Like the Inca Bands invasion of Europe about 15 years ago at first they were a nice novelty but after seeing them on practically every street in every town it became a bother

same with this human statue proliferation - about 10 years ago the first few i saw were unique but now they are everywhere - yeh the costumes - typically it seems a solid silver paint job of clothes and face - can be novel but what talent is there standing like a statue?

I'd like to see pigeons descend on these human statues

What kind of street buskers are you tired of or have seen enough of.

Those fake gladiators in front of Rome's Colosseum are nauseating as well

And i never did like solo bagpipers even in Scotland and now i have to suffer thru them all over Europe

Accordions playing musette in the M&eacute;tro cars. And amped guitars in the pedestrian tunnels. <i>Sacre bleu!</i>

Not so bad: string/woodwind trios/quartets. Very atmospheric.

I disagree that they are a &quot;bother&quot;...IMO it is the people (especially the ones here) who are opendisgusted by seeing &quot;Japanese tourists&quot; and having to endure &quot;American English&quot; why they are in Europe pretending NOT to be tourists who are a &quot;bother.&quot;

Hi Pal -

When the public has had enough, they will disappear. But they are a novelty, especially to new travellers. At least they don't bother you like people with their hands out, or play a musical instrument in some awful way.

I wonder why they are not popular in America?

Jed - i guess i have to agree with you

the statues are harmless and you can just pass them buy

but like in London recently when i saw a row of like 15 of them in a tourist area it seemed too much

And i have seen them in America more and more but still not in the droves like in Europe

I think Europeans have always given more coins to street performers than Americans have - at least my French in-laws always seem to and enjoy music on the streets, etc.

But Jed you are right - the statues are harmless and at least don't assault your senses like the bagpipers do

(Bagpipes were invented in Ireland who then gave them to the Scots, who never got the joke) (From a book on Ireland i read)

In NYC, the breakdancers on the sidewalk are the big draw. They drive me nuts, because the crowds end up blocking the sidewalk making it difficult to get where you're going.

But I haven't seen many of the human statues in NYC. I saw one in Madrid last September and I don't remember seeing any in London 2 years ago.

I've never seen a solo bagpiper in Europe, I don't think they are all over Europe. I suppose in Scotland, but I haven't been there in so long, I don't recall.

We saw several human statues in Venice Beach last week. I much prefer them to some of the scary and heartbreaking beggars I've encountered, especially in Rome. Plus, the human statues are a curiousity. I always wonder about their comfort level, and how they create their &quot;costumes.&quot; Maybe others feel the same way.

We have them here in Boston/Cambridge.

You're just now fed up with them?

I've always thought they were tacky visual blight.

vvI'll &quot;amen&quot; too.

Sueciv - however the following post of yours seems like a very unlikely Budman post - but you never know he is a clever Devil - sorry for jumping to conclusions that probably - probably are not warranted.

&lt;Never lose the humility and that grace. It applies to all of the blessings of life. Yes?

I so often get caught up in bad stuff, have to stop, sit still and count my blessings.I'll &quot;amen&quot; too.&gt;

Yes the antithesis of Budman

Maybe I should do one. I would do Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial so I wouldn't have to stand all day

Yes, Horrible, let's be like China and sweep them off the street and lock them up; or better yet send them to &quot;re-education camps. Who are they to show the tourists something other than the canned scenes and myths.

Maybe it is called.....Freedom of expression/enterprise.

Solo bagpipers should be required to play whilst standing on a mountain precipice (somewhere in the Trossachs, I should think) at sundown.

With no one around.

PalenQ wrote: &quot;same with this human statue proliferation - about 10 years ago the first few i saw were unique&quot;

Ten years ago? We had one in Dublin 30 years ago -- Scottish-born Thom McGinty, popularly known as The Diceman. His career lasted more than 20 years until he was forced into retirement by the illness that eventually caused his death.

How could you tell a typically stiff Scotsman from a statue?

You travel to Europe? I thought you sat in your apartment all day and listened to NPR.

Thin

Been to Europe every year since 1969 - often for several months at a time

&quot;How could you tell a typically stiff Scotsman from a statue?&quot;

Impossible. Unlike a ray of sunshine, which - as the greatest British author of all time once observed - is seldom difficult to distinguish from a Scotsman with a grievance.

The Master, of course, failed to spell out that having a wholly spurious grievance is the quintessence of being Scottish.

Then why don't you post trip reports?

You seem to only offer complaints to your readers.

Thin