. They do tend to be more reserved and perhaps this is being perceived as arrogance.

Those of you who don't like Texas, thanks for leaving and y'all don't come back, ok?

Janda0, you didn't grow up in Texas. Don't tell lies (like the one that follows) just for a laugh. A friend of mine that lived in Seattle fell off of his bike . . . and drowned.

I think that a lot of what passes as "dour" or unfriendly behavior in Europe is actually just a contrast to the smarmy, glib drivel that you hear so often in banks, theaters, restaurants, etc. here in the States.

We would never go back to the Chech Republic. Many of the people we met were very nice but their police are corrupt and thoroughly enjoy their power, such as it is. Mary >:o

TFG, your friend that drowned in Seattle probably was a sinner and is now spending eternity in Houston.

I noticed quite a few of you listed Texas, but without much explanation. Since Texas is bigger than France, what part was not for you, and why would you never visit again?

I would never set foot in Curacao again. I would however take a cruise that went there and remain on the ship.

The only thing wrong with Texas is that its full of Texans.

Lovejoy, that is exactly the kind of statement that flames people, and it was totally uncalled for.

tudorprincess - What turned you off about Curacao?
I am surprized to read about the negative postings on Germany. I spent 3 weeks in southern Germany and found the people to be warm and freindly. I loved the Black forest, the bodensee area, the alps, etc...

Oh,.. where would I not go back.....
probably Paris. Why? I found the people most unfreindly.been there 3 or 4 times

annesherrod- I thought the people working in the stores were rude and after taking a tour of the island I thought there was nothing of interest that would make me want to come back.

I grew up in the midwest not in Texas. I wasnt trying to be misleading ....

Well, I live in the midwest now, and have friends in Texas, and so far I have complaints about neither.

But you wouldn't get me back to Sorrento in September for love or money. Beautiful town full of obnoxious tourists whose nationality I will not mention because when they're not crowding the streets of Sorrento, they're nice people.

I WILL go back to Sorrento in the off season AND enjoy it as it's meant to be enjoyed.

Basel, Switzerland...after a long night train from Rome I ended up there. Never again!

Interesting about Germany. We were there 2 summers ago and had a great time. Most of the Germans we met were friendly and helpful--certainly more so than Parisians. In fact, some of the best information for our trip came from Germans we struck up conversations with on the two train trips we took--Frankfurt to Bamberg, and Bamberg to Munich.

The only downside in terms of the people we met in Germany came with contact with German school children.

Oh, if I didn't have relatives in El Paso, Texas, I'd never go back there.

The other place is Florence, Italy. Tried it on 3 seperate occasions spread over 35 years, and found it to be crowded, dirty, polluted, smelly, hot, and generally unpleasant each time. Though if you're into Renaissance art and architecture, I suppose it's a must visit place.

I would be happy to return to Barcelona but I would never walk Las Rambles again. There is something about that area that feels creepy.
I will never go on another tour again. We toured Italy with a rather large group. Before taking the tour, I read that one could never have a bad meal in Rome. Whoever wrote that hadn't been there on an organized tour. We had eaten three meals in Rome and the best food I could remember had been on the airplane.

Some of our unfavorites:

1. Saigon a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh City -- sweat, sweat, sweat, gazillion motorbikes, not much to see.

2. New Orleans -- faux, faux, faux, avec high prices. Really tacky.

3. Las Vegas -- incredible bad taste overcast with appalling greed.

4. Liverpool -- so down-at-the-heels it is beyond description.

5. Marseille -- a sense of dread just around every corner. After dark? Never!

6. Switzerland -- magnificent scenery, unsmiling citizens, grimy small industrial burgs, a feeling that one's money is welcome but not you.

Quiberon in France. It was billed as a beachy resort. Rained the whole time. Even when the sun came out later, it wasn't very impressive. I'm from Florida and have my own notions of a beach resort and that wasn't it. The rest of France I will visit over and over and over again.

The other places would be Tijuana, Mexico and Jacksonville, FL. Blah!

Acapulco
Key West
Stresa

I really gotta love Yipper's comment about the Austrians - I agree, they are *subdude* - REALLY subdude!

Why dont you like Texas? I have been living here many years now..The people are very friendly, love the good life,love good food and when you need help, they are always ready to give to you..
In the others hand NY, is the worse place to be..Nobody smiles at you, nobody acknowledge your presence when you walk by and the majority is so Rude..

I dont want to offend the New Yorkers , but after spending almost 4 years there, my two older children were born at West Point, I would take Texas any time...

Did anyone have such a bad time with a heat wave (particularly in 2003, but really in any year) that it made you swear off a particular spot? (Or at least convince you never to set foot there again in summer?)

In no particular order, I have no desire to go back to Calcutta, India; anyplace in Pakistan or Iran; or Geneo, Italy.

Well, I was going to say Cyprus until folks got on this Texas kick, and I remembered Midland, TX. Would absolutely never go back to Midland, TX. There is absolutely NOTHING in Midland, Tx. Oh, except for a motel with a nice big swimming pool smack dab in the middle of it.

On the other hand, I LOVE the people of Texas. We used to say that if you could empty out San Francisco and fill it up with Texans, the place would be perfect. Yeehaw y'all!

For the record, I did a very nice one week home exchange in Wimberly, Texas, several years ago and had a great time.

I do not understand all the Texas trashing, but I have not been to El Paso.

If you have the right attitude, you can have a great time almost anywhere for a few days. There are always things to see and do that you cannot see and do at home.

That's the best attitude to have Lauren. More travellers should have that outlook.

ANDORRA! We were in the area and thought we would take a look. Andorra la Vella is down in a narrow valley and was hot and smoggy, crowded and dreadful. That is where I learned to read between the lines and decide if I really wanted to see a place (when others said not to miss it.) They went for the shopping. We had a cold drink and headed for the hills. We stayed at a nice mountain inn and headed back to France the next day. The border guards couldn't believe we hadn't bought anything. At least we can say, we have been there. CJ

The Spanish Island of Menorca - I-)
Belguim.

Off to Madrid in 3 weeks - feeling bit dispondant now, following some of the comments here.:-<

I would be happy never to return to Barcelona. Apart from the pollution, the area around La Ramblas left me with a very bad feeling. Firstly there were all the poor birds and animals shut in tiny cages all day and then just covered up and left there all night. I guess there is no Society for the Protection of Animals in Spain.

In the one evening we spent there, one of our party witnessed a bag-snatching, others in the group (myself included) had virtual front-row seats at a stabbing (if it had not been for the copious amounts of blood, you would have sworn you were watching a street-theatre performance of West Side Story, or similar). Later in the evening, we also heard that someone was pushed out of a 2nd floor window further down the street.

Amongst all this drama, one of the most telling things was the quietly efficient way the stabbing was dealt with. First the ambulance came and took the poor man away (he was lying on a bench in a square just off La Ramblas). Within minutes a fire van arrived and hosed off the bench, and anyone who came along 10 minutes later would not have known anything had taken place. The overall impression I gained was it was not an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence.

PS. Despite the intense heat and lack of airconditioning in our hotel on La Ramblas (it was June, so not operating), my window remained securely shut that night.

ttt

Paris and Rio de J. - too much dog poop, a sort of pathetic fallacy.

My response to why Texas is that the place has absolutely no character-it's urban sprawl gone amuck. I've only been to Dallas and Houston and it was one strip mall next to a chain restaurant next to neighborhood where all the houses look the same. And the bugs and bad weather! No place should have bugs as big as birds and be regularly inhabited by humans!

swalter518 - thank you for providing the definitive answer on the "what's wrong with Texas" issue.

You say you have only been to Dallas and Houston . . . that certainly makes you highly qualified to judge the entire state.

It's axiomatic: the more things someone hates, the smaller the brain and capacity for intellectual thought.

I'm just happy to have the money to travel. I know many people who long for travel and can only afford to visit relatives during their vacation. Travel is a privilege and I like to make the most of it. that said, if I have to pick a place, I was not too fond of Marseille, although I tried to remember where the history of it was coming from and that made it all right. But I love all travel, and have been to most of Europe. Going to Barcelona and Madrid in April and can't wait. Rather than focus on pickpocketing, etc, my group and I have focused in our likes and have planned to do those things. Whatever happens, it will make for good stories!

Janda O is right! Seattle ROCKS! Wish I could move back, but I just can't take the cold. What a beautiful and fun city! Love IT!

I hope to NEVER go back to LONDON! I know it is a fav. amongst many of you, but it has lost all charm for me. Found it to be sad, dirty and oh ya too expensive!

I hope to never return to Tiajuana too. Took friends from Scotland there about 7 years ago and I still have not recoverd! UHHHHH!

The state of Texas is huge and is very hard to form a just opinion of it by just visiting one of two places...

It is a great place if you like the outdoor..
There are many National Parks.. The most celebrate and famous is Big Bend ..
There are tall Pines forests in the East..
There is a very nice coastal area if you like the beach and plenty of lakes to swim and fish...

Like many other places there are some area that are harsh and not very pretty..
Talking about BUGS..If you go to Florida or Louisiana you see plenty of them also..

I am Not from Texas,I am European..I have lived in various parts of the world and also in many states here in the USA...
But I have found that the people here are very friendly, must be the sunshine or their PRIDE of Being A TEXAN...:)

I absolutely detest South Dakota and Jamaica.