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.