There are a few on TV at the moment one series where a Brit and an Italian drive around Italy cooking and looking at Architecture. Fascinating it's called "Italy Unpacked" and there appear to be at least 2 series.>>

British art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon and Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli [I lifted that from the description of the programmes] are the chaps involved and they are interesting because they bring to the programme their different perspectives i.e. it is not just a travelogue. Looking at the BBC website they did the north, the west coast of Italy, and then the east coast, and Sicily - i.e. 4 series in all.

well worth watching if you can find it anywhere.

I've been watching it & think it's very good.

As you say, different perspectives, and I like the out of the way places they visit & interesting vignettes.

I've got some very bad advice from the Rough Guide (in Spain) and from Lonely Planet (in Ireland). These were from guide books, not videos. I never watch travel videos.

There's an Italian travel series called Turisti per Caso (roughly translated as Accidental Tourist). I found it very condescending, especially towards the inhabitants of the countries they visited, so I stopped watching it.

What was the bad advice?

I've watched some of the Italy Unpacked. They seem a bit similar to the Two Greedy Italians (Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo). More food, less art, more local culture. They are a bit on the sexist side. There were two seasons with four episodes each.

Fellow Fodorite named Tulips, who I assume lives in Belgium, wrote something on the pickpocket thread, and I thought it should be posted here:
<i><font color=#555555>"I have never heard about Rick Steves outside of this forum."</font></i>

It doesn't matter where you heard of Rick Steves. The fact remains, you live in Belgium and YOU HAVE heard of him. THAT is the point that proves pariswat WRONG!

I'm not a Rick Steves promoter or buyer of his product (although I think he's smart and talented).

I, and many others, understand the needs of an American production company traveling to Europe to produce a weekly TV show, and to do it repeatedly since 1976, visiting places over and over again, spending half of the year based in Europe.

I also understand what it takes for an American to run a successful tour guide business in Europe. You absolutely can't do either without the help and guidance of numerous locals, local businesses, and local officials.

I, and many others, also understand the reach of the internet.

So, for pariswat to say, "nobody knows him outside the U.S.," the statement is preposterous.

I rest my case.

Asperger ?

'I know for a fact that in the European travel industry, Rick Steves is as famous, if not more famous, than Auto Europe. These days, you'd have to be a moron, or an absolute non-traveler, to not know either.'

Talk about preposterous statements...

As I said the VAST MAJORITY of people here have never heard of him. There is an expat community in Belgium, who may read his books. Indeed, Pariswat was incorrect in saying that NOBODY knows him. The leap from this to FAMOUS is a bit much.

I've never used Autoeurope. Are they any good?

Seems so.

I have seen some well traveled people recommend Autoeurope
Seems they also speak English which makes them popular for US citizens traveling to Europe.

Sometimes it is easy to have someone speaking your language when you need assistance. I remember renting from Hertz and calling them for whatever reasons. They sent me to the person responsible for Belgium - a Dutch lady. She would not speak French nor English to me and spoke plain Dutch quite fast. Customer service is sometimes strange.

Pariswat, I get that a lot in Belgium, but more often from people speaking rapid French to me ;-)

I'll have a look at Autoeurope for my next trip, we don't need rental cars very often.

Rick who?

I love RS and currently watching him in Norway.

It's not him per say, it's the scenery that I enjoy.

Many of the places we have visited and seeing again is so much enjoyment.

We are looking at one of the fine wooden churches in Norway that we have visited.

I plan most of our trips and his program is just reliving many of our travels.

janisj-thanks for the reassurance hehe.
Italy unplanned is ok but I love Michael Portillo's Great Continental Journeys -quaint with his old travel guide.

The Swiss usually use Merian or Marco Polo as their guidebooks. They are small enough to carry around, have decent maps, provide basic information but are very dry to read. There are more informative books but they are too bulky to carry in one's bag the whole day.

By the way, during a visit to the US, I bought a Rick Steve's book on Switzerland. I actually enjoyed it and thought his suggestions had merit.

<i><font color=#555555>"Talk about preposterous statements..."</font></i>

Standing proud and contrary is a sport here. You may feel entitled to your opinion, but your opinion is wrong. There is nothing preposterous about my statements on this thread.

<i><font color=#555555>"As I said the VAST MAJORITY of people here (Belgium) have never heard of him."</font></i>

The VAST MAJORITY of people don't travel. The VAST MAJORITY have no need to research travel guides.

<i><font color=#555555>"The leap from this to FAMOUS is a bit much."</font></i>

I didn't make the simple statement that "Rick Steves is famous," although I have no problem making that statement because it's accurate. I compared Rick's fame to the fame of AutoEurope within the European Travel Industry. Since AutoEurope is the largest and leading car hire company in Europe, and they are a proud sponsor of Rick's PBS TV show (his production and tour companies use them and promote them), I think the link is fair and accurate.

<i><font color=#555555>"I've never used Autoeurope."</font></i>

The point of whether you "used" a travel company's service (or purchased a Rick Steves book) is not relevant, and it's not a qualifier here. You (and others) can type all the contrary noise that you want, it doesn't bring your opinion closer to being accurate. I've never used Argus Car Hire or Maggiore (to name just two), but I have known of their existence in the travel marketplace for many, many years.

T es vraiment grave tu sais ...

Never learned to quit ?

So important for you ?
Ever been to Belgium and ever wanted to but a RS book ?

Laisse beton

NYFSnob . . . you are simply wrong. He is famous <u>In the States</u> and nowhere else. His 'fame' is almost entirely because of PBS.

He is useful for many American travelers - the majority of whom have to apply for their first passport when they decide to go to Europe. He is not a household name anywhere else.

Go into any major London or Parisian book store, go to the travel section, and you will find hundreds of volumes, and maybe a tiny handful of RS. Go into a Barnes & Noble and the shelves are plastered w/ him.

"There are more informative books but they are too bulky to carry in one's bag the whole day."

One solution, which I learned from R.S., is to mutilate your guidebook. Rip out the sections pertaining to where you are visiting and toss the rest. 20 pages is better than 150.

<i><font color=#555555>"household name"</font></i>

LOL!

<i><font color=#555555>"Never learned to quit?"</font></i>

1. Quit is not a word I cherish.

2. I can be as stubborn and bullheaded as you.