Just to add again! Not to be "lectury" ( is that a word?), but I think it is the people that can make a visit and even though I do agree that he Austrians can appear cold, it is their history that makes it them that way. My husband is a professor of European history and so I have a built in historian in the family. If you read alot about the history of the people, even today, the behaviors and attitudes of the people often just come from their history. Before each trip I read and read all about the history of each place. Then to me ( IMO)the behaviors of the people no matter where I am ,become understandable and interesting. For instance, I find it so nice to not have waiters hovering over me every minute and announce their name to me in Europe. Their formality might suggest rudeness, but I find it nice. Every city has it's horrible areas. I live in DC and people think it's all crime and gangs which is the furthest thing from the truth unless you go into those areas. Diversity, ahh.. it makes the world go around!

As I read it, in my small and unintelligent brain, the question was where will I never go back, not what do I hate, in answering that question, I will not go back to Dallas or Houston and spend my precious vacation time and money on places that don't do it for me. I purposefully stated I have only been to those places to show that I can't judge the whole state, but based on those places, I'm not wasting my time/$$ going back. Janda, as for Seattle. It's beautiful but at least the tourist areas were way too full of teens/20s begging and strung out for me.

DiAblo writes: "Los Angeles, (what a horrid, posing, crime-ridden dump!)"

Why just yesterday, while posing for pictures, I was robbed, shot and left for dead. Just another horrid day here in Los Angeles where it will be a glorious 73 degrees today. I think I'll go out and get mugged or have my car stolen.

On second thought, maybe tonight my wife and I will dine al fresco in Old Town Pasadena while much of the country freezes its butt off. I heard the wind chill in Duluth today is -56 (ouch).

BTW, JandaO, I too love Seattle. Unfortunately your traffic now rivals, and sometimes is worse, than ours. My cousins live in Seattle, and harken back to the good old days before the So. Cal people invaded. But as a city, Seattle is a great place to visit. Do you go to the Pink Door, my favorite seattle restaurant?

As for Texas, I have spent many nights enjoying the River Walk in San Antonio, the golf courses in the Austin area and a few bars on South Padre Island. One place I semi-remember was Rum Runners, where I got the Jimmy Buffet bug.

I even LOVE NY.
((H))

swalter518,

Sorry. Actually, I grew up in Ft Worth and I now live in Dallas . . . and you are correct, sir, there isn't much here to attract a visitor except a few restaruants. And Houston isn't much more. I guess I was just reacting to what appeared to be an anti-Texas thing which is almost always these days an anti-Bush thing . . . the hill country is a beautiful part of Texas as is Big Bend . . .

Since some of our destinations are dictated by business (at least for one of us), we use each trip as a great opportunity to see something new.

Lots of posters here have said Germany wasn't for them, but we spent ten days in the former East Germany two years ago, and loved it. The people were friendly, the food hearty and delicious, and (most of) the landscape beautiful.

But, that doesn't address the original post. For me, I'll never return to Pensacola, Florida.

TooFarGone, guaranteed from this girl it ain't an anti-Bush thing...I will give you guys this, you Texans love your Texas!

I live in Austin and it is quite beautiful here. Most Texans don't stay in Midland or El Paso. They just pass through them.

I won't go to Mexico because I don't feel safe and don't trust the police there.

Helsinki, 2 days is enough. Food sucks, all they seem to eat is french fries and donairs.
Amsterdam, been there done that.

Orlando, I am never coming back.

What's a donair? Is that some part of a reindeer?

I don't really have any immense dislike of anyplace but I have to admit, I'm another for whom Texas wasn't "it" for me. I lived in Houston for awhile. Probably bad life experiences more than a tourism perspective though.

I always thought Austin and San Antonio were nice though and I never made it out to the hill country. East Texas though... hmm.... I thought once about tying a rope to the steering wheel and putting a brick on the pedal and having a nap. Straightest, longest, flattest road I've ever seen coming out of Texarkana.

Thanks for reminding me, Clifton!

Straightest, longest, flattest road I've ever seen driving to Marrakesh from Casablanca. And when I got there it smelled really, really bad. Dust everywhere, and mostly in my eyes. And I have NEVER been pestered more persistently than in the medina there . . . djar al fna (?).

"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 think this is one of those cultural things. New Yorkers in general are not rude (except occasionally on the subway). It's your expectations that are out of alignment. It's not possible to acknowledge 8 million people or even the 4 or 5,000 people that live on your block. If you tried to acknowledge them all you would soon go mad. So people in large cities behave differently than those in small towns. That doesn't mean they are rude - or will not help their friends and neighbors - as 911 proved New Yorkers pull together at least as well as anyone else in the world. You just need to understand the differenes and adapt to local conditions - or decide you're really only comfortable living in a small town.

. . . yes, Marilyn, donair is reindeer or lamb or practically any other kind of meatlike substance known to man wrapped in a tortilla / pita. It's a little like a gyro with thinly sliced meat and veggies, and tweetext is correct about Helsinki.

Hey, lay off trashing Texas, please. I'll be the first to admit, it may not have much tourist appeal, but it is a great place to live. I bet you can't find another place in the world where the locals have more pride\love for their state\country than we Texans do.

I've visited many beautiful places, and for the life of me, I can't think of a single place I wouldn't revisit. Love to live in Texas, and love to visit everywhere else.

Anyone who has ever experienced the incredible wildflowers...i.e. Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes during a Texas spring, would want to return. Anyone who has experienced the abundance of friendly people who wave and say hi when they don't even know you, would want to return. Ya'll have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time! Haven't you had barbque at the Salt Lick or County Line? What about the amazing Tex-Mex restaurants everywhere...if you have really SEEN Texas, then you are allowed to complain!!

What I really had a problem with was Lovejoy saying the problem with Texas is it is full of Texans. I live on the East Coast now and when I return to Texas I still find Texans so much more friendly than the people where I live (who are predominantly from the North!)

I haven't found anywhere that I wouldn't return...I would be open enough to give anyplace a second chance!!

Well said Dallas...

BTW, I was in Dallas only once to see the Cowboys versus Redskin..
Despite that i dont know too much football, It was nice to see the cowboys win..

Sorry, Dallas, but this is a thread dedicated to places we wish not to return to. If several people would rather not return to Dallas, then that's what they (and I am included in "they") are going to write!

I would be very happy to never return to Cairo. If I could just figure out a way to get to the pyramids, museums, etc, without having to see the cruelty to animals. Yes I know, not seeing it doesn't stop it, but there is nothing I can do to stop it and I have nightmares for ever after. Yes I know there is cruelty in all countries, but not as in your face as I saw there.

How interesting, TooFarGone, you of the politically correct vacations...I was in Marrakech in November of 2001 and was barely pestered at all. In fact, for anyone interested, the new King Mohammed VI has forbidden kids from pestering tourists, and it was eminently evident that his ruling had had an effect since my previous visit 25 years ago. We walked the city day and night without much pestering at all. It's a beautiful, fascinating place with amazing history and architecture - not things, TooFarGone, that you're much interested in, right?

And nytraveler, I LOVE NYC (for about 3-4 days at a time, that's all I can take), but I think this myth about rude New Yorkers is about as stupid as the myth of rude Parisian waiters. It simply ain't true. You can walk the streets of New York and ask any stranger how to get somewhere and get a heartfelt, intelligent reply.

Tat, I'm a little confused...you say "let's share" but so far you haven't shared anything...what places would YOU never visit again and why? Share!
If you've never been to a place you wouldn't go back to, why not say so? Were you trying to wind people up?

For my part, a place I'd never go back to is Liberia. Spent some time there as a kid. Maybe the country will someday sort out all its problems, but for now...not a chance :-(

You know what? There isn't a place in Europe I wouldn't enjoy seeing again...sorry to be so positive! This includes rememberances of wonderful trips to Greece, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Ireland, British Isles, plus stops in a general European tour. OK, I realize that some places had drawbacks...like Athens with traffic congestion where we had our wallets swiped.

But I'm not anxious to return to Israel given the present hardliner rule
(yes, I know it is complicated), but would love to revisit Egypt and Jordan.

As for Texas? I vote with the negatives on this one for various reasons. Sorry. Elsewhere in the U. S. is mostly OK except if pulling a trailer through a congested city. Actually, many big cities like Los Angeles, Madrid, Rome do have urban congestion problems.

Bill in Missouri (an oldster)
[email protected]

The deserted beach in Eleuthera where I ran smack into a black-tipped shark! And while I'm on that subject, the beach in Virgin Gorda where my husband and I were badly stung by Sea Wasps!

stcirq,

To be fair, it's been 12 years since my trip to Marrakech. Im glad to hear that things have "improved".

What did you mean by the "politically correct vacation" remark? Am I missing some sarcasm? I am known throughout the Universe (under a different name of course) as the MOST politically INCORRECT life form.

I wonder how a Myth of how citizens of a certain city, or a country started...?
Normally every myth has a small amount of true in it.

It is presumptuous to generalize the behaviors of people living in a certain city, just because we spent fews days or weeks there.

When I made the comment of New Yorkers in general, my observations were basically made of my every day living, shopping and mingles with people there.

I did not live in the city of NY, but in the State of New York for almost 4 years.As I said earlier my two older children were born there.

I am a very adaptable person, my husband retired from the AF after 20 years and I have lived in Europe, NY, Europe again, Taipei, Honolulu, louisiana, California and Texas..As you see I am used to different people or race..

However, to be fair NY was my first residence in the USA.
I was very young back then. I saw perhaps too many Americans movies were the people were so Friendly and I had high expectations..who know...I should give the state another chance..maybe the people are different now..

For me it would be Atlanta.I had to go there on business, and found the downtown to be boring, and a little threatening. I'm sure there are some interesting neighborhoods, but Atlanta would be way down on my list of places to revisit.

There's no place in the world I wouldn't give a second chance. I want to see as much of the world as possible and, of course, there are places I have enjoyed more than others.

That said, I'm in no hurry to return to Jerez del la Fronterra (Spain), Cabo San Lucas (Mexico), or Kortjik (Belgium). Found them all quite boring.

BTilke - I think Tat is off licking her wounds. She was recently spanked for her rudeness. Perhaps she'll come back and play nice. Perhaps she won't.

Have to agree with NYtraveller and StCirq: - I went to NY expecting everyone to be rude, yet was amazed by the friendliness of everyone I met.

Wow, this thread sure illustrates the truth in "One man's trash is another man's treasure"!

For me......Disneyland.

Naples - never again!

By the way, I LOVED Germany!

On the subject of New York City, we met wonderful cabbies, friendly people on 5th Avenue, nice merchants. All the things we had heard about rude NYers proved to be wrong for us...we were quite pleasantly surprised. The same held true for Paris...not a mean-spirited person did we encounter. But I am not naive enough to believe they don't exist in NYC, Paris, or anywhere for that matter. There are jerks everywhere, just as there are normal, decent human beings everywhere.

It's always seemed to me that when an entire city is unfriendly then it's time to change MY attitude. Since people usually respond to people as people are to them.

Just my own opinion here, but I have always enjoyed stays in Germany, Austria, and the UK. France has enough rude people to start their own country, and Italy is the Mexico of Europe. But Greece wasn't too bad. Except for Athens - bleh!

There is no place in the world as wonderful, and diverse, as Texas. Beaches, gorgeous hills, plains, mountains, lakes, wonderful cities and small towns, VERY nice and DOWN TO EARTH people, lots of "class", artistic talent, and on and on. We travel a lot both in US and overseas and there is usually SOMETHING good EVERYPLACE! Some places are better than others of course, but if one doesns't like a place it is often their own fault.!or their own "narrow attitude"!

I think of New Yorkers as kind've like rottweilers. They've got a mean bark and they can tear you to shreds. But you catch 'em in a good mood and reach out to pet 'em on the back of the head, and they nestle right on up to you. Just as friendly as a good old labrador.

I don't know how this turned to a Texas conversation but I was shocked at how nice San Antonio is. I thought it would just be a big cactus next to the Alamo. The riverwalk blew me away - it's all about expectations.

GREECE: Because of the taxi drivers in Athens. We stood on the street for an hour in the hot sun before one would stop. I also found the people to be harsh and unfriendly.
Playa del Carmen, Mexico: the tourists that come there love to drink, party, play cards and sit in their chairs drinking, partying, playing cards. Fine for them but I don't find them interesting. Also the town feels like a fake movie set with a tourist area about 3 blocks by three blocks and at night all the tourists go there for dinner and drinks and I saw the same people night after night. I felt like cattle in an enclosure.
Chaing Mai, Thailand: I expected it to be a charming small town and it was big, polluted, busy, and when we would start to cross the street the cars would actually speed up. Consquently we didn't enjoy walking around town.
Bali: I think the people are wonderful, the culture and sense of community fascinating, the arts exquisite and the rice fields beautiful but I never feel comfortable there or able to really relax and I've been there 4 times and I hope my last. It's just an energetic thing.

Good question. Years ago I managed a small sports lodge. Every year I had certain customers return like swallows. Every year I had guests leave after a day and then write us complaining letters. I used to post these letters in my advertising. To paraphrase Mr. Barnum; "It is not possible to please all of the people all of the time.". Bitching and grousing need be specific/objective rather than general/subjective. Telling us that locals are rude is general. Telling us that all locals smell bad is specific. Most tourist destinations have high seasons and low seasons.

I think there is nowhere I would NEVER return to, but there are a few that are lower on the totem pole than others.

I have to go back and forth to Brussels and like it a lot, the more I get to like it.

I've never been to Texas, but am convinced I'd love Big Bend.

There's good and bad everywhere; keep your eyes ears and mind open and you'll have a good time anywhere.

I haven't been anywhere that I've actually hated.

Each to his own, but I don't understand why Germany is getting such a bad rap. We have met many very nice people there and we've enjoyed every town that we visited.

The Gulf Coast of Alabama.