SEEEEEEEE how the U.S. is SLIPPING?!?! We apparently no longer rank as the TOP of the list. What makes me laugh about this even more was that I had a fellow collegian years ago that was from France and she always harped on the "Ugly American" tourists that she had encounters with.
-------------------- There are 10 types of people in the world...those that understand Binary and those that don't.
Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:...the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
In your face Europe!
I think I can say with some qualification, since I happen to live in tourist central for SW England that the worst tourists I've encountered are actually the Italians. Obnoxious gobshites. Japanese are always very polite, though I sometimes get the impression that there's some subtle patronising going on behind the façade. Yanks...well you just sort of have treat them like "special" children and not get them all confused and excited. Can't say I've ever seen a French tourist, but that's not surprising since your average Frenchman would probably rather vacation in the searing caldera of an active volcano than set foot in Britain. I have however been a British tourist in France and I've never felt a population so openly and yet quietly hostile in my life.
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I've met several very polite and happy French tourists- I really think their snobbery is a myth. I deal with a lot of people every day and most of them from Europe are thrilled with Fort Lauderdale- it's beautiful, the women are hot and, in general, tings cost less than overseas (due to our weakened dollar, I guess).
But that's visitors to our country in general- most asshat tourists come from other states and occasionally Quebec: none of which know how to drive, and none understand that in Florida, you can turn right on a red light.
Registered: Aug 2002
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Wait, there are states where you're not allowed to turn right on red? How are you supposed to know, unless they put a sign on every (stoplighted) intersection?
Registered: Mar 1999
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According to wikipedia (take that with a grain of salt), it's legal in all 50 states and Canada except for New York City. It was illegal in Quebec until 2003. Apparently it's illegal in the European Union.
Registered: Jul 2002
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I think it's stil illegal in San Fransisco- the friend I was staying with out there said so, anyway.
It's possible that it's legal everywhere but drivers somehow drive like idiots once they get here. Must be the heat.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Reverend: Can't say I've ever seen a French tourist, but that's not surprising since your average Frenchman would probably rather vacation in the searing caldera of an active volcano than set foot in Britain.
I know it's not tourism, but I've worked alongside many, many French people up here London. Apparently the high flyers (I'm an Engineer, but also in banking) prefer both the UK labour laws and until last year the exchange rate. They've been split roughly half and half between the stereotypical French arrogance and the nicest people I've ever worked alongside.
Registered: May 2005
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I've never really met a French tourist here in Scotland myself, and we get every kind of weirdo and nationality imaginable during the Edinburgh Festival. The only ones I recall were probably students, and I had to help them order in MacDonalds as they spoke no english.
For myself, I love France and the French people, and have never had any problems there. I could happily spend the rest of my life sitting outside the cafe's in Paris, watching the women promenade past. It may be because a) I'm Scottish, not English, and b) I try to speak the language as much as possible. One thing that pisses anyone off is when someone makes no effort to speak the local language.
I ran into an English guy once in Calais who had been bumming around France for nealy a year, and he still could not speak a word of French and was reduced to miming to beg cigarettes. Other English tourists I met were trying speaking English loudly at shopkeepers, as if that would help. I'd be pissed at that sort of behaviour too.
-------------------- www.kennyscrap.com - where I download crap I make.
Registered: Jun 2003
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I've found that for some odd reason there's a huge difference between a people and the tourists they produce. It's partly why I tend not to go abroad, I get embarrassed by the other English tourists doing pretty much as Kenny describes. Mind you, there are French and there are French, the one's down Brittany way tend to be ok with us, while the Calais/Boulogne lot probably have good reason to be sick of all the duty-free tourists from Essex.
Not that Scottish tourists are any better mind you! But then I am English and I can't be sure that they don't just act like that when we're around out of sheer bloody mindedness. On the other-other hand there are so many Scots down this way, it's hard to imagine when it might be that there are no English around to insult.
Of course like all stereotypes it's at the same time generally accurate and totally unjustified.
As far as languages go, I was never very good at French, it's not exactly compatible with my Wiltshire accent but I used to have a knack for Spanish at school, though now I could probably only remember a handful of words if I really tried.
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I've been to holiday in France and England. The French, in my experience, are very friendly, but absolutely unable to speak anything but French.
England. What stands out for me is the traffic. Of course, driving on the other side of the road may have influenced my impressions, but there did seem to be a more aggressive style of driving there. If you're expecting some sympathy for your continental number plate... better not.
Dutch tourists (like myself)... it's hard to judge, but I reckon we're above average as far as learning foreign languages go. At least German and English are reasonably spoken by most. French too, possibly. Tourist dress sense if horric though, although this is likely a universal truth.
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Aggressive isn't the word mate, more like "every lunatic and boy-racer for themselves."
Dutch tourists over here are actually rather odd, in that they appear to actually like English people and that's just weird.
Again, with the French/English language thing, there's this long thing where both sides like to claim that their language in the pinnacle of civilisation that all people should be able to speak or understand, one way or the other. Of course the net result is that native English and French speakers are notoriously mono-linguistic and while we've been bickering the Chinese have steamed right past us!
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