On the topic of overlooked by Americans but appreciated by foreign travelers - I was recently speaking with the proprietor of my favorite sushi restaurant here in DC. He relayed how he had just recently been to NYC with his mother (I believe she is from around Osaka) & how he had to trek up with her to the border as a side trip to see Niagra Falls. He explained that growing up, it was something easily recognizable in the US & something she had always wanted to see.

A friend of mine regularly hosts foreign college students from the Chicago area over the Thanksgiving holiday. Since my backyard is the Mississippi River, they visit us and we take them out in the boat and go through one of the locks,walk along the spillway and explore the backwaters and small islands. These students enjoy the "tour" immensely.

OK, are these people on drugs? The Maldives was no. 19 and Rome was 35? Perhaps they've already BEEN to Rome, so didn't need to put it on their list?

I think they must be on drugs - Manchester was #10 on their list of Top Ten British places to see.

Jim, Jim, Jim... tsk tsk, my friend...

I did not mistakenly assert anything. I realize the list is all-inclusive. I mentioned that it was silly to compare the Grand Canyon or any other natural attraction to New York.

To each his own regarding the Grand Canyon. Personally, I disregard any arid climate as a wasteland. If the Grand Canyon sends a draft up your personal skirt, good for you, but I don't do deserts, and find sheer rock to be incredibly dull. Besides, I can visit forested canyons here, which to me are more impressive than dry canyons like the Grand Canyon. To each is own...

No, Atlanta and Knoxville don't belong on a list of international attractions, but they do belong on a list of major cities and towns near the Great Smokies. Remember? You said the Smokies were inaccessible, but that the Grand Canyon was near Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Sedona. Well, the Great Smokies are near Asheville, Atlanta, and Knoxville. -- and Asheville, by the way, is something of a national and international draw. It has been featured in National Geographic Traveler as among the top 50 US sites to see, and it has garnered travelogue write-ups in newspapers in New York, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. This past summer, we also had a British writer in town producing a guidebook to Asheville specifically aimed at British tourists. Meanwhile, the city is also a popular daytrip or weekend getaway for all the Japanese, German, French, Russian, and Australian businesspeople in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC.

Oak Ridge's nuclear engineering and research legacy don't automatically turn the Appalachians into Silicon Valley South. However, you must remember that just because it's on TV doesn't mean it's real -- you've been watching too much Beverly Hillbillies and The Waltons. Hey, don't hold it against us that Asheville hasn't yet come up with a catchy name for our burgeoning biotechnology industries. Besides, I've noticed that only truly obnoxious people nurse stereotypes, and surely you're not truly obnoxious?

I agree with you that Gatlinburg is ugly, and so is Cherokee, but you can rest assured that the Cherokees in Cherokee are laughing all the way to the bank. It's really a question of who's putting on whom here. Please note, however that I consider it a 'misfortune' (really -- go back and check) to have to pass through either place.