Judy

Hi Kavey! I agree with Sallymae, do look at Target's "lingerie". In fact, their brand, "Gilligan and O'Malley's" has some of the nicest bras around IMO, at very reasonable prices.... better than some very pricey brands! <BR>Or as we in the know people say, "tarjay" &lt;g&gt; Judy ;-)

Paul

Egg-Growing up in Northern Ireland, I never realized the extent to which news coming out of our tiny corner of the world was massaged and changed and blatantly censored until I left to go to university in England, and then to America to work. It was a big shock for me. I also truly hated how the British government could and did censor books. The whole Spy Catcher thing as absolutely ridiculous. No one would have bought that boring, poorly written book if it hadn't been banned. <BR> <BR>My main complaint with the US press is the lack of coverage of stories that occur outside the country's borders, and the reporters don't always seem to have an indepth understanding of the issues. <BR> <BR>On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal is most definitely a national newspaper (and covers a lot more than just business), and it has a much different slant than say, the Washington Post, which has a different viewpoint than the NY Times or LA Times. And at least here the sports media doesn't spend the entire off-season making up lies about what team is buying who!

elvira

Kavey, you reminded me of a wonderful story about one of the Loons who lived in France for a couple of years. She went into a store in Paris to buy a bra; she is of - ahem - ample proportions. The clerk took one look at her and said "you will have to go to Germany to buy a brassiere". <BR>This, of course, has become the bywords of our interaction with her "could I have some more wine?" "no, you will have to go to Germany"

MED

About four years ago my then french teacher (who is originally from Brittany) said that all her french friends enjoyed american steaks more than anything.

JOdy

PAUL AND EGG. <BR>As an American I could not agree with you more. we suffer from a lack of perspective in our newspapers. If it weren't for the internet and all the info available there I would really feel out of the loop! <BR>We discontinued our local paper a few months ago, after 2 weeks they called and asked why. My husband told them it was "right wing biased, inaccurate, and illiterate, poorly written", they said " I guess you don't want to resubscribe??" I can pick up the ads at the local grocery store. The NYX is delivered to our home, London times and Man. Guard. , wash post, christian Sci. Mon all available on internet and we do get the BBC neews on public TV , so we have a wider outlook than the local press can provide.

JB

Reading these have been great! I am an American who worked for a British Company for 6 years and had lots of opportunities to ask the same question. My favorite answer was, from one of my British friends, he LOVED the kosher pickles that we serve with sandwiches and the Free Coke Refills at restaurants! I thought that was so funny - until I realized what my favorite British thing was - which is tuna and white corn sandwiches!

egg

Jody and Paul: <BR>That's the great thing about the Internet isn't it? It's very difficult for any government to hide things. I hope lessons have been learned from that silly Spycatcher thing. I just got a copy from the States like thousands of other people. <BR>I have to agree that what attracts me to the US is the scenery. Apart from New York Boston and San Francisco, the towns do not attract me. When I first visited the country, I had never seen a desert and was keen to see one. <BR>After seeing the Navada Desert, the Arizona Desert, the Mohave Desert and the Painted Desert I was rather overdeserted. <BR>Although as in most countries there are people in the USA who are pretty revolting, INHO a nice educated liberal American is superior to most people in the world.

Michelle

I like the friendliness and open mindedness of Americans. I like the fact you judge a person on their merits rather than categorize them by the place they were born or their accent etc. I like your energy and "go-getedness" I like your manners (which, in my experience, are normally excellent). <BR> <BR>I like your bagels, your re-fill coffee policy and your breakfast chefs who know 3.5 million ways to cook an egg. <BR> <BR>I don't like having to make important decisions about eggs first thing in the morning - but hey, no nation is perfect, right? <BR> <BR>

ruth

Love about the USA: <BR>National Parks <BR>Courtesey and friendliness <BR>Caesar salad <BR>Cheap and good quality bedding, towels and t shirts <BR>Whales and sea otters and bears and moose.(in the wild!) <BR>Cheap gas <BR>Large expanses of protected wilderness (please don't spoil it Mr. Bush) <BR>Clean streets (believe me your city streets are litter free compared to London) <BR>Crispy bacon <BR>Friends and the West Wing <BR> <BR>Things I'm not sure about: <BR>Sea world <BR>Serving salad before the entree <BR>Waiters clearing tables before everyone has finished <BR>Hardly any world news on the television <BR>Guns

Kavey

Ruth, your list is spot on, both the like and dislikes! <BR> <BR>Elvira, thats a good one, can you imagine this little exodus of ample french women pootling over to Germany for bras and then back! Very practical!! Tee hee... <BR> <BR>I am not even that ample really, well I dont think so, US size 18... but in UK all bras of that size are constructed like the Eiffel tower... <BR> <BR>Is there a "tarjay" (target) in or near San Francisco? <BR> <BR>Kavey

Duane

Kavey, <BR> <BR>You can go to Target.com and look for stores in the San Francisco area. Apparently, there are no stores right in San Francisco, but there are tons in the suburbs. Here's the closest three (3): <BR> <BR>"3 Closest Locations within 200 miles <BR> <BR> <BR> Colma Greatland Target <BR>5001 Junipero Serra Blvd , Colma, CA 94014 USA <BR>Phone: (650) 992-8433 <BR>Hours: Mon-Sat 8am to 11pm Sun 8am to 10pm <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> Tanforan Target <BR>1150 El Camino Real , San Bruno, CA 94066 USA <BR>Phone: (650) 827-0171 <BR>Hours: 7 days a week 8am to 10pm <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> El Cerrito Target <BR>11450 San Pablo Ave , El Cerrito, CA 94530 USA <BR>Phone: (510) 237-6400 <BR>Hours: 7 days a week 8am to 10pm" <BR> <BR> <BR>

sharon

Kavey, <BR>You can stop at the Target in Novato on your way up to Healdsburg. It is the easiest one to get to based upon your itinerary... and it is a really nice one... with plenty of parking and easy on off ramps for Hwy 101. <BR> <BR>Look forward to seeing you in July!

Kavey

Thanks Duane and Sharon... <BR> <BR>I love this board... I love the way a conversation about what we Europeans love about America wanders off on a tangent about bras, and provides me some wonderful tailor made advice on bra shops in San Fran area...! <BR> <BR>Also like the big cars (but only for holidays) and also those little green aliens from Toy Story (well, they ARE American) <BR> <BR>I have been chosen <BR>The claw is my master <BR>Ooooooooooooooooh <BR>

John

Well said, Kavey, but Americans have got a lot of catching up to do in order even to approach the Great Master, Basil Fawlty.

Judy

Kavey and All, Never let it be said we are not "uplifting", on this forum, yes? ;-)Judy

Kathy

Buxom women of Fodor's, UNITE!!!! <BR> <BR>Kavey, I hope you have a wonderful time & when you come to the states, check out another great store called Mervyn's. They have an excellent selection of lingerie for the Junoesque, and often have sales, and even the regular prices are very good. <BR>Kathy

xxx

My English friend and her extended family visited Disney World last year, and unfortunately her father began experiencing symptoms of a heart attack while in Florida. They took him to the hospital, and my friend was amazed at the size, cleanliness and modernity of the hospital. According to her , U.S. hospitals have more equipment and treatments than those in the U.K. But as we Americans know, the only trouble is accessing all that modern medicine through HMOs!

clairobscur

<BR>Since, I never crossed the pond, I can't really answer to the original question. However, I could say why could want, a priori, to go to north america : <BR> <BR>-In Canada (Quebec, more exactly) to meet people (For one, it should be quite easy to communicate, and more important, I have some friends there I met in Paris but never visited...also Quebec-city seems to be quite charming) <BR> <BR>-In the USA for the landscape and national parks (not that much fond of modern cities, so I imagine I could skip New-York and SF)...and the cajun cuisine. <BR> <BR>-In Mexico for the aztec monuments.

britabroad

I just love American diners. There's nothing that compares in Europe.

pin

I have been to many cities at U.S. <BR>Texians are different than New Yorkers, southern and northerns are different. Every city is like one country. But I love the system it is always same in everywhere. There is not much surprise! Although every state has different principles (rules..whatever) more or less they are protecting the standarts. Everything looks in shape, clean, tidy not much chaos. <BR>Americans look very friendly. they can talk, chat, smile anytime anywhere. (not deep conversations) They can say hello, excuse me anytime. -it is unusual for me- <BR> <BR>Generilazation is very hard. I mean I cant say this is the reason that europeans's love about America. And of course the answers are probably differing according to one's nationality. You can not still say all Europeans are same. We do have different characters and different life styles. These are what I feel about America and I love to be there. <BR> <BR>This is not a very easy question I must say. It can be a thesis subject.