Re: Rick Steves
 

For an upcoming trip to Europe, I borrowed quite a few tapes from the local library. Many of them are Rick Steves' tapes, which I've greatly enjoyed. I did notice that in the earlier tapes (or so it seems) Steves is shown with his wife and children. The more recent tapes show him with a male friend. Is Steves gay? (I ask this out of curiosity only, and mean nothing disparaging by it.)<BR><BR>Melanie

Rick Steves has been a hot topic before & still is now.

Some of the more recent episodes do have the wife and kids, just not as often.

just to fuel the fire, the wife and kids probably got sick of traveling on the cheap and staying at fleabag hotels.

Hey xxx<BR><BR>Your a real pain, there's nothing wrong with the way Rick Steves travels, some people like to spend a ton of money and some don't.<BR><BR>Get a life.

I met a lady in her 70s that owns a shop in Rothenburg. She met Rick years ago before all the books. He still writes her and sends photos of the family on a consistent basis. She had them going back quite a few years. Could not say enough nice things about Rick and family.

The questions remains.<BR><BR>M

What does it matter?

It amazes me how much vitriol the subject of Rick Steves seem to generate on this thread (it’s early, just wait…).<BR><BR>I have a couple of his books and I’ve watched the series Europe THROUGH THE BACK DOOR which ran on our local PBS affiliate a few years back. <BR><BR>Rick is a nerd and a bit of a dink, but there’s little wrong with his information. Personally I’d rather see ol’ Rick on a dead run through Paris or London than to see nothing about Paris or London at all.<BR><BR>I’ve traveled alone, with friends, with my wife and daughter, around England, France, and Scotland. I never spend a great deal of money because I don’t have it to spend, but we ALWAYS have a ball. My friends back home sit in beautiful homes with preposterous mortgage payments, drive their $60,000 Lincoln and Cadillac SUV’s, (which average about 10 or less miles per expensive gallon of gasoline), wear the trendiest clothes (and make sure their kids do too) and marvel how it is that I can go to Europe every year and they can’t afford to go to the next state for the holidays.<BR><BR>I’m sure I’ve never paid more than &pound;50 for a room in London, I don’t “shop” for things in Europe that cost more than at home (just so I can say, “I bought this in a little shop near the Avenue Des Champs-Elysees ). I enjoy good food but I don’t eat like Henry VIII.<BR><BR>I read threads here from time to time from “budget” travelers and I’m amazed at how much more they spend for just about everything than I do. In spite of all that, the people that I travel with have always asked when we can “all” go back, so apparently I’m known as a good guide and a person who enjoys myself and not as a skinflint.<BR><BR>Rick's picks rarely strike me as “cheap”. They might be modest, or frugal, or sometimes considerably more expensive than I would deem necessary.<BR><BR>But I figure if this guy can turn a lifelong travel addiction into a source for considerable revenue, god bless ‘im. I’ll bet that 90% of those who trash him would give their left pinky finger to do the same.<BR><BR>C`est la vie.<BR><BR>

I believe he still lives around Edmonds with his wife and kids. His website says so anyway. What does it matter, anyway?

The beauty of Steves' guides are that they winnow information to a bare minimum. He also realizes that Americans generally have shorter vacation periods than Europeans so it is necessary for Americans to economize time. However, I would also take things written by him with a grain of salt. He is headstrong in what he finds most important and he is rigid in his favorites. I would take a Steves guide but would add a Let's Go guide to augment. As for Steves' sexuality, he is married with kids. I do not think he is bisexual but Edward II and James I proved you can get married, have kids and still yearn for forbidden love.

Penny: Where the heck to you stay in London for 50 pounds per night?? Even Rick's suggestions typically start at 60, I think (absent suggestions to stay on a Hide Park Bench). I consider myself frugal, but London eats me alive.

If it's a man with a beard, that is his producer/director.

I met a shop owner in Varenna, Italy last year who knows Rick from his many visits there. He said Rick keeps in touch with him by letters and on a recent trip to US, Rick took him out to dinner. He said he has helped tourism in Varenna so much and the merchants and business people were very appreciative.

his tapes are good, although lately he<BR>is all about packing and not really much<BR>info. about the area his visiting.<BR>his info. center in redmond is excellent and people are very helpfull.<BR> if he is gay, who cares. it is about time some of us americans learn to care & <BR>worry about other stuff than anyones se-<BR>xuality. Grow up!!!! <BR>

I'm with Penny. There are numerous Spartan but meticulously clean hotels even in Bloomsbury where a single can easily be had for less than &pound;50, sometimes considerably less, but I'm hesitant to mention them by name because I want them to stay that way.<BR><BR>I think a lot of the truth is that Americans are too spoiled to climb one or two flights of stairs. They’re too hooked on a room “with a view.” They’re positively obsessed with having a bathroom en suite, even if it means that the bathroom is smaller than a coat closet, has no ventilation, and that they’re sleeping with their head 6 feet from a toilet. <BR><BR>Many American seem to approach renting a hotel room as if they were selecting a second home. When I travel I want to spend as little time in my room as is humanly possible. I want to sleep there, safe, clean, and comfortably, and I want to have a place to store my bags. Other than a shower every morning my room demands are quite humble. Therefore they never cost much.<BR><BR>In a delightfully bohemian part of London, Earl's Court, one can easy bargain for a room for &pound;20! I’ve done it many times, though I strongly advise travelers to inspect the room closely for cleanliness and amenities before renting. I’ve only been burned once. But a friend of mine refuses to stay in Earl's Court because “its so far from everything.”<BR><BR>Reckon he’s never heard of the Tube. I’ve rarely found myself too far from anything in London thanks to the Underground.<BR>

If I asked if Rick Steves was married, would that imply that there's something wrong with being married? I think not. Melanie's question makes no negative implications. And now I'm curious too. And only that.<BR><BR>GK

He does seem gay doesn't he?<BR>But I have seen some of those episodes with the wife and a kid or two,dragging along behind Rick.<BR>My son has traveled for years all over the world,and not spent a lot of money,and has never heard of Rick Steves,so that is not a really good argument for him.Anyone can travel and not have to follow Rick Steves!

Rick Steves and Trading Places. My favorite shows-they motivate me to do things that I didn't think I could do. Next trip goal. 3 weeks in Italy for my family of four for less thatn $2000.

No self respecting gay man would dress, look or act like Rick Steves - please MARY god forbid. If he is I'm talking to the admission board immediately and having his gay card revoked - label him American but please - not gay.

Hey Traveler---I only recently got a Satellite dish. Maybe you can help me. I have watched Trading Places but where can I see the Rick Steves' show you talked about?<BR>Thanks!

I bet Rick Steves would laugh (all the way to the bank), at all the interest he generates on this forum! But you can bet he's not on this forum - he's too busy running a nice little travel empire, and having fun doing it.

Steve is happly married and with children can only travel with them in the summer months. <BR><BR>His business is year around. He is well respected, we love his TV show (shown on Public TB) and have gained great tips & insights via his TV, Tapes & his forum at www.ricksteves.com. <BR><BR>We have friends who have used his company's consultations and have sworn by them! We use his books and MOST of his recommendations are Great!

Personally, I could care less about Rick Steve's sexual orientation, or anybody else's, for that matter. It's just not any of my business.<BR><BR>However, I can tell you that I have gone to several of the free travel seminars Rick gives here (I live in Seattle, he's in Edmunds, which is nearby) and they are excellent. <BR><BR>I have used his books, purchased his products (backpack is lightweight and durable) and on have stayed at some of the places he has recommended. I don't agree with all of his recommendations (didn't particularly care of the Hotel Europa in Madrid or Hotel Continental in Barcelona, but loved the Hostal del Cardenal in Toledo), but his information is overall excellent and with that and this website and Fodor's and Frommer's books and other Internet websites, planning a trip is all the more fun.<BR><BR>I have a lot of respect for Rick Steves--not just for his travel knowledge, but for taking a political stand on significant contemporary issues as well.<BR><BR>(If you're "ease-dropping"--thank you, Rick.)

Melanie, I dont think Mr. Steves is gay. I think the lisp in his speech is what makes people wonder. !)

I've never seen a gay guy as dowdy as Rick Steves. He may have a lisp, but he doesn't travel like any gay guy I've ever known. He doesn't care if there are scorpions in his bathroom, and he'll share a bath with locals - yuck. He also doesn't care if his bedroom has good pillows or not. He's definitely not gay. He does have a believable gay lisp, though, for those who want to practice.

Rick is cheap but not gay.

Personally, I don't use Rick Steves much, but I have never understood all the vitriol his name generates. My hunch is that it all stems from jealousy. After all, Rick gets to travel much more than the rest of us and there is a teeny bit of envy that I see in the posts from those who do not like him.<BR><BR>Some like it expensive and some can travel without staying in a mega bucks hotel. Such is life.

Is this a daft question? <BR>Could somebody explain who this is and why he's so famous? Sounds like some kind of travel-writer, but he's not famous where I live.<BR>Thanks.

Who's Rick Steves? !

Melanie, I'm curious to know - why do you, and so many people on this board, justify being nosey and butting into other people's business on the basis that you are curious, in other words, because you are nosey, and interested in butting into other people's business?<BR><BR>Are you really going to take the word of people such as myself, a messageboard hack, on a public forum, about something as personal, and as private, as a person's sexual preference?<BR><BR>If Rick Steves doesn't disclose his sexual preference in the public forum of his books, what does that tell you about HIS - not mine, not yours, not anyone else's - opinion as to what Mr. Steves believes is disparaging to discuss about his and what is not?

xx,<BR><BR>you're exhibiting the same curiosity about Melanie as she is about Rick Steves.<BR><BR>BA

For those of you not familiar with Rick Steves, he is the publisher and narrator of many video tapes and guide books. And they are quite good.<BR><BR>Gerry K

Melanie:<BR>Rick Steves still travels with his family--the tapes you saw were old. His more recent ones show his kids, who are pre-teens. He was probably in France on the tape you saw with another guy--that's Steve Smith, his book-writing partner who lives in France and leads a lot of the Back Door French tours. He's on the tapes of Paris, the Dordogne and, I think, Alsace.<BR><BR>

Of course he's gay. Why do you think he's so interested in "back doors"?<BR>

Big Al, my 'curious' question was rhetorical. You must be too nice a person to recognize sarcasm when you see it, sorry.

Haven't seen Rick Steves on satellite. He is on PBS. It's different in every city. So, check your local guide. After the afternoon Trading Spaces, go to BBC and watch the 1/2 show called Changing Rooms. The English(and original) version can be really funny. The Brits don't mince words when they don't like a room.

On a recent tour that I took w/Steves' company, Europe Through The Backdoor, it so happens that Mr. Steves, (and his family, not that it matters), came along. I didn't know this until a month before the trip and wondered how it would effect the tour, and I had been on other ETBD tours before. And so while Mr. Steves was recognized in a few places by Americans, (and very gracious about it), he and his family were just regular members of our tour and were great ones at that! Normal, regular, people folks! I'm sure our guide was probably a bit more anxious than might be normal, but the boss never took over or in anyway pulled rank or showed rank for that matter. If I hadn't seen his face on PBS, I wouldn't have known he was the owner.The male friend you speak of is a business partner, men can be friends you know and it doesn't matter anyway. least of all to regular guy Rick.

I've enjoyed Rick Steves' TV programs, and have used his guide to France. I have bought many different guides, but his was only one I took with me - for the basic information. I haven't stayed in his recommended hotels, as I prefer more upscale places. I think he has provided a wonderful service to many, many people, and his popularity attests to that fact, in spite of the jealous types on this forum who love to put him down. And the "gay" part is absurd!

Have always used Rick's books...plus others....for our independent trips in Europe. We have taken several of his tours, and we were surprised when we had him and his wife and two childen with us on one of our tours. Like the above poster stated they are a normal family and fit in very well with the tour group. We have enjoyed his tours very much. They are not like your typical tour groups....the groups are small, there are 2 guides for each tour, you are not wearing name tags and being led around by someone holding an umbrella in the air,<BR>the people are interested in seeing and hearing about the places they are visiting...shopping is not the big priority as it is with some tour groups, you get to mingle with the locals, and you have plenty of time to explore on your own if you want to. We have found the tours we have taken to be great experiences. This is proved by the number of people...over 1,000...who come to Edmonds every Feb. for a reunion. <BR><BR>He has been able to build up a great business doing something that a lot of people probably wish they could do.