Padraig

kelliebellie wrote: "Wearing comfortable clothes into a restaurant where everyone else has spent the time and effort to dress nicely is a tourist insult."

I'm in trouble, then. All my clothes are comfortable.

But perhaps I'm not in too much trouble: if dining in a particular restaurant requires that I be uncomfortable, then I don't want to dine there.

Padraig

schuler wrote: " "Tourist" is not a dirty word in the German language. When did it become one in English?"

German tourists?

kleeblatt

Travelnut

"tourist"

Merriam-Webster:
one that makes a tour for pleasure or culture

Encarta.msn:
a traveler who visits places away from home for pleasure

Doesn't sound bad to me...

d_claude_bear

Ms. Bear and I spent the month of May in Paris. Most people seemed to figure out that we were English-speaking, hence visitors. Our attitude (and I hope it was expressed in our behavior) was that we were not locals but wanted to experience what locals did and both accepted and valued the opportunity to blend in. We tried to be "pretty" (? = opposite of "ugly&quot Americans and received nothing but friendly treatment within the limits of cultural variations in interpersonal style. No one treated us more rudely than they did each other; and for our part, we never took the attitude "How much is that in real money?" Being a "proud" tourist means never having to say/act that you are sorry to be there!

flanneruk

"[wearing shorts]you are taking away from everyone's view of what Paris should look like."

Assuming the people of Paris give a rat's fart what you're wearing is an insult to Parisians' common sense and requires a level of self-obsession even Barack Obama might find excessive.

Fra_Diavolo

Fashion is boring.

Questions about fashion are boring.

People who worry about fashion are boring.

JMHO.

kelliebellie

Padraig -

I meant "comfortable" in the American sense as in sweat pants and gym shoes. I wasn't suggesting that everyone in nice restaurants are wearing corsets. And if all you in fact own are sweat pants and gym shoes, then yes, stay out of nice restaurants.


flanneruk -

I would think wearing short and gym shoes down the streets of Paris because I'm more comfortable that way involves the self obsession. I'm leaving this topic now.

suze

Back2Sabi, Are you relatively new to Fodor's? I can't say I've ever read post about people spending a bunch of money to blend in or anything recently about the "importance" of not looking like a tourist. I don't think that's a common opinion on this board.

But I am in agreement with you that there is nothing wrong with a neatly dressed & easily identifiable tourist. I work in downtown Seattle in a popular area and see "them" all the time, from all over the world. Easy to spot (neat sporty shoes, street map in hand, property dressed for the weather -unlike Seattle natives!) but I'm not saying that in a negative way.

Dukey

The thing about staying out of anywhere in Europe if you are wearing athletic shoes ("trainers&quot is about the funniest thing I've read here in weeks.

janisj

<b>Padraig: </b> Totally ignore travelme. S/he has some sort of snarky obsession about me too. S/he managed to have a go at both of us in one teensy post. It does get old - travelme's posts seldom add anything to the discussions other than slamming other posters. But I guess if one doesn't have a life . . . . .

Josser

There must be something strange about me.
I live in the North of England and if I visit London, I wear exactly the same clobber that I wear at home.
It's just the same if I cross the Channel. Bald-headed old coots in Italy or France look very similar to me.
I don't feel that I need to buy myself special tourist gear.
In London, I carry my trusty A to Z and think that many Londoners do the same.
I carry a small digital camera with me, so I suppose that I might look like a tourist if you look carefully.

DAX

Padraig: I don't think you have to worry about it this year. The experiences I described didn't happen this summer but rather within the last few years since the Iraq war started. I'm only writing them down as an argument which Back2Sabi asked for.

We didn't HAVE to break the 3 layers of human chain blocking people from entering McDonald at that time. We just chose to because we felt bad for the owner to be the victim of circumstance. They were nice to reward my daugter with all kinds of goodies for willing to get inside. Plus the local police was there to help us break through, the protesters didn't look wild and angry as in Vienna &amp; Rome plus I was getting used to it maybe. With the exception of the thousands of protesters in Rome, they were all small groups of protesters.

It's true that it has always been said that they're protesting against Bush &amp; the US government, but when you're in the middle of those situations it doesn't matter anymore.

travelme

Padraig, you act surprised when some calls you on writing a nasty and negative comment. No obsession just a sort of duty I suppose.

cathies

Hi Back2Sabi, no matter what you wear on your feet - they will hurt!! If it's doable ie your accommodation is conveniently located, then I find it helpful to change shoes 1/2 way through the day.

Hope you have a fabulous trip! I'm determined to visit Paris in the winter. Not sure when, but it will happen!

GSteed

I have been in Europe for 13 years. I have yet to meet an anti-American European. I have yet to be hasseled any way as an American. Instead I have been treated as a guest and forgiven for cultural glitches. 99% of the travellers I see, Europeans and Americans and all others wear the same garb. Actually looking like a tourist or visitor may be a god-send. A lady in London grabbed me as I was about to step into the path of a bus...it was coming the other way. A young lady in Trencin, Slovakia called a taxi for us as the station was closed. She waited until it arrived and then told the driver where we wanted to go. I suspect that what some know are 'travel legends'.

afterall

Must defend Sabi here, as I've read a lot of posts asking whether to buy this kind of shoe or that kind of shoe; this kind of waterproof rather than that kind of waterproof - like going on holiday to a different country means you needed a whole new wardrobe.

And the posts were well patronised with brand names touted, etc. Personally I just hope I can find something that will &quot;do&quot; in my wardrobe.

Would like to know from SanParis2 which war we are talking about:

&quot;I was actually in Paris when the current war broke out&quot;.

Cheers

Padraig

Travelme wrote: &quot;Padraig, you act surprised when some calls you on writing a nasty and negative comment. No obsession just a sort of duty I suppose.&quot;

You never let the truth get in the way of your prejudices, do you?

travelgourmet

<i>99% of the travellers I see, Europeans and Americans and all others wear the same garb.</i>

Yep. The labels may change, but not much else.

Personally, I dress largely the same when I travel as when I am at home (Denmark).

- If it is hot, I will wear shorts, except in countries where it will cause serious offense. I can't think of a single country in Europe where that would be true.
- I only wear a suit or slacks to places that explicitly require them. I wear jeans to work and figure that they are good enough for just about anywhere.
- I don't wear a backpack, but that is just because I prefer an over-the-shoulder bag.
- I'm going to take pictures. This means I have to tote a camera. No way around it.
- I carry a guidebook and a map. I am not going to scurry into a corner to read it. The street corner is good enough.

However, if I am going to a venue (restaurant, concert, etc) that has a dress code, I will dress accordingly.

suze

I've never buy special &quot;travel clothes&quot; myself. As someone was mentioning above seems funny. I just take the best of my normal wardrobe appropriate to the season.