Rome
 

My family and I spent 6 days in Rome over Easter. It was our first time there and we found the city to be beautiful. The pictures of “must-see sights” don’t give justice to the place. While we found the place quite interesting and awe-inspiring, we found the locals (at least I assume they are since they work there…restaurants, stores, police, etc.) to be the least friendly and helpful people. Comparing them of course to the other countries we visited in the past. If they don’t ignore you, they will roll their eyes and give a huge sigh when they face you. Several times we would ask for directions both in Italian and English and we always got the wrong directions or information. Some would even just wave us off. This happened too many times that we decided to start asking other tourists for directions. The funny thing is, not only were the tourists friendlier, they also gave better directions.

Prior to leaving for Rome, my wife and I tried our best to study Italian as we were told a little Italian goes a long way. It did not, at least for us. The locals in Rome, in more ways than one made us feel un-welcome. But, other than that, we loved the places we saw. But at the end of the 6 days, we were very much looking forward to leaving.

I know that we’ve only been to one city in Italy, i.e. Rome, we can’t help but wonder if the other cities are about the same.

Don’t get me wrong. Rome was beautiful. But the attitude of the locals kind of ruined part of the trip for us. We have since put off Venice, Florence, Sorrento, Positano in the back burner. We originally planned on visiting one or two of the places when we go back to Europe later this year. On the way back to the US, we have decided that we will visit Prague or Brussels or Paris instead.

Did anyone else here experience Rome the way we did? Rome is one of the most visited places in the world, but now, I am not sure if I will plan a return visit any time soon.

I'm sorry to hear that checkerspot. I wonder if the timing of your trip had anything to do with the attitude of the locals? From what I understand, Rome is overrun with tourists and pilgrims over Easter. Maybe it all just gets to be a little too much for the locals?

It has been 7 years since I was last in Rome, but I don't recall experiencing that type of behaviour.

I'm actually heading there again on Wednesday of this week, so I'll report back on my experience.

I used to work in Rome and visited the city several times as a normal tourist and each time, I found the Romans warm, welcoming, helpful and easy-going. Even if you do not find a common language, communication works well.

This is true, however, as long as you respect their lifestyle.

I must admit that I frequently observed that locals treated tourists rudely, and I must add, it were mostly Americans who suffered from unfriendliness, probably because the cultural differences are greater between continents than on a continent.

Take a restaurant: a problematic situation typically occurs like this:

1) Dressing. People arrive, obviously dressed as tourists. To be sure, tourists can be decently dressed: jeans, sneakers, t-shirts are okay. But Italians are stylish: This means, matching colors, fitting jeans, fancy shirts. If a tourists appears who is dressed lousily, this is regarded as an insult to people who dress properly.

I know from countless threads in this forum that many people from American find it hard to understand this. If we Europeans try give tips how you dress properly, somebody immediately screams "fashion police"! Or often I read: "Europeans tell us not to wear white tennis shoes. But I have seen thousands of Italians wearing sneakers." Yes, they wear sneakers, but stylish sneakers which match with the rest of the cloth. Many tourists do not even recognize the difference.

2) Language. People arrive and naturally address the maitre d' in English. They DEMAND that the locals learn their language. This is also often considered offensive. It is not necessary to learn Italian when you visit Italy. But a few easy phrases like "bon giorno" will conjure a smile on the lips of the locals.

3) Eating outside. Someone who wants to eat his/her lunch outside in the burning sun is considered a lunatic. The locals eat inside.

4) Eating. A proper Italian meal consists of four courses. Period. And if you do not order four courses (you may skip dessert) you do not get a proper amount of vitamins, carbohydrates and protein. If someone orders just pasta, you are considered as an ignorant nickel nurser and treated accordingly. I observed countless Americans saying "I cannot eat four courses, it is too much for me" and who were deeply disappointed by the meagre pasta dish which they were served. And at home, they sais "at the Holiday Inn, we got wonderful Italian food". Well, the Holiday Inn Rome serves American food, Italian style, not Italian food.

Or: Ordering pizza for dinner. In Rome, pizza is a SNACK, a kind of sandwich, not a full meal. Romans never have pizza for dinner.

5) Drinking. A glass of decent wine belongs to a good meal. If you order wine, you show that you are connaisseur. Do not order internationally well-known wines from other regions. The best thing is to ask the sommelier for a good regional wine. He will be proud to serve you a good wine at reasonable cost.

6) Tipping. Strangely, if you overtip, the waiter will frown at you, because you show that you are ignorant. A connaisseur tips properly, but he smiles at the waiter and shows his appreciation. (I blamed Americans, but the Russians are treated worst in Europe BECAUSE they tend to overtip.)

It always helps if you try to understand the culture of the country you are travelling. BTW, how are European tourists treated when they travel the USA and do not respect the codes and regulations? (They might even land in jail!!!)

My husband and I spent almost a week in Rome last year and our experiences could not have been a greater contrast to yours, checkerspot.

We found almost everyone helpful and had some special interactions with some Romans that will stay in my memory for ever.

Just some examples......

We ate in a small family owned restaurant twice and since we loved the food so much went back for a third time.The friendly waiter with whom we had chatted was just ending his shift and leaving on his motorbike. On seeing us,he stopped, turned around in the narrow alley and returned to shake our hands and wish us a happy return journey home.

In another restaurant we were given a free desert of stunning little new season's strawberries (for four!) when we mentioned how flavourful we found Italian fruit.

A taxi driver we met at the airport was wonderful and later came back to the hotel and left us a computer printout about a particular artist I had mentioned - unsolicited and without waiting for a tip.

In a clothing store my friend was describing my two son's height (6'6" and 6'4") to the store attendent who had laughingly asked why I kept enquiring about larger sized men's shirts. On hearing we were from Melbourne, Australia, where many Italians immigrated after the Second World War, he could not have gone to more trouble to find the right size and we had a fascinating talk about our two countries.

whilst I was purchasing a leather coat in a small store, the owner, who spoke perfect English, helped me instantly find a coat to fit my very tall and curvy figure.He gave my husband and I a little tour of his shop , helped us with directions, complimented our extremely rudimentary Italian and was so charming.

So, our experince made Rome our next favourite city to Paris and I think the Romans I met were wonderful!

I believe that most of the time you harvest what you sow.
Sometimes some people are really nasty and hopeless, they will be unpleasant no matter what you do but I tend to agree with Libretto , I also have had many lovely experiences with locals in Rome.
However I wish to say that Hollywood has portraited a simplistic image of Italians shouting and gesticulating like crazy that is misleading and I believe, contributes to many misunderstandings.

my 2 cents:

6 days over Easter in Rome is asking for trouble. Imagine a city overrun by hordes of pious and not-so-pious pilgrims. The locals have been accosted by tourists asking them questions in all kinds of language from Armenian to Tagalog.

No wonder they will get exhausted and their friendliness evaporates. My advice: try another season and go back at your leisure. You will find an altogether different city.

razzer7

I'm sorry you had that experience, checkerspot. I have never had that problem, either. Consider giving it another chance.

While traveller 1959 is right about respecting their culture, I don't agree with everything he says.

In the last 2-1/2 years, I've been fortunate enough to spend 38 days in Rome (and 56 total in Italy), and I've never had a waiter seem to think it strange or offensive or ignorant to order only two courses at dinner. And I've certainly seen Italians eating pizza for dinner!

Of course Romans eat pizza for dinner..many of the local pizza places are only open at night!

Traveller1959: Just curious..where are you from originally and where do you live now?

We had a great time in Rome and everyone was polite to us, but we did meet many rude people in Cortona. One man went so far as to push my 4 year old niece out of the way. PLEASE!
I think it's because they've been overrun with tourists- I'm sure I wouldn't like it.

The comments about Americans struck me because of advice I received last night. We are leaving next week for Italy, and it was suggested that I bring Canadian money with me, not American. I'm not sure how I am supposed to display that money (lol), but the meaning was clear - better to let the Italians think you are Canadian than American.

I do understand the comments about how tourists dress, and certainly there is no excuse for sloppy looking clothes, but the miles of walking that tourists do daily definitely call for comfortable shoes, and for many people that means sneakers. Mine are gray - does that make them less 'touristy' than white ones? :-)

Who ever told you to pass for a Canadian is wrong. I am an American , Italian American and I can only explain what you were told as a part of the present wave that enjoys putting down America, saying anything, ANYTHING as long as it puts America in the guilty seat. There are more than 200.000 tumbs of American soldiers that died in Italy fighting to liberate Italy from the nazis and I do not think Italians have forgotten this. Unfortunately the general trend in some parts of our society is to put us down,having the nerve to equate America let us say with Hitler or Stalin....showing a total ignorance and lack of historical perspective.
I read a wonderful article by Mark Styen recalling that the song God Bless America is followed by the words Land that I love, the author Irving Berlin, a jew who did not always had a pinky life in the US, had lived in the URSS when a boy so in spite of any setback he might have had he could tell the difference between loving and not loving America. May be now too many had it so good that are capable of saying that nonsense as taking Canadian money to Ezurope. Sad.

ekscrunchy: We are Americans. We live in San Francisco. But we are of Filipino decent.

all: thanks for the reply but prior to leaving we researched how to behave and tried to be "as un-American and as un-touristy" as possible. We have travelled enough to know and understand not to expect cultures of other countries to be the same as the American culture we are used to. We try to adapt everywhere we go and not to even demand anything. As far as clothing, we prepared for it. While it was casual, we did not wear jeans at all. We only brought slacks and our shows were not even sneakers, we brought ecco walking shoes which I thought was stylish enough and went well with our pants and the tops we wore all had collars. I personally wore long sleeves (calvin kleins and lacostes ---not the blinding color ones). I thought we matched every single day.

I did observe other tourists as getting smiles from people. In fact come to think of it, there was even an American couple that was rude to a waiter in one of the restaurants we ate at and they went out of their way to please them and totally ignored us. I would smile and great but never got a smile back, except from other tourists. I spoke to some friends about this and they had a theory which I thought was sad. Being that we are of Filipino decent, we may be been mis-construed as housemaids or helps by Italians. You see, a great number of Filipinos unfortunately are household helps there. I am trying not to consider this theory because I have never experienced this in other countries, albeit, not that many, we have been to...UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong...

But then again, I suppose there is a first time for everything. Maybe also that it was Easter and that it was just a coinsidence that by the time they interacted with us they were already in a bad mood or something...we still enjoyed it though...

Sorry I meant MARK STEYN and also TOMBS instead of
TUMBS...sorry about that....

BTW, I agree with Graziella5b, while I did say act un-American, I will never deny that I am American. I love being American. Besides, wherever we go, when we open our mouths we always get this questions, "so, what part of the US are you from?". But like a good traveller, we don't expect much from people of the places we visit, just common courtesy and a smile back. That's all. Rome sadly we felt we missed their hospitality.

checkerspot,

I hate to say it, but it may be prejudice on the part of the Romans. We knew an Italian man who worked as a sommelier at an upscale restaurant chain here in CA who married a Filpina and moved back to Rome. She hated it because people were very rude to her. She was an airline stewardess who had traveled all over the world. After a year she insisted on moving back to the US. The argument basically broke up their marriage.

Checkerspot: I am sad to say, I think you have guessed correctly. There is a lot of casual racism in Italy (read Donna Leon). Though I was not, members of my extended family were born in Italy and when we lived there SOME of the native Romans and Venezians would say the most dreadful things, quite 'off the cuff' about those who were black, Romany or Asian. They are not (yet) accustomed to the increasing ethnicity of their own country and tend to treat tourists of different skin colours rather badly.

Please, do not mis-construe this to mean that ALL Italians are prejudiced. There are amany that ared more enlightened and there is a lot of education happening. But the prejudice is deeply felt by others.

This is the darker side of an otherwise beautiful country.

"There is a lot of casual racism in Italy"


I have heard a taxi driver in Rome say derogatory remarks about Africans in that city.
I have heard much worst said about African - Americans by my friends family from Detroit.
Racism is alive and well in many places on this planet!

I think you were there during a very very busy time and the folks who were less than sweet and warm to you were experiencing extreme tourist fatique. I felt the same way while shopping on Fifth Avenue in New York City. We were there last summer on a normal summer afternoon. The stores were PACKED....long waits for dressing rooms at stores....and this was not a holiday or a weekend. The employees have to deal with hoardes of shoppers all day-every day. Many of them were cold or even rude (even at the Disney store!). While I would have preferred that they be nice to me, I certainly wouldn't want their jobs!!!

One more thing. Try this experiment: Ask a worker at your local McDonald's or Walmart for directions somewhere. There's a good chance they won't know. I've called stores before and asked an employee what exit I would take from the highway to get there, and they often have no idea. I happen to work right downtown in my city, so I know where most of the popular destinations are, but I bet most of the people in my neighborhood could not give you directions to the local art musuem or symphony hall.

I've been to several European cities and found people friendly and honest everywhere I've been, with two exceptions -- Prague and Rome. In the latter city, I was among other things screamed at by a tobacconist who refused to sell bus tickets (even though these shops were supposed to do so when I went), had a bank employee try pulling a blatant rip off scam when I tried to change money, and had some merchants try to short change me. Reluctantly, I'd have to echo your disenchantment with some of Rome's locals.

I'm sorry you were treated poorly in Rome. We were in Rome on three different days earlier this month, and while we encountered some gruffness and a taxi driver scam, we also experienced an act of random kindness:

We had just walked through the Trastevere neighborhood. It was refreshing to be in this relatively car-free medieval district. We stopped at Santa Maria in Trastevere and enjoyed the mosaics. As we approached Viale di Trastevere, we decided to take the “H” bus back to Termini (to catch the train to Palestrina). After finding the nearest bus stop, a women walked up to us and patiently explained to us (in Italian) that the “H” bus did not stop there. A nearby newsstand worker overhead the conversation and told us that the next “H” bus stop was at the Tiber river

Checkerspot -- when I read your first post I wondered about your ethnic identity... I am also Asian-American and have had similar experiences in Europe. I still remember the first time I went to Italy in 1995 -- my parents and I would walk through the narrow streets of Venice and people would say "Konichiwa" -- they thought we were Japanese because 99% of the Asians who travelled through Venice were from Japan. The LAST thing they would have suspected was that we were American.

I'm sorry you had unpleasant experiences in Rome on your recent visit and I hope you'll visit Italy again. I've had some of the kindest people help me in Italy and some of the rudest people spurn me -- take heart and know that not everyone is rude.

Traveller1959 -- I must humbly disagree with a few of your points. I recently visited Roman friends in Rome. We did not order four courses at every meal and one night we ate pizza for dinner. Italians do not eat four courses at every meal -- that would be madness! How do you think they stay so thin?!

butnotrmpt -- I sincerely hope you do NOT attempt to "let the Italians think you are Canadian than American." As the American wife of an American diplomat, no words are more horrifying to me!!! Why on EARTH would you pretend to be Canadian?! There is NOTHING shameful about being Ameridan. There are only some (few) shameful Americans. If you are a polite, respectful, interested, engaged tourist, WHY would you want to give all that credit to the Canadians???

petitepois - I was only relating advice that had been given to me as far as passing myself off as Canadian. I agree that if we behave as respectful, quiet, polite tourists, that could reflect well on our country. The problem, in my mind, is twofold. There are too many Americans whose behavior is embarrassing - they are loud, demanding, and do not respect the traditions of the area they are visiting. And unfortunately, these days, our country does not reflect well on us, and I fear that when traveling abroad, we reap the consequences of that. That, of course, is a political viewpoint, but I feel that it deserves a place in this thread, since the actions of our country have a lot to do with what people elsewhere think of us.

Those that disagree - do not throw brickbats at me - I'm just expressing an opinion.

butnotrmpt,

I agree with you and feel the same way.

checkerspot,
Prejudice is an ugly thing and I have seen it here in our own country many times. I truly hope that was not the case in Rome and rather that you just caught the locals at a bad time.

We traveled to London last year and found a lot of food servers that were not very helpful or pleasant. But then I noticed that the service was good in the nice restaurants. And that is the key... The people in the fast food places were in an expensive city, hardly making any money in a dead-end job. And it seemed most of them were not English. The same thing is true in America - we are almost surprised when we get superior service in a mid-range restaurant, because the waiters do not plan to make a career of it. And what about our fast-food servers? They are often not the most pleasant people.

BTW, I'm going to Rome in May and I also was told to think about passing myself off as a Canadian.

I dont know why anyone want to pass for a citizen of another country.

Are you ashamed to be an American? America I presume is your place of birth and you should be proud to say: I Am an American.

As for the rudes people that checkerspot have encountered while visiting Rome; they probably were themselves foreigners from Balkanic or Eastern countries that immigrated to Italy.

As for racism I live in the US and believe me I truly see everyday what the word Racism meant.

Hi checkerspot,

I do sympathise with your disappointment at the lack of warmth you found in Rome - whatever caused it, it's a shame that it's dissuading you from visiting the rest of Italy.

we just got back from Venice and I urge you to reconsider, at least where that city is concerned - frankly the water is getting so high it may not last much longer!

regards, ann

I am Italian and have been living in Rome for the past 22 years. Before I lived in London. When I first came here I thought the Romans were incredibly rude except to each other. Slowly I learnt to differentiate and interpret their behaviour. Sometimes rudeness and agressiveness are a part of a comedy show: you have to learn the slang and laugh with them. Sometimes rudeness comes from exasperation - too many tourists, too many crowds. Sometimes it is the tourists who deserve it (I saw a girl take off her sweaty shoes at a restaurant while we were eating and put her smelly feet on the chair!). Sometimes it is ignorance and lack of familiarity with people from different cultures.You used the term "casual raciscm" - it is often just that. Romans will use the word filipino to refer to their cleaner irrespective of where they come from. If you tell them off they don't see anything wrong with it. It's like joking about women drivers. Political correctness is still an alien concept. This can be frustrating but often there is no real racism intended. Immigration in Italy is still a relatively recent phenomenon as is tourism from Asia and Africa.
We will learn! Meanwhile don't be put off and do come again...preferably not at Easter!

Hi Checkerspot:

I'm sorry to hear about your negative experience in Rome. I've not had the same experience and maybe it is as some have said in terms of ethnic insensitivity. What blows my mind is the suggestion that to avoid negative comments from Romans is to masquerade as Canadians. I've read posts about sewing Canadian flags on backpacks, now about carrying Canadian dollars, what's next. Let's just say that we are from planet Earth and treat everyone with dignity.

Well said carrom, I agree with you 100%.

Hi checkerspot,
I totally agree with your observations, and yet, we are planning another trip, more of an educational for our little one. 3 yrs ago, we were in Rome. I thought, knowing a little Spanish and Latin will help. It does not help at all. Italians are naturally fast with speech, and I think goes with it is their impatience. They are directionally challenged as well. After our trip to Rome that year, I have said that I'd rather be lost in New York than anywhere else in the world. I am not saying this to make one race better than the other. We'll just have to understand. And that is true!
While in Rome, other tourists were complaining about the locals' rudeness, and all the other observations said in this thread. We met these tourists at the hop on hop off stops, and I guess, they found comfort in relating their experiences to us. One group was from Amsterdam, and another couple from London.
The concierge in our hotel was not much help either. And it is a 4 1/2 star hotel. So then, we just shugged it off. Everymorning, for breakfast, we'd be greeted by the maitre'd and seated politely. There was a group of Asian tourists staying at that time in our hotel. What we noticed is that they were litterally commandeered by the maitre'd every morning to move there, move here. We were as Asian looking as all the tourists, and yet we were treated well. The last breakfast,we were let in and the other groups were shooed away, saying the restaurant wasn't ready yet. There was a group of Caucasians that were let in like us. I thought that maybe, we have notified the concierge that we have an early flight. We felt uneasy that we cannot do anything about that. Going down to the lobby, I heard the Caucasians were Americans and were complaining about how the maitre'd has treated the other hotel guests. I said, only an American will stand up for the rights of others. Shame on me, that I enjoyed the comfort of being treated well while they did not treat the others right.
On another light, going home, we ordered for airport service. The driver, the moment he learned we were Americans, he started saying "Oh I love America! Please tell all Americans we love them!' He went on almost bowing to us.
Also, the night before we left, we were around the Trevi area. My husband wanted to buy something from a grocery store. Of course, we asked, and as expected, the usual throw of hand towards the direction and some non-understandable Italian. We followed the wave of his hand down the street. When we found the store, as we entered, we saw the man actually followed us to see to it that we found it safe. After that, my husband said, he likes the people and could understand them now. We still could not understand the maitre'd though.
And yes, I've been lost in New York, and people are so willing to help, despite the rush to work.

will people ever get over the idea that just because one is a tourist ( and cannot speak a word of their language) all ordinary, working , NOT on holidays Italians, French , Spaniards e.t.c, should just drop everything, put a smile on their face and explain for a hundred and first time how to get to ......

We generally found the Italian people to be warm, gracious and helpful to us in Rome, Venice, Sorrento, Positano, Verona and Capri.

I have been treated much more rudely by employees of Wal-Mart here in the US.

checkerspot,

I'm an African American woman in my mid 20s and , I encountered treatment similar to the experiences you've described when I spent 8 weeks in Europe after graduating from college. In contrast to many young travelers, we stayed in 3 - 4 star hotels, as opposed to hostels and treated ourselves to great food. I think we surprised people not only by our skin color, but also by the places they encountered us. Although our experience in Rome (and to a lesser extent Venice) was bad, we were ultimately happy that we pressed onward through Italy as our experiences improved in many of the other cities (I LOVED Florence) and overall the good definitely outweighed the bad. I actually made a separate trip back to Rome and Amalfi for two weeks two years ago and had a VASTLY different experience. Everyone was helpful and accommodating, even in Capri where we stayed for a week and were braced for the worst. At the end of the day, these are all fabulous places and definitely not worth missing out on (I'm actually taking my mom back for 2 more weeks in Sept!). I'd say arm yourself with as much info as you can before you go and make the best of it. You're probably just as likely to get the same surly responses in [fill in the blank] US city so why not go and see something new.

On a somewhat related note, I've also traveled alone in Asia and I was a spectacle, to say the least. What I've learned is to remember that if I'm going to travel, I'll probably stick out and to walk with thick skin and a smile. :)

-D

Thank you fellow fodorites for your responses to this thread albeit good or bad. Travelling for our family is fun no matter what risks it entails. The mere fact that we willingly place ourselves in foreign soil should already be enough explanation. It should already be screaming, "We are here to learn your way of life, your culture, your language, your imperfections and tolerance." We always travel with our 2 young kids to not only show them the good and the bad but more importantly to show them how diverse this world that we ALL live in really is. Racism indeed is everywhere but it will never stop us from being what we are. We are very proud of being Filipino Americans and are very comfortable in our skin. No, Danon,we do not expect locals to cater to us for being "tourists" but are well travelled enough to make comparisons of how people have treated us from one country to another. It is what it is. Just like one of the responders here said, you harvest what you sow. Using that very same cliche, when we encounter tourists in our restaurant (by the way it is a French restaurant), we go out of our way to make them feel welcome knowing that as fellow travellers, we know that it is such a big honor to serve these people to come out all the way to our "neck of the woods" just to learn our culture. That, to me is humbling. I can only hope to get the same treatment but I NEVER demand it. As I've said, we have very low expectations, a simple smile or nod would do. Life is too short to dwell only on the bad aspects of it. On a positive note (because for me, there is always at least one), we have already booked our next trip to Europe in a few months time. Believe me, we hold no grudge just memories......

So sorry to hear about the rudeness you encountered in my fav city. I returned from Ireland last Sunday & we experienced extreme rudeness & racism--in Galway & Dublin. Would I return? Of course not! I'll spend my money in countries that are kind & respectful to my family, friends, & me.

fabrioano, I don' know what you experienced in Ireland, but it is not a COUNTRY that is disrespectful - just some individuals .
I encountered a rude person in Copenhagen ( are Danish people rude ? don't think so) but she perhaps had something more urgent on her mind than giving me directions in English.
Several people in New York were rather unpleasant - that hardly reflects on the US as a country or Americans as people.
Traveling is often stressful ( and expensive), we all hope it to be a
wonderful experience, but if we keep in mind it is only individuals we encounter ( same as in our hometowns) we might be a bit more forgiving and not paint all with the same brush.

This has been around for a few years, but interesting anyway:

So says the Mirror...

BRITS are the rudest, worst behaved and least adventurous holidaymakers in the world - and Germans the best.

Tourist offices placed us (Great Britain) at the bottom of 24 countries, a survey said yesterday.

In contrast those sunbed bandits from Germany ranked highest for behaviour and their attempts to speak the local language. Dermot Halpin, boss of online travel service Expedia which conducted the survey, said: "Much as it pains me to say it, the Germans deserve the best sunbeds.

"British holidaymakers are some of the most widely travelled in the world. But that doesn't mean we're good at it." Expedia questioned tourist offices in 17 popular destinations worldwide. Britons were worst for rudeness, followed by Russians and Canadians.

They were also worst for their behaviour, learning the language and enthusiasm to try local delicacies.

Next on the bottom of the list were the Israelis, Irish and Indians. At the top, the Germans were followed by Americans, Japanese, Italians and French.

Americans were the most polite and Italians the most adventurous eaters.

I think the Mirror's polling results are just weird. Rude Brits and Canadians? That certainly hasn't been my experience. Maybe it has something to do with the Mirror's distinction between rudeness and impoliteness, which in my dictionary mean almost the same thing.

Italians are adventurous eaters? If they are so adventurous, why is it so rare to find good food of other cultures/countries in Italy?