Let’s be tourists in Europe!

Bags aren't priced in dollars in Europe, OP.

I’m aware of that R2, I just couldn’t be bothered to look up the actual price in Euros.

I'm the idiot getting scammed by gypsy beggars outside the Paris railway station

I was said idiot a few years back

I'm complaints about the lack of aircon.

I'm an American shocked by how Europe has become such a 3rd world, islamic shithold in so short a time.

I'm taking photos in a red phone box in London.

I'm a selfie stick

I'm the tour of fourteen countries in as many days. I don't actually get to speak to any Europeans but I am now a world expert on the culture of these countries.

I'm the plea for ice in my drink.

I'm the loud, obnoxious, whiny, rude and abrasive behaviour displayed by most American tourists while in Europe. I'm the result of Americans thinking that they are above waiting in line, respecting other people's personal space, following instructions, not taking selfies every five seconds and accepting that in other countries, things are not going to be exactly how they want them and, oh the horror! There will be significant cultural differences.

I'm also the vertiginously fast tours that Chinese people enjoy, during which they want to visit everything in just enough time to allow them to photograph themselves in front of it, are obsessed with snarfing as much food as possible and want luxury for the cheapest price they can pay, even if they are multi-millionaires. They are utterly uncurious about the local culture and history, and will spend more time buying everything they can get their hands on in the likes of Dior, Chanel and Hermès, than visiting places.

Finally, I'm the insufferable behaviour of South Asian Indian tourists. I'm the result of them thinking that having money means that you can do anything you want, which paired with their lack of breeding and obsession with status, leads them to be extremely rude to service people. They will take as much space as possible, push and shove their way into every place imaginable, try to touch and grab everything and think that they are super refined because they make unreasonable demands. They don't have the awful reputation of US and Chinese tourists because there are fewer of them, but they are a thousand times worse.

I'm avoiding the other Americans like the plague.

Preeta, could you put R10 down for his nap? If he gives you any trouble, promise that you'll let him watch his favourite documentary later: "Racial Inbreeding: A Tragedy for Our Time".

R10, You've not been to Europe as an American or as an observer of any Americans, have you?

Because it is Americans who know how to stand in line ("queues"); Americans who keep sufficient personal distance; Americans who follow instructions.

Try exchanging currency in a Roman bank. Lines? What orderly lines?

Try driving on an 8-lane highway outside Athens that becomes 10-lane because the natives drive on the shoulders.

Selfies? You mean souvenir photographs that everyone takes? Andorra is nothing but one street, and it is all camera stores.

OTOH, I agree with your other observations. But why should any Asian be interested in European "local culture"? I'm not interested in any Asian local culture, and that includes most of the places we've fought. We simply differ in aesthetic sensibility, genealogies, religious traditions, and linguistic etymology.

If you are not interested in local culture why would you visit there? To shop at Dior and Zara?

Foreskin forever!!

R14, Exactly. Which is why I travelled almost exclusively in W. Europe and not, say, Asia.

I'm not saying that the rest of the world is devoid of fabulous natural scenery or ancient wonders or enchanting villages. I'm only saying that I have an affinity for Western history, culture, traditions, art, architecture, literature, and so on.

R14, I think maybe "local culture" needs defining.

For example, I live in PA. I don't go to NYC to familiarize myself with "the local culture." So why should an Asian or a European? The museums, stores, and shows suffice, TYVM. Tourists should maybe go to Queens?

I don't speak French or German, and do only a high school level of Spanish, so it wasn't easy learning about "the local culture(s)" of France, Germany, Switzerland, or Spain. But we did try, staying mostly in B&Bs and once with a Basque family in their home (no hotel rooms left during the Running of the Bulls), once with a German family in Mainz (from my husband's university connection).

I learned that Europeans to a nation do not have screens on their windows! 🐝

I'm OP's inability to construct a coherent sentence.

I'm the revulsion at the sight of the undercooked, rubbery bacon.

I’m the shrieks and whimpers as we’re undressed by the eyes of every stallion, urchin, and Geppetto on the street, and mauled by la mano morta … “those anonymous hands of creeps in clubs or crowded places that ‘accidentally’ feel one up.”

I'm the greatest depiction of this phenomenon ever made!