Our guides received a facelift and a jolt of love a few years back and have been fine tuned each year since. If you haven't thumbed through a Fodor's guide in a long while, please take a peak inside some of our guides on Amazon.

Here's Italy for instance:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1400...pt#reader-link

Fun trivia: Fodors.com logged visitors from 211 countries last month; the U.S. (not surprisingly), Canada, and Great Britain top that list.

flanner,

>> share our views with the benighted colonials <<

I, for one, appreciate it a lot. When I'm in UK, the closest I ever come to interaction with locals runs something like, "Well, you'll just have to wait for the next train, won't you?"

In the TV room of our Hampstead B&B once I attempted what I thought of as a brief pleasantry with young man watching cricket match, and his reply was so perfectly chilling that it put me off approaching un-formally-presented Brits forever.

My link didn't work..
This should:
http://www.amazon.com/Fodors-Italy-2...429&sr=8-1

Then click the cover...

In the TV room of our Hampstead B&B once I attempted what I thought of as a brief pleasantry with young man watching cricket match, and his reply was so perfectly chilling that it put me off approaching un-formally-presented Brits forever.


If you came between a bloke and his cricket, you were lucky just to be chilled rather than chinned.

I know I'm entirely untypical of anything, but watching cricket strikes me as the definition of social dysfunctionality.

PatrickLondon wrote: "I know I'm entirely untypical of anything, but watching cricket strikes me as the definition of social dysfunctionality."

Not as much as passing judgement on things that you don't understand.

Yes, yes, I realize that blokes and TV sports have their sacred bond. But still.

And thank you, PatrickLondon. I don't feel typical of much either; would generally rather talk to a real fellow human than watch flickering images on a screen.

Weird, I've always found the "Brits" hard to shut up if you speak with them.

hmmm.... must be me. Never mind.

Weird, I've always found the "Brits" hard to shut up if you speak with them.>>>>

Yes, but you often meet us in pubs.

Definition of self-delusion: British tourists using top-selling British guides think they're going to places ONLY the "locals" know about>>>>>

Nope. It's well known. The "Rough Guide" effect. Whenever a hotel or restaurant gets into the RG it instantly becomes over run with Brits and Aussies.

Some places actively try to get themselves removed from the RG as they don't want RG readers (who tend to be a bit on the stingy side) and would much rather be in Fodors or Frommers or any guide aimed at rich yanks.

I am always telling my passengers about the Fodors travel forums on my flights and have had repeat passengers tell me how much they have enjoyed becoming addicted to these boards.
It is like a smalltown cyberspace "Mayberry" with many fun characters and a plethora of great information!

Just so I don't get stuck being Aunt Bea.

Too funny stokebailey!