laclaire

I was at dinner with my mother at Florence's La Giostra when a large group (something like 12) of Italian-Americans came in. They were rambunctiously loud, all dressed up, none over 19, all talking about the most ridiculous things (namely sex, though sometimes moving on to how much money they had, etc). They took up two tables, and because they were not next to each other, kept getting up and moving between the two. They all kept going into the bathroom, which I assume was to do coke, as they all ate very little and got so chattery by the end of the night that I couldn't take it.

Anyways, next to us was a couple from New York. . . very proper and nicely dressed. One of the girls started to address them loudly and asked where they were from. The wife's curt reply was "New York." The girl then said "No way! Me too" and lifted her hand to give a high five. The woman gave her the iciest stare ever and that girl instantly shut up.

However, the raucous continued, and got even louder when the bill came and no one wanted to pay.

Claire

dutyfree

come on-some more stories on a cold Sunday morning..............

StephCar

My personal favorites are the ones on buffet behavior. Esp. the ones where the people pulled up chairs and ate. I would like to see that, in fact, I would take pictures and post them on this board. (If you could do that.)

laclaire

My host dad reminded me of this one. . .

Long story short, one Sunday morning I ended up having to meet up with this Icelandic guy to give him a set of carkeys. I waited for him at the station and once he got there and had the keys, invited me to a coffee for the inconvenience.

We were sitting at the table chatting and he said "Want to see a picture of my wife?" He then broke out the digital camera and there was his wife, totally naked, full frontal, on her knees, hands under her hair in a porn pose. I was really hung over, so when he said "my daughter took this one" it didn't register 100%. Then he started to toggle through more images, though, and I gulped my coffee and said "well, gotta go."

hester

My sister, daughter and I were in Florence in the Uffizi and we heard this loud commotion. As we looked up the large staircase this women was coming down the staircase just ranting and raving about how the museum was lying to her and she was mad as he!! and who do they think they are messing with her. Two men were with her and they were really embarrassed. She was very loud and was having one major hissy fit. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she passed us and the men looked at us and my sister asked one of the men what was wrong and he said they won't let us see David. We looked at each other and started to giggle and my sister politely told the man you are in the wrong museum David is in the Accademia. He looked at the other man and said oh, boy you get to tell her! That, by far was the biggest hissy fit I have ever seen, it even out did most 3 year old's!

cigalechanta

Americans aren't alone in having boorish, rude, insensitive people but I was embarrassed for Americans recently who snapped pictures in Museums where th signs read no cameras, please.

mari5

These are FUNNY!, and disregarding nationalities they are sometimes embarassing. After reading the original question I was going to add that I too am puzzled at seeing people at the "buffet breakfast included in the room rate" making their lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, rolls, fruit etc. I just don't get it.
But now this seems mild after all the other funny posts have been written.

The buzz word currently around the world is the word "RUDE"....and this seems to be taking place more and more. Many of the above actions would fall into this catagory.. This seems to stem from the feeling a lot of people have of, "It's all about ME".

There are plenty of courteous, nice, and gracious people in the world.....however the above stories make for good ,entertaining reading!!!

karens

I guess I am in the minority b/c I don't find most of these funny. Yes, some of the situations are amusing (some downright outrageous!), and if that is how it was being discussed, this would be a "fun" thread. But the underlying prejudice I find disturbing. "OMG, by far the worst are the Japanese". "Those Israelis - taking all that stuff, I guess b/c it was free". One doesn't need much understanding of history to see where statements like that led.

I just saw the movie "Crash" last week. It was an amazing, throught-provoking movie. The themes are disturbing and depressing. Maybe I'm more sensitive b/c this movie is so fresh in my mind. (And believe me, no one has referred to me as "politically correct" or lacking a sense of humor). Although I'm sure those accusations will be forthcoming after this post!

And since it's Feb., I'm helping my son do a report on Martin Luther King. If you substituted "black" (or even the "N" word) for "American" or "German" would it be different? Maybe not.

P.S. And gosh, I am just TOTALLY EMBARRASED to be an American b/c THEY ALL read Rick Steves!

milliondollarbbw

Not to be rude, but I do find it is a little odd when people force their ettiquette rules on other people.

Sure, it seems a bit tacky for the guy to openly put the sandwiches in his pocket. But how do we know what his reasons were for doing so? Maybe he was bringing them up to his roommates who were hungry? Maybe he was short on funds and trying to make the food last for a day? Maybe he was making the sandwiches to give to others who had no food?

I admit that there are all social faux pas that we all make from time to time....but something inside of me cringes when I hear or read others discussing what their society or culture deems appropriate or inappropriate.

Sure, it may not have been the most polite, but if I am in a different country on vacation, I really don't care what another vacationer is doing as long as he/she is not harming another person.

Maybe I just have issues with buffets in general and personal feel that it is ok to take away a little food with you. And yes, many of my friends do not agree.

walkinaround

i think americans just really need to get over it. millions of people visit europe from all over the world, each with their own quirky behaviours. no nationality is nearly as self conscious of itself as americans are.

i think that those americans who are constantly "cringing" at other americans' behaviour in europe need to go out and travel more to get a more balanced view of the world. it's really pathetic and all of this cringing really belies a strange view of oneself as a nation.

karens

Walkin - are you saying that all the posts that point out boorish behavior of Americans are all coming from Americans? I never saw it that way, but then I have no idea where most of you live.

rotaka

Japan: My friend and I walked into a rural izakaya in Toyama, Japan. After a few drinks the master of the pub asked my friend, an American how large his penis was. My friend didn't answer. The master then grabbed my friend's penis and my friend, feeling violated, went ballistic and punched a hole in the wall of the place! We were asked to leave politely since we had been there a couple of times before.

Rome: My sister and I were in a seedy club in Testaccio. We befriended 3 people from Napoli, one of them a girl. They offered to give us a ride home. We got into their car and on a deserted street they stopped and told us they would only drive us to our destination if they could buy my sister's new SONY cybershot for 50 euro. We laughed and they demanded we get the f---- out of their car.

Morocco: On our way to Zagora, our careless driver hit a herd dog. The owner of the dog then came to the vehicle. We tried to apologise and offer some compensation. We were so ashamed and terribly sorry for what he had done. The owner didn't want to hear it and started grabbing rocks and screaming at us. At that point we had to flee for fear of having our heads bashed in.

Perugia: A few years ago I was taking a leisurely walk in one of the back alleys of the the city's centro, when I stumbled upon a gang of punk drug addicts. I thought not much of it until they started screaming and yelling. In the distance I could see one of them in the middle of a bowel movement so I decided to turn the corner to avoid them. Suddenly, one of them cornered me and demanded money. I really had not one penny on me and told him so. He then laughed and spit on my neck.

Bangkok: My girlfriend and I decided to explore the seedy Patpong district that we had heard so much about. We decided to go up a flight of stairs into a cheesy gogo bar. Being the only females in the place, we were quickly surrouned by ten strippers. In the back of the room we could see an American man in a wheelchair being carried up the stairs into a back sex room.

degas

Please tell me I did not just see that last post!

NYerr

Bad and unexpalinable behavoir is everywhere. Taking extra food for later from the buffet is no biggie as we can tell from some of the later posts. In fact, one buffet that my family frequents kindly provides my mother with a few plastic bags to help herself or they are kind enough to make her a sandwhich for her 4 hour ride home. So instead of it being a sneaky thing, it is out in the open with the permission of the management and it hurts no one.
Get your rental car smashed when its parked or your entire purse stolen (as I did with passports, travelers checks and everything) and then complain. Thank goodness for the American Embassy that took care of us until we got matters straightened out.

The movie Crash is an eye-opener. Do not judge others and it doesn't matter where people where born or what language they speak.

If we want to discuss a horrific tourist story, we can start a discussion on the disappearance of the girl in Aruba last year on her school trip!

Joycefnp

I do hope that we are NOT going to start bashing Aruba because a young girl did as young people so often do, made a bad decision.

Joycefnp

sorry I accidentally posted before I was ready. As I was going to say, my heart goes out to her parents, especially since I have kids in the same age group. But bad things happen everywhere. Sometimes I think I survived those years by divine intervention. While I do think there was some kind of official evidence coverup, I am tired of hearing people defame Aruba because of one incident. By the way, I am not from Aruba! I wasn't actually all that crazy about it when I was there.

jeesun

I was in Da Vinci's house in Amboise, France when a busload of Japanese tourists entered the room I was in, which was filled with delicate models of some of Da Vinci's inventions. They proceeded to touch and move all of the inventions, none too gently, and a couple of the women sat down in the antique chairs scattered around the room (even though they had ropes hanging on them to prevent this). There were signs everywhere asking people not to touch the models, but they simply didn't care. Flash photography was also prohibited, but that didn't stop them from taking pictures either. I was absolutely disgusted.

cigalechanta

On my way home from Paris, an Indian family also flying back to Boston were in a row across from me. The older of two children began making noise, clanking the ends of the seat belt, slamming the top of where the seat tray lifts up. The woman next to me was reading, trying not to snap. The parents said nothing after five minutes I told that child to be quiet, than a few others started complaining after he refused to stop. I said to the seatmate I'll open the window, if you throw him out and she laughed as did the others behind me and a flight attendent who gave me the wink and had them removed to another section of the plane.
There is not one country that hasn't these nasty travelers so please don't point fingers.

nospam

At an Internet Cafe in Florence a month ago, two young American girls were using the computer to message a friend, and the conversation was LOUD and FILLED with four letter words:
Girl 1: What the @#$@? Did you ask her @#$@-ing boyfriend if she would come over for dinner?
Girl 2: Oh @#$@! No @#$@#-ing way. She knows I'll kick her @$#$-ing scrawny @#%## white-@#$@ all over. @#$$!!!
Girl 1: You are so @#%#-ing right...
etc.
I looked over at them a couple of times, and one of them said to me "You got a @%$#%$-ing problem wit me?"
I said "Yes, you are being really loud and using offensive language and I would appreciate it if you be a bit more respectful here. Thank you."
Response:
"I'm gonna kick your @%#$-ing @#$ when we leave. Mind your own @%$#-ing business, you @#$#. @#$#$ you, you @#$#$-ing @#$#$#. You better watch it when you leave, you @#$#." and so on. Did I mention that I am clearly well over 30? Female? Obviously no threat???
Well, Italy being Italy, no one did anything, so I stayed there well after they left, and I had my cell phone firmly clamped to my ear with my finger on the emergency button.
This makes me wonder if confronting such behaviour in a foreign country, without any assistance available in your native language, is really worth the effort.

birthdaygirlstrip

I think it would have been better to just ignore them and let the management or a native deal with them. We don't know if they were upset about something that was very serious.

We all have our days when we don't always use the best language or the nicest manners.