Back from Europe

[moronmountain]

All I can say is "God bless America!" Europe was very cool, and we got to see a lot of old buildings that we don't have over here, but man was everything expensive. We have SO many choices in the US when it comes to everything, and at reasonable prices. All the stores over there sell the same things. In Ireland there was usually only one choice you had for breakfast and it was SO expensive. What in the world is black pudding and white pudding anyway? If you tried to order something slightly different than what they had on their menu, you would get the strangest looks. Customer satisfaction is deffinately more valued over here. After visiting Rome, I don't EVER want to here someone say that Americans are rude. Rome had the coolest stuff to go look at, but it was obvious they didn't want "us" over there at all.

 

[Bob Savage]

Oh paleeeze!!! Everybody knows the U.S. is the rudest, dumbest, most expensive country on the planet.

Now quit it and get back to your black pudding.

 

[bill]

Are you now married to your Avatar?

 

[mightyjoeyoungxnj]

The black pudding Ireland is also called blood sausage, with the main ingredient being blood! I ate it every morning I was in Ireland, then I found out what it was!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding

The white pudding was pretty tasty though. I know what you mean man...I asked a waitress in an Irish bar if I could have fries (I said chips of course lol), with a sandwich I was getting. She looked at me like I was crazy.

The nicest people I've encountered in Europe were in Ireland and Holland. And oh yes, it is getting even more expensive over there for us Yanks. The euro exchange rate is approaching $1.50 fast!

-Joe

 

[duesentrieb]

Couldn't it be that the weak dollar made everything expensive for you?

Sorry to hear about your experience - Ireland is my favourite vacation location besides France of course - although I have to admit that the average food in GB and IRE isn't really adorable (not sure about the US too ) . . . at least you got an impression of history and stuff - and I hope that your next experience will be much better.

 

['63-Strat]

All I can say is "God bless America!" Europe was very cool, and we got to see a lot of old buildings that we don't have over here, but man was everything expensive. We have SO many choices in the US when it comes to everything, and at reasonable prices. All the stores over there sell the same things. In Ireland there was usually only one choice you had for breakfast and it was SO expensive. What in the world is black pudding and white pudding anyway? If you tried to order something slightly different than what they had on their menu, you would get the strangest looks. Customer satisfaction is deffinately more valued over here. After visiting Rome, I don't EVER want to here someone say that Americans are rude. Rome had the coolest stuff to go look at, but it was obvious they didn't want "us" over there at all.

Italy thrives on tourism, but if you were walking around acting stereotypically american and expecting people to behave how americans at home would, vs. acting like italians in italy would, I could see that being a problem. I've never had a problem in Europe though my parents have at times. Then again, they act fairly American touristy when abroad for Canadians so to me its not surprising.

 

[moronmountain]

Are you now married to your Avatar?

Yar.

 

[moronmountain]

All I can say is "God bless America!" Europe was very cool, and we got to see a lot of old buildings that we don't have over here, but man was everything expensive. We have SO many choices in the US when it comes to everything, and at reasonable prices. All the stores over there sell the same things. In Ireland there was usually only one choice you had for breakfast and it was SO expensive. What in the world is black pudding and white pudding anyway? If you tried to order something slightly different than what they had on their menu, you would get the strangest looks. Customer satisfaction is deffinately more valued over here. After visiting Rome, I don't EVER want to here someone say that Americans are rude. Rome had the coolest stuff to go look at, but it was obvious they didn't want "us" over there at all.

Italy thrives on tourism, but if you were walking around acting stereotypically american and expecting people to behave how americans at home would, vs. acting like italians in italy would, I could see that being a problem. I've never had a problem in Europe though my parents have at times. Then again, they act fairly American touristy when abroad for Canadians so to me its not surprising.

Nah, I am polite when I go to someone else's country. The peeps at our B&B were super friendly and so was anyone else that was trying to make money. I was referring to the average person in Rome. They were pushy, rude, etc. I almost had to clock a few dudes for knocking into my wife so hard when we were just trying to walk down a sidewalk. The peeps in Germany and Ireland were just fine. Any problems there were results mainly from language barriers.

 

[moronmountain]

Couldn't it be that the weak dollar made everything expensive for you?

Sorry to hear about your experience - Ireland is my favourite vacation location besides France of course - although I have to admit that the average food in GB and IRE isn't really adorable (not sure about the US too ) . . . at least you got an impression of history and stuff - and I hope that your next experience will be much better.

I don't think it's so much that the dollar is weak as it is that the Euro is so strong. Even leaving out the exchange rate, things were still more expensive. An example would be a double cheese burger at McDonalds. Over there they are 2 Euro each, while over here they are $0.99 each. It wasn't a bad experience in general. I would do it again, but I would try to see less in the period of time we had. 2 countries would have been plenty. By the time we got to Ireland we were done being "tourists" and spending money. Both of us loved Germany and will go there again some day. It was simply beautiful, but to be honest, I can drive 10 minutes from my house and see land just as pretty. An hour drive results in even prettier country. I'm from Oregon though so I guess I'm spoiled. We went out of our way to see the Rhein River which I thought was cool. The thing is, we have a river just a big a mile from my house. I've heard a boat ride down the Rhein results in something much cooler though. We simply didn't have the time to squeeze that in. I just never realized how many choices we had over here in the US. We are truly a blessed country.

 

[duesentrieb]

We are truly a blessed country.

Sure.

But you shouldn't eat 'your' food here

Have you been to Berlin or Munich?

I'd say that I love the weak Dollar - makes gitars from Japan (and the US) so "cheap" now. The factor is now 1.4 . . .

 

[Digital Jams]

Been to Europe twice, Spain, France,London,Turkey, Isreal, several of the greek islands, Italy including Venise and loved my stays there. The dollar was stronger at the time but that would not have mattered too much anyways.

Can't wait to go again.

 

[moronmountain]

We are truly a blessed country.

Sure.

But you shouldn't eat 'your' food here

Have you been to Berlin or Munich?

I'd say that I love the weak Dollar - makes gitars from Japan (and the US) so "cheap" now. The factor is now 1.4 . . .

We flew into Frankfurt, then drove to Munich where we spent most of our time sans a road trip to Fussen to see the castles down that way. Heh the only reason we ate "our" food there was because everything was so spendy. In Germany we ate German food. In Italy we ate Italian food (didn't really like it a whole lot to be honest). In Ireland we ate both, but opted for the cheaper burger most of the time. The autoban was a hoot though. Cruising at 180+kph for over 60% of the time made for some quick travel.

 

['63-Strat]

Couldn't it be that the weak dollar made everything expensive for you?

Sorry to hear about your experience - Ireland is my favourite vacation location besides France of course - although I have to admit that the average food in GB and IRE isn't really adorable (not sure about the US too ) . . . at least you got an impression of history and stuff - and I hope that your next experience will be much better.

I don't think it's so much that the dollar is weak as it is that the Euro is so strong. Even leaving out the exchange rate, things were still more expensive. An example would be a double cheese burger at McDonalds. Over there they are 2 Euro each, while over here they are $0.99 each. It wasn't a bad experience in general. I would do it again, but I would try to see less in the period of time we had. 2 countries would have been plenty. By the time we got to Ireland we were done being "tourists" and spending money. Both of us loved Germany and will go there again some day. It was simply beautiful, but to be honest, I can drive 10 minutes from my house and see land just as pretty. An hour drive results in even prettier country. I'm from Oregon though so I guess I'm spoiled. We went out of our way to see the Rhein River which I thought was cool. The thing is, we have a river just a big a mile from my house. I've heard a boat ride down the Rhein results in something much cooler though. We simply didn't have the time to squeeze that in. I just never realized how many choices we had over here in the US. We are truly a blessed country.

Uh... why would you eat mcdonald's while in europe (let alone ever)?

See, I'm sure you were being polite as far as you understand that term. But to an Italian that has (likely unjustified) prejudice against americans anyways, seeing American tourists coming out of a McDonald's is going to trigger some "rudeness," IMO. Your dress as a tourist plays a big role in how you will be treated in a foreign country too. Big time, IMO.

 

[Digital Jams]

You ate at McDonalds???????

 

[duesentrieb]

I would eat at a kraut resto in the US - out of curiosity (s?) for sure

 

[moronmountain]

Couldn't it be that the weak dollar made everything expensive for you?

Sorry to hear about your experience - Ireland is my favourite vacation location besides France of course - although I have to admit that the average food in GB and IRE isn't really adorable (not sure about the US too ) . . . at least you got an impression of history and stuff - and I hope that your next experience will be much better.

I don't think it's so much that the dollar is weak as it is that the Euro is so strong. Even leaving out the exchange rate, things were still more expensive. An example would be a double cheese burger at McDonalds. Over there they are 2 Euro each, while over here they are $0.99 each. It wasn't a bad experience in general. I would do it again, but I would try to see less in the period of time we had. 2 countries would have been plenty. By the time we got to Ireland we were done being "tourists" and spending money. Both of us loved Germany and will go there again some day. It was simply beautiful, but to be honest, I can drive 10 minutes from my house and see land just as pretty. An hour drive results in even prettier country. I'm from Oregon though so I guess I'm spoiled. We went out of our way to see the Rhein River which I thought was cool. The thing is, we have a river just a big a mile from my house. I've heard a boat ride down the Rhein results in something much cooler though. We simply didn't have the time to squeeze that in. I just never realized how many choices we had over here in the US. We are truly a blessed country.

Uh... why would you eat mcdonald's while in europe (let alone ever)?

I was just giving a comparison. I hate McD's, but I also hate spending $50-60 for a so-so meal too. I don't think the food in Europe is all that great. They eat a lot of bread there, so the bread is good. I just wanted more protein and more options. All the Italian places had the same paninis, pizza, and pasta. The German food was the best because it was more of a meat and potato thing. Irish food was WAY too salty and I like salt quite a bit. Italian food was just ok and way overpriced IMO.

 

[moronmountain]

You ate at McDonalds???????

3 or 4 times. We were there for 2.5 weeks so 4 meals out of 40 or so possible isn't too bad.

 

[duesentrieb]

 

[Bob Savage]

See, I'm sure you were being polite as far as you understand that term. But to an Italian that has (likely unjustified) prejudice against americans anyways, seeing American tourists coming out of a McDonald's is going to trigger some "rudeness," IMO. Your dress as a tourist plays a big role in how you will be treated in a foreign country too. Big time, IMO.

So because he didn't get setup with an authentic Italian wardrobe, and didn't stay out of McDonalds, he should expect to be treated poorly because he "looks like a tourist?" Man, that's going to make vacations a LOT more expensive. Not only that, I need to remember to be rude to tourists in the U.S. who don't fit in, I guess.

 

[duesentrieb]

LOL