Rick Slimes, more like. <BR> <BR>This is the guy who trumps independent travel and used to badmouth tours - before offering tours himself (high profit margins). I had a friend who went on a tour with his outfit: 20 days for $3200, before airfare? That's pretty stiff for staying in chinzy run-down B&Bs. <BR> <BR>Rick's for clueless people who need heavy hand-holding. Paris, Brugge, London - I've seen tons of the white tennis shoe brigade toting his books like the Bible. I now scan his books in the bookstore, so I know where to *avoid* going while traveling! <BR>Just my 2 cents' worth!

<BR>Amazing! <BR> <BR>Dont you poor people understand that Rick Steves is a creation of businessmen in much the same way that the Monkees years ago (a rock band) were a creation and not really a band? <BR>He started off as a trying hard travel writer and then the suits saw something they could turn into a hit seeing that there was little competition. <BR>Steves travel books are not even good for first time travellers--if you are so dumb that you cant absorb an entire book of his in a few minutes while standing at Borders--(they finally took away the easy chairs) then maybe you shouldnt even try a tip beyond your own neighborhood. <BR>Theres nothing wrong with Rick Steves--neither is there anything wrong with the Spice Girls or Menudo---whatever happened to them? <BR>As for Roger---Roger have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?

Our Sunday afternoon ritual here is to watch Burt Wolf and then Rick Steves. Monsieur Wolf is a little more my style, truthfully. He has more dialogue in 10 minutes of air time than Rick gets into 30. But in both cases, it's just good to see some of the sites and we take what Rick says with a grain of salt. That said, he holds down his half-hour okay in comparison to what the other cable channels are carrying at that time, don't you think? Would I TRAVEL with him? Of course not! :o)