Observations of Americans traveling in Europe by an American living in Europe

Well, our tour of Italy officially came to a close, although Buddy and I still had 2 days of holiday awaiting us in Milan. More on that later.

Still, I can't let the Italy trip commentary come to an end without a few interesting observations noted as I watched my fellow Americans travel in Europe. It dawned on Buddy and I that we have not lived in the US for 6 and 5 years, respectively, so we watch with humor and a bit of remembrance (we have been through some of this before) as our fellow Americans travelled in Europe, some for the very first time. Yes, we take alot of this for granted now....

In no random order:

(1) "Rome is dirty". Yes, perhaps so, but so is NYC and LA.

(2) "Why do I have to pay to use the bathrooms"? Don't know, but it is what it is. Employment for all? The European mentality?

(3) Technically, you are not supposed to take extra croissants, fruit, ham, cheese, etc. from breakfast and pack it into your purse or back-pack. Nor do you take the water bottles from the table at dinner meals, and fill your own personal water bottles while you are sitting at dinner. (And let's get this straight, Budman and Hachie Gal have NEVER done that).

(4) "European hotel rooms are smaller than US hotel rooms". So are the elevators. It is a fact of life when travelling in Europe. Just go with the flow.

(5) US Customs forms can be complicated the first time they are completed. We thought so, too.... "And duty-free, means that these items don't count in my overall total for customs"? That's right!

(6) "No scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast?"? Uh-uh, but I confess, that took me a little getting used to.

(7) "There is cigarette smoke everywhere". Yep, sure is.

Now, after having 2 tour group vacations under my belt (one fantastic experience and one so-so experience), here are a few catch phrases that I will not miss hearing for a while:

(1) "How much further do we half to walk"?

(2) "How many more steps are there"?

(3) "Where is the restroom"?

(4) "Please, please, please stay with the group." (For the first 4-5 days, all Buddy and I heard was the question, "Where is Marilyn"? We always heard her name but never saw her. We began to think she was someone's imaginary friend. Finally, we realized was indeed part of our tour group, but had some challenges staying with the group).

Key strategy: break off from the tour group when items 1-4 become too much too bear. Or make a pit stop and have a glass of wine to relax.