The kindness of strangers in a strange land make the trip so much more memorable..... <BR>We were in Barcelona walking down La Ramblas late one hot afternoon when a well-dressed Spanish businessman waiting at the light with us asked if we were American. We said yes, and he said he had spent many enjoyable holidays in America and that he loved Americans. Then he invited us to come with him to his "little leather shop" so we could see behind the scenes of a typical Spanish business. He led us (me, my husband, and our two older teenage daughters) down a side street and into an unmarked building with an apparently empty ground floor and immediately into an elevator. Our family (all a little nervous) went with him trustingly. Well, the elevator opened into a huge area where workers were cutting and sewing and generally working with leather, making beautiful clothes and coats and purses. He took us all the way around, encouraging us to feel the leather and smell it, teaching us a lot about leather as we went (well-made and well-tanned leather has NO smell and feels almost like cashmere it is so soft, for instance). By then, his shop had closed and all but one worker had gone home, but he took us to his retail area and showed us the finished products, and told us that in the U.S. he sells mainly to shops on Rodeo Drive and in Chicago, and New York. Then, after spending over an hour with us, he handed us over to his assistant who let us out of the buiding. She gave us his business card, and through research, we found out later what an important man in Barcelone he is and how exclusive his shop is. We will never forget his kindness to us....in fact, we all remember this the most about our trip to Spain. <BR>Do any of you have any stories you can share with the rest of us about the kindness a stranger has shown you in Europe?

Have you seen the similarly-themed thread on the US forum? There are some wonderful stories, both in the US and elsewhere.

Hi Laura, <BR>I do occasionally think of an incident that occured when I was traveling back into Italy via train. I'd been in school there & gone on vacation in France & was returning to Milan to visit with one of my professors & his family, then leave to return to America. <BR> <BR>I shared a compartment with a nice older gentleman. He introduced himself & told me he had gone to Ventimiglia to check on his boat. (Turned out it was actually a yacht, by the photos he showed me!) He was a retired business owner, who had owned a small chain of appliance stores. He was going to sail all around Italy, starting in the Italian Riviera & ending up around Trieste or Venice. He was kind & friendly & asked me questions about my family, presents I purchased for them while in Italy, etc. We had a protracted, unexpected stop in one of the train stations along the way, as they added many more cars to the train. Along with many other passengers, we got out & began to converse with others, talking about our favorite foods & recipes. When we finally arrived in Milan it was late (I had reserved a hotel room & secured it with a credit card, so I was not worried)& Mr. Rossi made certain I got into my cab safely to get to my hotel. I really think this capped my time in Italy so nicely, and I enjoy the memory of the train trip with Mr. Rossi a lot. <BR>BC

Nothing life changing, but a nice turn from the suggestion that all Europeans are mean or snooty to US travelers: In Delft we exited the train station only to be confused by where down town was. There are maps in front of the station, at the bus terminal area. As we looked at the maps, a well ressed gentleman stopped to ask if he could help us (we of the casual clothes and hiking boots!)and directed us to where we needed to go. Not life or death, but just nice. I, myself, haven't always been that helpful.. . .

We recently had big car accident near Arezzo Italy the kindness of every Italian in conexion with this accident was amazing, we have no words to thank the citizens of Arezzo.

This is a another a small example of strangers going out of their way to help. A couple of years ago we were staying at a beautiful castello just outside of Florence, we were given a restaurant recommendation by the castello to try this new restaurant in one of the nearby towns. Well we armed ourselves with the address and set off on our way, of course after doing the 4 streets of the small town and missing the place every time, I wandered into one of the small shops and asked in my best broken Italian where I could find this restaurant. Well the shop keeper did not know, so she went to the shop next door and asked, they did not know either, the 2 of them with me in tow went to the neighbouring shop and asked them, same response, and repeated for 2 more shops. All the while leaving each of their shops empty! In the end there were 7 of us standing around scratching our heads in wonder. Well a friend of one of the shop keepers appeared and he knew, he lead me by the hand to the corner of the street and pointed half a block down! It was a new restaurant that only opened up the week before so that's why so many were in the dark. Upon entering we told the owner of the restaurant our journey to find his place, and he was glad that we persevered. In the end we were glad also, it was an amazing meal and as a token when we left he gave us a bottle of the wine he makes and a small bottle of his olive oil. Another reason we love Italy so!

So many, many instances of kindness...where to start? <BR>The Russian grandmother who took me by the arm to lead me to the flower shop that I was looking for. She chatted volubly all the way, evidently figuring that something should get through. <BR>Also in Russia, the bus driver who drove us to get a taxi after we realized we were in the wrong place at the end of the line, and the wonderful and charming Vitaly (second trip to Russia) who took us to see a medieval monks' cemetery and with whom we had terrific and intense conversations. <BR>In France, helpful folks on the street who came up to give directions when we were looking at maps (and evidently looking lost.) <BR>In Italy, the man at the subway station who stopped the escalator so my phobic friend could walk down to the station. (The escalator was the only way down, and she just can't do them.) It was lots of fun to communicate that one with no Italian! <BR>The whaleboat sailors in Iceland who lent their jackets when I passed out on the boat and who were so kind (if amused!) afterwards. <BR>And so many, many others: I just love to see the helpfulness and friendliness of people in so many, many places. We're a lot more alike than we are different, don't you think? <BR>

In 1995 I went to France and Italy solo for three weeks, my first time over the pond. My original intention was to be the romantic traveller, wandering around and not bother trying to communicate with other North Americans, only Europeans (although I do not speak a second language). Well, within two days of being in Paris, my first stop and ultimately my most desired destination at the time, I was very homesick and in dire need of english conversation. I was staying in a hotel which was lonely, but I also had just assumed that I would hear a lot of english spoken there and it wouldn't be "that" different. Well, I didn't know it at the time, but I was experiencing culture shock big time and was feeling very alienated. So, I went through my Let's Go guide and found an Irish pub called Finnegan's Wake in the Latin Quarter. I arrived in the evening on my third day and found an empty spot at the bar, but the place was humming with mainly French students from the Sorbonne. I happened to see an International Herald Tribune lying on the bar (an english newpaper) and stared reading it. Within ten minutes I hear somebody asking me if I were an American. I said "close, I'm Canadian". I told him I was from Edmonton and he looked at me and asked "Wayne Gretzky's old hockey team?". I couldn't believe he knew about Gretzky, who played his first ten years with the Edmonton Oilers (and won his only four championships) as Edmonton is a remote, North Ameriacan city that isn't really very popular. Anyway, as it turned out he was from Jersey and loved hockey too. He had married a Parisian lady, moved to Paris with her, got divorced and had stayed as an expat for the last six years. I also found out, like me, he was a guitar player and played in the pub's house band that was on the poster in the pub. He then invited me up to his flat on Rue de Monge that weekend to jam with him and his other flatmates, a Parisian and a Londoner. Talk about meeting the locals! As it turned out, I ended up spending a couple of nights on their kitchen floor, meeting many Parisians (I experienced the two-cheek kiss from many a beautiful woman - what a thrill!) and have friends for life for when I return (hopefully this September!) I was even offered to spend two weeks, for free, in thier flat for the rest of my trip but I needed to get to Rome for the final leg of my journey. The kindness of strangers....

A few years ago, I was racing across the street from the rail station in Padua to exchange money (the cashiers office in the station was closed) when I tripped and fell headlong in the middle of the busy intersection. My glasses, money,etc. went flying in all directions and I saw blood pouring out of my head onto the pavement. Three strangers helped me get up, picked up my glasses and change--gave me a package of kleenex and offered to escort me to the nearby cafe and call an ambulance. I thanked them profusely, but told them I was sure I would be all right and proceeded on to Verona. By the time I arrived, I was beginning to have second thoughts about receiving treatment and went to the tourist desk to see if I could get some first aid. The young woman behind the counter immediately ran out and came back with cold compresses, insisted on calling an ambulance and stayed with me, even though her shift was over. At the hospital,I received 7 stitches, got an x-ray and a tetanus shot-when I took out my credit card they looked puzzled and I was informed I owed nothing. When I arrived at my hotel, Barbara the woman at the tourist phoned and invited me to her home. I politely refused and invited her and her husband to vist me when they came to California. About four months later, I received a phone call from her husband telling me they were travelling to California and would love to stay with us. We met them at the airport, and they stayed with us and we had a delightful week. They explored San Diego during the day and in the evening we either went out or they cooked lovely Italian meals. We still keep in touch by e-mail and phone calls and they now have a beautiful little daughter. <BR> <BR>Not only Barbara and the three people who helped me in the street, but many others along the way went out of their way to show me incredible kindnesses.

in the summer of 1960 (back when the ice was melting) a friend and i, both recent architectural school graduates, attempted to visit an antonio gaudi building in a littlt town outside of barcelona. we, of course, couldn't find it without help. we walked into what i guess was the local town office and asked the functionary for directions. he indicated that a young boy (8 or so years old) would accompany us to the structure. he did so and we were impressed with the building, etc. when we brought the boy back to the office i attempted to give him some change "per un helado (sp?) (an ice cream). both he and the official adamently turned down all of our attempts to show our gratitude by any type of repayment. this spoke more of the wonderful spanish character than any other experience in that beautiful country.-

In May of 1994, on a trip in Provence, my girlfriend & I arrived fairly late in the town of Hyeres. We were winging it with accomodations so we didn't have a hotel room, and the tourist office was closed. As we were leaving the second hotel we looked at that didn't have any rooms available, we must've looked like we needed some help because an older couple stopped to talk to us. Problem was, our French was extremely minimal and they didn't speak any English. But then my girlfriend, who was fluent in Spanish, heard them say something in Spanish, picked up on it, and before I knew it, they were conversing away. Anyway, we got in our car and they ended up leading us to a nice hotel they knew of that had a room available. A little gesture that meant a lot to us! <BR> <BR>

Twice in Italy, 1999, we were having trouble understanding directions to our hotel and twice a person we didn't know got in their car and drove to the hotel while we followed. (drove like maniacs but it was the thought)

ttt

Like a poster above, Its hard to know where to begin. In Venice where a woman at a fruit stand held a day's budget all day as my wife had left without getting all of her change. In Florance where an elferly gentleman saw us with our bag on my shoulder stopped us to give us directions to the camp ground, where several gentlemen helped us find a laundromat (August where most were closed), In Rome where fellow campers put our stuff inside our tent when it started raining, in Nice in a Resturant where we received a very special meal from the owner with several extras at no charge, In many areas of Germany where I was invided into peoples homes many times, in Spain trying to get directions, etc. People can be wonderful everywhere. <BR>Cheers <BR>Art <BR>

Last year I arrived at Malpensa airport at 11:30 at night. My hotel was only ten minutes away and the website said they had a shuttle. Once I arrived I tried to call for the shuttle only to find out there was no shuttle. Trying to get a taxi was impossible. None of the taxis would take me there when they could get a longer fair to Milan. <BR>After an hour of trying to figure it out and feeling very tired after a long trip from the states, I found a secruity guard who I was hoping would help me communicate with the cab drivers. Instead he offered to drive me to the the hotel. He was getting off his shift, he explained and he lived in Gallarte, the town I was going to. I was hesitant and sensing this he said, "My father is a policeman!" I guess to prove he was trustworthy. I decided to take the risk. He couldn't have been nicer. And when we arrived at the hotel, he warned me about places that were safe and not safe. He took me into the lobby and like all the other helpful people refused to take any money. Every time I travel in Europe I meet people who are helpful like this. I think being more vulnerable traveling, makes us more open to assistance. Maybe that's why we ascribe helfulness to European culture instead of just human nature.

Late May my daughter and her traveling companion reached Windemere by train in the evening only to find the last bus to their destination in Keswick had departed. Overhearing their discussion about what to do next, an elderly gentleman offered them a lift, although he lived in a different little town in the Lake district of England.

Almost a year ago to the day my daughter and I were traveling in Italy and France. We felt like we had guardian angels everywhere. We delight in telling the stories about our trip and how kind the Italians and French were. Our favorite story is coming into Siena at 8:30 at night, we asked directions of a man and son outside a restaurant. They tried to explain and then just said follow us! They drove us to our hotel about 20 minutes away and then wanted to carry our luggage in! I am embarassed to say that I have never done that for anyone in the US. But now I take time to help people especially since I live in Sonoma, Ca and we have lots of tourists... Perhaps the kindness of strangers brings out the best in all of us....

I'll tell of only 2 but there are many more I could report! In paris, My husband was down with what I call 24 hour airplane flu, it was winter and so dark early. I went out to eat a short way from our hotel, I wwas seated in a bar-cafe type place , The waiter said they didn't start serving dinner till 7:30 but if I would be satisfied with a green salad and an omlelt ,HE would go fix it. It was the best omelet I have ever had. <BR>In the Lakes district during the floods last year, we were scheduled to drop off our car and take the traininto London for our last week. we stopped at the train station on the way back to our hotel the day before and were told there was no way to know if the trains would be running the next day. When we returned to hotel, we asked if our room would be available for another night if necessary. The receptionist said the owner would talk to us at dinner. He came by ,said, there was a better chance of getting a train in Crewe than windermere, and as he had to go to London himself the next day, he would drive us there and if neither of us could get a train then we would all drive to London together!. The hotel is Miller Howe in Windermere and it is wonderful in every way, especially the mimosa's at the bottom of the stairs before breakfast everyday and the sticky toffee pudding and Charles Garside.I almost forgot, he made arrangements for avis to pick our car up at the hotel so we didn't even have to worry about that

I do think that the leather shop owner who showed the original poster "kindness" just might have been trying to sell him a coat, no? <BR> <BR>That having been said, I have been the recipient of many kindnesses from strangers in my travels. Two incidents come to mind. <BR> <BR>My borrowed French car totally broke down at 1:00am. I had just arrived in France and hadn't had a chance to purchase a telecarte for the phone. The people at the bar in Tours let me use the phone to call a tow truck. I knew they were being charged for the calls. I offered money and they refused. <BR> <BR>Then in Nancy, I was trying to get to the Ecole de Nancy museum. It is out of town and not well signposted. Someone saw me fumbling with a map in my car and instructed me to follow him. He drove me right there. Now, if he could have just found me a parking place! <BR> <BR>As someone else has pointed out, those of us who live or work in heavily touristed areas should be sensitive to tourists in need of assistance. If I see someone fumbling around in the Metro in Washington, DC, I always stop and ask "Do you know where you are going?" A few weeks ago an Italian guy who spoke only Italian had a note that said, "I want to see the US Capitol" when he boarded the Metro. No one in the car spoke Italian, but one woman who knew a few words because she was an opera buff was able to sort of talk to him. Since we were changing at the same stop, I litterally pushed him up the escalator and pointed him in the right direction. The only thing was I told them it was two stops when it was three. I hope he got there.

Hi Lauren, <BR> <BR>Iknow what you mean, we thought that he would probably try to sell us something too, but, remember, his shop was closed when he took us to the retail department and when his assistant (his secretary) came in (from his office) and called us to come to her, she most definitely only wanted to let us out. There was no attempt by anyone to sell us anything. No, he was just a kind man who gave a family of visiting Americans an hour of his time freely and memories to last a lifetime.