Jason, I've been to Paris about a dozen times in the past eight years. I also go to Cannes every September. I speak about two words of French and I can honestly say that I've not had any rudeness directed towards me whatsoever. I guess if I went looking for it, I'd find it, just like I do in Germany. But then I don't like Germany much.
I haven't noticed any stinky French. I'm sure they exist, but I think that stereotype is a relic of another time.
I too tend to blend in and stay out of the radar. But if some tourists want to stick out like sore thumbs, that's their business and other people, especially other tourists should just shut-up. Are you there to see the sights or are you're there to critique other tourists? Not everyone has to be the same as you.
See, this is where I think living in a foreign country for so long/so frequently has been helpful to you. Usually we either go to the Caribbean or Mexico or up to Canada. None of these places are unused to Americans and have skewed their tourism and expectations of tourists toward American customers. Europe is all around more expensive and requires more planning and time to see. Then there's the whole language thing which many Americans find intimidating. We just don't get away as much. I know Europeans complain about this a great deal but we don't get an entire month of the year off nor nearly as many other vacation days. A European drives 200 miles and may well have crossed several borders. We drive 200 miles and may well be in the same state!
We're not used to being guests in other countries either. I have tried being polite everywhere I go. In all fairness, out of the 16 European countries I've been to, only Paris was an issue. Everywhere else, even in Rome where I was underdressed and completely baffled by how to get around, I found people to be more helpful and courteous. My young, single, blonde, blue-eyed sister with the perky bosom did not. Ahem! Everywhere I went I tried to be polite and deferential. In Paris I tried speaking French and I would be immediately talked-over in English. They had no patience for my attempts to speak their language. Once out of Paris though, it was appreciated. In Paris I was overcharged in restaurants, had rude waiters, and impatient hoteliers. A few shop keepers were nice enough but mostly the people were rude to the point of shocking. I was using the men's room in the Musee d'Orsay and discovered that there weren't enough stalls in the women's room so the women use the men's room without any hesitation. One woman barged right past me and into a stall muttering something about Americans under her breath and I was just trying to pee!
The further south I went, the nicer the French became. Once I reached the Riviera, the people were much more relaxed, friendly, approachable, and tolerant (sometimes even praising!) of my attempts at French. I took three years of it so can usually understand what people are saying.
The first country I ever went to was Bermuda and I make a point of goinig when I can. I love the island and her people like no where else. I dress nicely, always greet people in shops or on the street, learned the island's history and customs, and always, Onions have been nothing but appreciative and charming in return. Now that their major source of tourists dollars are visiting cruise ships, Bermuda gets the worst of Americans who have no idea or appreciation for the island or how it works and don't care to. They want their souvenir T-shirts and get back on the boat. The Onions hate it and have actually reduced the number of ships allowed to visit the island because they feel these giant ships are full of obnoxious people who don't do much for their economy and fill the streets expecting to see people performing like trained seals. Time and again I've heard about these archetypal Ugly Americans from Bermudians and it saddens me.
So I do get it. I do appreciate that Americans, as those of other nationalities, can be rude when travelling. In New York, the rudest people are perceived to be the Japanese because they don't apologize when they bump into you, don't talk to you, seemingly ignore everything you say or do, and never thank you for not crossing in front of their camera shot. It's like they're above everyone else. But that's how the Japanese are in Japan. Without introductions you may as well not exist unless there is some reason to speak to you in which case they are exceptionally polite. I get this. I don't know how many other New Yorkers do.
I wish I had more funds and time to spend in Europe. I really want to go to Spain to visit my LPSG friends there and expereience what I've heard is a fantastic country. I have spent most of my time in Ireland where they love Americans and Americans get along very well with the Irish. I have found the same is true in Scotland and Wales. The English can be a bit stiff, but the friendliness in the Celtic countries is almost overwhelming and I don't know any Americans who have gone to these countries and complained about their welcome. In all my time in Ireland, which is not small, I've only had ONE person who had a problem with Americans and after we parted company someone I didn't even know bought me a drink as an apology for having been treated so rudely. Of course I brushed the whole thing off and thanked everyone generously for their supoort and then proceeded to buy all of them a round (which came to a shocking 180 Euros and that's with a discount the publican extended me for being so generous).
Anyway, I think Vince, you're lucky that you and others here are able to travel so easily. One of my Canadian friends purposely wears a Canada flag when he goes to Europe so he won't get mistaken for an American (though he wears black and brown socks with sandals so I'm not sure he gets mistaken for American anyway:wink
. His experience has been that when he wears that pin he gets treated better. I don't know how else to explain it, but there you go.
