We have just come home from our European vacation. We visited London, Rome, Capri, Pompeii, Sorrento, Santorini, Mykonos and Athens. The trip was a whir of sights and delights. The people were all very sweet and gracious. I did see a few "typical" ugly Americans, but in fact I thought some of the Brits were even worse. When I say ugly, I mean that these people treat the waiters with disdain and try to have the food made their way instead of trying to adapt to the culture they are visiting. Two women in Athens were eating breakfast at the table next to us. They wouldn't eat anything at the buffet. The buffet was not like a Holiday Inn. There were a lot a great choices. I made myself a bagel with lox, cream cheese, capers and tomato. They had to have there eggs a certain way and so they ordered from the kitchen. They didn't like the eggs they got and they were loud and dismissive with the poor waiter. Then they argued with the maitre d and they were obnoxious. They were a real embarrassment to America.
If you consider a trip to Europe-here are a couple of things that I noticed along the way:
1. "C" doesn't always stand for cold in every language. In fact in both Italy and Greece, it stands for hot water!
2. European tourists are notoriously cheap. They don't tip, so many restaurants have the tip included on the bill. The truth is that Americans are admired for their generosity( in the tipping department). My husband works at a restaurant here in Atlanta and he says if a table of people from Europe come to eat, the waiters add 15 percent to the bill or else they won't get a tip.
3. We only visited the tourist areas of each of the cities so it was difficult to get a read on the actual vibe of the native people. Our tour guide in Rome said that the actual inhabitants of the city leave
Rome each summer and the only people that stay are the ones in the tourist industry.
4. Customs and Immigration is surprisingly quick and easy except in America and England. I was very surprised when we flew into Rome and out of Athens, the security was quick and easy to pass through.
5. If you ever have the chance to visit another country-do it. You can see pictures of the coliseum or the Trevi fountain, but nothing is the same as actually experiencing it in person. Words can not express the beauty inside the Vatican. The art is really amazing. The picture below is one in a whole hall that looks like statues and is really a painting. The water in the Mediterranean is really bright blue. The oldest buildings in America are 200-300 years old. In Europe they are almost 3000 years old! Our tour guides were fantastic. They were passionate about their cities and their history. You can sit through Western Civilization I and II and not learn as much as you do from just being there.
Amazing!
