What's the strangest thing you've seen in Europe?
May 3rd, 1999, 09:47 PM
#41
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Sorry Cheryl, I think you left off a key word. I think the signs usually say, you are now entering an apple maggot INFESTATION area. They are the little ole "bole-weavles" of the apple industry. <BR> <BR>How about four people on a bicycle, one with a suitcase, going down a cobblestone street? <BR>
May 4th, 1999, 04:45 AM
#42
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I was hoping someone else would mention something similar earlier to save me the embarrassment, but the strangest thing I ever saw in Europe was on a subway in Paris. The time: about 7 p.m., just after rush hour. The line: Nr. 6 between Passy and Kleber. <BR> <BR>On a subway car with perhaps 15 patrons, a twenty-something woman glances around, sees that everything is as she apparently wants it to be, and then begins pulling clothes out of a straw bag. She then disrobes, an item of clothing at a time, and changes outfits. Total time elapsed: under two minutes. She gets off at the Kleber metro station (as do we), leaving us to ponder if this is a nightly ritual or just one of those things. <BR> <BR>Regarding Nutella: we first saw it in Germany where it was served at breakfast, and have been spreading it on bread ever since. ( It is readily available in any east coast suprmarket.) Another breakfast habit,this one picked up in Greece, is yogurt with a large dollop of honey. Delicious!
May 6th, 1999, 11:55 PM
#43
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Maira: I thought it was the US which was one of the few countries in the world still not on the metric system. By the way, in Australia, NZ, Japan and Singapore we also drive on the "other" side of the road. I think it's the individuality of countries that makes them interesting.
May 7th, 1999, 08:18 AM
#44
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Too many strange things in Amsterdam to list -- but one was a street performer who took dozens of beer bottles and glasses, smashed them to bits until shards of glass covered the pavement, and proceeded to roll around on them and finally swallow a number of them (all with no blood or apparent pain). In Paris, "Little House on the Prairie" on TV in French. In Florence, Italy, a restaurant had a urinal in the very small dining room (which a man actually used while we were sitting there eating). Again in Florence, a woman serving gelato dropped a scoop of ice cream on the floor and proceeded to pick it up off the floor and put it back on the cone and serve it to a woman (who actually ate it!). At the Picasso museum in Antibes, France, a couple, um, coupling in full view of everyone in a quiet sunlit corner (fully clothed -- her standing (in a dress), him on his knees (with his head underneath her dress). Also, not in Europe but still a bizarre sight: in the middle of the rainforest in St. Lucia, a little St. Lucian boy 8 or 9 years old wearing a Simpsons T-shirt and drinking Snapple.
May 7th, 1999, 03:37 PM
#45
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Lisa, <BR> <BR>Been there, seen that, twice...only on Las Vegas Blvd.. Couples in full view, her sitting on a planter box and him standing. Separate incidents and many years apart. LOTS of people walking past, very few even paying any attention! The last time was (two years ago) while traveling home through Las Vegas from a Winston Cup Stock Car Race (at 8:00 P.M.) with a (single guy) friend. He was thirty, had never been to Las Vegas, and was VERY shy. We pulled slowly up to a stop light (by the Mirage I think. My friend was SO totally blown away by the size, glitz, and activity of Sin City) and he started yelling, "Oh my GOD...LOOK, theres Elvis! And theres another Elvis! (On the other street corner) And there, four feet from me, on the planter box...and I started yelling, "OH MY GOD!" (The guys bare butt was staring me in the face) And I used to live and work there! I did NOT think I could be suprised in that town! What a country! God bless America!!! AND, several times in my life, while talking to women about their 'cute babies'....they have pulled their breast out and given it to the baby. Not even trying to be secretive or modest. I DID NOT MIND! But, I bet I blushed BIG time!
May 10th, 1999, 09:56 PM
#49
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During the past summer my family and I went around Europe. One of the strangest things happened when we were in Nice. We were eating dinner at an outside restaurant, and this couple sits at a table nearby us. They had their dog with them, which was no surprise to us by then. The strange part came when the lady brought the dog up to the table and started to feed it food, on a fork. Now that was weird....my mom even got a picture of it, but it's not too great.
May 11th, 1999, 12:55 AM
#50
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<BR>We feed our 3 dogs every day with spoons..they are very good about eating that way. Sometimes we use forks but I prefer not to in case they might get hurt. It doesn't seem strange to me. Now to my story of strange in Europe. When we were in Prague we were staying with friends who had been living there for awhile. Their tiny house was literally right next door to the main railroad switching yard for Prague. All night long a *very loud* loudspeaker was blaring a monotoned man's voice almost constant announcement of things to the RR crews in Czech. Man, did I ever have some wierd dreams and hard times sleeping.
May 11th, 1999, 11:23 AM
#51
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When we were in Prague around 1990 when the Russians were pulling out of the area, there was a typical commie monument: A TANK on a platform sitting in a square with a red star in front of it in either cement or grass (I forget). The odd thing was that as a protest to the Russians, some students painted the tank PINK. The Russians repainted it khaki again....so the city council repainted it pink and told the communists basically if you want it any other color than pink ....take it with you when you leave. They did.!!!
May 12th, 1999, 03:31 AM
#53
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Maira's a snakey one isn't she. Happy to rubbish Britain's ideas in being unique, then not so happy when someone (correctly) points out that half the world is actually like that, and that we should respect other countries if we wish to travel to them. <BR>
May 12th, 1999, 04:45 PM
#54
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The cemetery in Paris where Jim Morrison is buried; shortly after walking through the gates, we saw a man "enjoying" himself over a grave - weren't quick enough with the video cam for that one. Then later in Rome, a young man on the bus felt compelled to show us the same thing - what is it about three naive young female tourists that evokes this sort of behavior? That's O.K... it's the closest that any of us got to sex on that trip... <BR>
May 16th, 1999, 07:30 PM
#56
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Riding the metro in Paris one summer morning about 3 years ago, my friend and I were astonished when a man arose from his seat about 4 feet in front of us. Facing the people in the entire car he sang a most beautiful aria in a glorious voice. As we pulled into the next station his song ended, and we left the train.The entire time he sang, no one said anything or even looked at him (except for my friend and me). We were in awe and didn't know how to react, so we did nothing...but he deserved applause. <BR>
May 16th, 1999, 07:44 PM
#57
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One, driving though a tiny village in the Loire Valley. On an old, brick farm building that was falling down there was a beat up, rusty metal sign advertising goat cheese. Directly underneath was a bright,new sign advertising McDonalds in the next town. <BR> <BR>Two, dancing at a mid-mountain restaurtant at Cortina to a popular local band. They played everything from Elvis to Amore. You haven't lived until you've heard Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" in Italian complete with accordian!
May 17th, 1999, 09:22 PM
#58
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How about stumbling across a porn movie being filmed? My partner and I were in Budapest and were on our way to the famous Herends Porcelain shop and we happen to look up on the balcony of a near by building and see what we thought were nearly nude men, this was weird so we looked again and the next thing you knew they were waving at us and one of the women came out and she shook her boobs at us!
May 18th, 1999, 04:53 AM
#59
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One of the funniest things I saw in Paris was at the park around the Eiffel Tower. There is a designated spot for dogs to take a poop. Not only that, but there are signs with an illustration of a dog taking a poop. I should have taken a picture. <BR>
