x

Oh, helpful, puleeeeze! OK, accepting your premise Rick-o is a "wonderful resource" for the inexperienced, lets put them in his hands - and list what they'd learn:<BR>~that hairtcut, yes, is it moe or curly!<BR>~the dessert boots! Yikes. Shine or no!<BR>~the khakis, the shirt, ah ha, I see, I do ... they'd learn the art of the wrinkle!<BR>~the backpack, that material, probably full of old green stamps and National Geo maps - RS would never purchase a real map!<BR>~restaurant carnet in hand - small bills for meals (after all he will be standing up)<BR>~leave the wife, kids in the monk or nun's bed - rick-o is the monastery king! he tours, they wait.<BR>~living life to the full, on the run, head out train windows at every opportunity.<BR>~on cloting: rick-o took the cake ... until I caught Martha, that shirt. apparently dated King Kong at one time. And that's a good thing!<BR><BR>So, give ricko-o to them ... they'll not be inexperienced for long, if they make it. Europe with rick-o, and next year, they'll be on fodors getting a bus schedule to Sedona and the beeeg island, whatever that is.

language deficient

Uncle Sam~~ your posts are always amazingly stupid. Glad you didn't let me down. The point is: Rick's entire travel philosophy is about getting to know the locals, doing things off the beaten path, so obviously knowing at least 1 second language would be helpful in this pursuit. And again (you really aren't as clever as you think) Spanish or French would be the obvious choices.

Susan

Never, ever criticise something or someone that large numbers of Americans have become attached too--to do so will subject you to cries of snobbery. Nothing seems to stir up certain segments of the population as much as the hint that their taste, choices, etc. are less than great.

IHateRick

Rick Steves is a great resource for people planning their FIRST-EVER trip to Europe. After that, toss the RS books- you've already figured out as much as Rick has. He has gross taste in food and suspect taste in hotels, and yes, he has "spoiled" places that were hitherto relatively sparsely visited by putting them on *his* map. And yes, he looks incredibly stupid wearing that blue shirt and sticking his neck out the window of trains (I've been hoping for years he'd get it lopped off), but the guy latched onto a travel idea that any one of the Fodorites with half a brain could have, but didn't....sell *intimate* Europe to people from Nebraska who've never been but don't want to admit they went on a tour. They did it THEMSELVES!!! YAY!!! WOW!!! Something to come home and brag to the neighbors about - we went to Italy ALL BY OURSELVES and got along FINE!! Kudos.<BR><BR>The thing about him not speaking a word of other languages bothers me, too. Who in their right mind spends as much time as he does in Europe without taking the trouble to learn a few phrases in ALL the languages of the countries he deals with and at least pronounce them somewhat recognizably? Sorry, Uncle Sam, but I consider it a sign of respect to speak the language of a country I'm visiting, and even when I've made quick trips to places like Greece and Turkey where I had NO background in the language, I at least spent the plane ride cramming. Not to do so is the first sign of an Ugly American, in my book.<BR>Sure, Rick was the first to make Europe a playground for middle-class America, and that's great. But he's such a dorky guy it's hard not to make fun of him. And yes, he has cast a pall over some hitherto lovely places by <BR>*discovering* them and then declaring them undiscovered. Lucky for me he hasn't even come close to my territory, and if he does, won't be welcome.

being

I have to admit, I do use Rick Steve's Guidebooks! I enjoy his shows, too! The last trip to Europe, I found lots and lots of people carrying his books. So, I decided on my game plan to enjoy my trips even more. I always buy his books to my planned destinations, review them thoroughly, find what cities and places he recommends, and then avoid them, so I don't have to put up with the additional tourists he has generated.

xxx

<BR>Susan, whatever your choices are in Europe, I am sure I would find them less than great.

Lynne

My niece and family ran into Rick at the<BR>Relais Bosquet last month; he was re-<BR>visiting his recommended hotels in Paris<BR>- so he is working for his living!<BR><BR>I think PBS takes advantage of all of<BR>us by continually repeating his old<BR>trips - those kids of his are probably<BR>out of college by now! Last year the<BR>Seattle PBS station tempted us with a<BR>more recent series - no 'head out the<BR>window/goofy look'.<BR><BR>He is a bit of a dweeb but although I<BR>don't use his books anymore I think he<BR>is well-intentioned and has helped a<BR>lot of people find there way to Europe<BR>- not a bad thing!

Lina

I personally think Rick probably speaks several languages fairly well, but the whole point of his videos is to show people that they can travel and interact with locals even if they know only English. If he came across as fluent in his videos, he would lose some of his following.

sera

I found his hotel suggestions helpful when I was younger and more of a budge traveler in europe. But his dining picks: ugh! I was never a fan of his advice to picnic and eat standing at a counter. Especially in Italy, a lot of the joy of traveling is having fabulous -- sit down -- meals. And you can do this cheaply if need be. I think he might have a problem with pleasure, come to think of it.

captb

Fairly interesting discussion on Rick! Let me add my two cents: We used his recommendations for a week in Alsace/Colmar, France last month and had mixed results. His recommended B&B "Maison Jund" turned out to be a "dump" - swaybacked bed and continually running toilet - we transferred to a Ibis Hotel a few blocks away. However, his restaurant suggestions were right on! Locals also recommended the same and we found them to both excellent and reasonable. <BR><BR>I must comment that we are long time budget travelers who were introduced to this style in 1969 Frommer's Europe on $5 a day!! We had a ball. <BR><BR>One observation: we noticed that by following both Frommers and Rick's "budget" suggestions that we met many Brit's and Europeans. Far fewer Americans. Rick's style is not for everyone but it does serve as an option for the budget and independent minded traveler.

Capo

These threads about Steves always amuse me, especially comments from food snobs like StomachAche who apparently feel it's impossible to get what *they* consider decent food at any Steves-recommended restaurant. <BR><BR>While, like any travel author, Steves undoubtedly would like people to buy, and use, his books, he never argues that one should use *only* his books as a travel resource, that he has the definitive answer on everything in Europe. <BR><BR>I've always used his books as one of many resources and have found them very worthwhile. On our trip to Italy & France this spring, we stayed in a wonderful full-of-character locanda in Siena, which was mentioned in his book, and we stayed in a nice private room in Vernazza, overlooking the harborside piazza, also in his book. And the hotel I stay at in Nice -- five times since 1994 including this most recent trip -- I also found in his book. <BR><BR>As for places to eat, we went to two places mentioned in his Italy book: an osteria in Siena, Osterna Nona Gina, which was one of our favorite places on our trip, and a funky little place called Filetti di Baccala, near Campo di Fiori in Rome, just to try a couple pieces of baccala (deep-fried cod) which, while certainly not gourmet food, were quite tasty.

xxx

It's funny for me to read these posts about how Rick Steves 'roughs it' too much, when I can't even afford most of the accomodations in his book. Some times I wonder why I come to this site at all; I am so sick of reading 'I NEED a five star,' 'please post your favorite LUXURY hotel in Paris,' etc, etc. Sorry, but sometimes it just sounds so spoiled and naive. No wonder the Europeans hate us.

lanugage barrier

For Lina above~~ No Rick actually makes a point of saying he does not speak any other language than English. Unfortunately I don't think he is incredibly fluent and just keeping it a secret to make us feel more confident. I find that to be an arrogant attitude.<BR><BR>By the way, I speak only English, but study Spanish and/or French before each trip to have a few phrases pulled together. AND I have the good sense to be embarrassed at my lack of education (most Europeans are at least bi-lingual from their basic schooling).

Ronda

Even Rick Steves says you should use other guidebooks such as Michelin. I always use RS as a starting point because he just seems to do an overview so well. Also look at his old tapes just to familiarize myself with where I am going.

nowhere

lol<BR><BR>i dont know who rick steves is <BR>i've never watched his shows <BR>i didnt even know he had a show <BR>and i've never read a book of his<BR><BR>but this tread is so funny !!<BR><BR>how yall argue 'bout if he's good or not, dorky or not [which i most definately think he'd be to be the way he seems to be], and the 80s t-shirt wearing thing, and the head out of the window while in a train.....<BR><BR>this guy sounds like someone i would make fun of <BR><BR>only thing though im gonna have to read at least on of his books and try to catch a show <BR><BR>but i was wondering how yall associate "wearing an 80s t-shirt with given reviews on places??" <BR><BR>how is it that what one wears affects any place ??<BR><BR>keep up the humor!!

Christina

Rick Steves is not remotely fluent, I don't think he speaks any foreign language at any level but a few words. Actually, I'm surprised he has not bothered or tried to learn a foreign language given his career is travel, but some people are terrible with languages and simply cannot learn (although I would think he could as his story says he used to be a piano teache which implies he could have a good ear for sounds). His French pronunciation is not very good so I know he's not fluent. Also, I commented one in a letter to him on his travelogue for Egypt, as I'd been there, he wanted comments from those who knew the place (I can't recall where he solicited these, perhaps his web site) -- and in this travelogue he got just a few basic words of Arabic wrong. I don't even know Arabic much at all, I only studied it a very little to travel there, but even I knew the few words he had were not correct. He just doesn't care about languages, I just don't think he's interested in learning very much.<BR><BR>I never had much opinion of him except I didn't like his guidebooks that much, as I didn't watch his TV show, but I recently picked up his Postcards from Europe book at the library and found some of his writing and behavior rather adolescent and misogynistic, and crass. I don't care for his writing style, that's true, but it wasn't just that. I really disliked some of it--the attitudes he expressed and the way he behaved. He talked about advising women to go to an Italian bar or restaurant where he knew the owner would physically grab or touch them uninvited and he didn't seem to even care or think what this guy was doing was wrong (he was not straightforward in telling the women what this guy's behavior was like, either, he claimed it was okay to continue to recommend this place as long as he used some euphemism, which wasn't even clear to me, as for how this guy would manhandle female tourists). I think he talked about stealing things in there and mooning people, also.<BR>

facts

Nowhere: It is "ya'll" not "yall"<BR><BR>I'm astonished Rick is worshipped around here as he is politically liberal as the day is long - which makes sense as he likes to tell others how to live!

more facts

It's y'all. Apostrophe substituting the "ou" in you and all.<BR><BR>Unless you really mean to shorten ya all. In which case ya'll would do.

a

Never saw his show, never read his guidebooks...but....as I am planning my first time trip to Europe, I have seen some good info on his website (grafitti wall...good (and some bad!) tips from posters), plus got his Eurail guide. That is a wonderful book...really helps compare passes vs. individual tickets. I've also read Fodors and Frommers guides, and asked everyone I know who has already been. I'm learning a lot, and don't really care if the guy wears a geeky shirt!

Rick's wife

Please stop bashing my husband and giving him fashion advice. I encourage him to go on as many trips as possible - do you think I want to be seen with him? Next thing you know he'll start wearing black, head to toe, and we'll have to start going out in public together.