Do you know who I am?

I met her at the Uffizi. We were waiting to get around the crowd waiting for their audioguides, and I said to my husband, "Look at that sea of people!" Not complaining, just observing. She was standing in front of us and turned around to inform me that the Uffizi was one of the greatest art galleries in the world and that people from every country in the world come to see its treasures. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out "No s*** Dick Tracy" - for a second I regretted it, but the look on her face was priceless.

Ah yes, many times.

Due to weather, we had a flight from Miami cancelled. The airline provided one night's accommodation and a food voucher for $25. We were sent back to the checkin line to get sorted out.

We were in the first ten or so people, but the airline staff were very slow to get everything sorted before they started seeing us. Lo and behold, one woman from our flight sidled up from the side right to the front of the line. People at the back of the line were yelling abuse at her, but she didn't care. She said she wouldn't join the line. Unfortunately the airline pandered to her and gave her a reservation and food voucher before all of us in line.

Turns out she was at the hotel we were assigned to and the next morning the hotel shuttle was full of people from the same cancelled flight. She took more abuse on that shuttle back to the airport.

There are arrogant idiots everywhere... Too bad they are allowed to travel:)

A couple of times I reaped real benefits just being civil in contrast to that type of person. One time, I arrived at JFK just as it was closing for snow. I asked to be put on the first flight to anywhere west, and ended up on a flight to Cleveland (and they warned everyone that we were likely to be snowed in there and they wouldn't provide a lodging voucher). On the flight, one man was being such a jerk about it that they moved him to business class, across from me, to placate him. He then demanded hotel and meal vouchers since he was such an important customer, which they gave him to shut him up. They then singled me out, saying that -- minimally – I deserved vouchers for putting up with him in good humor. So some good deeds do get rewarded.

This is a good example of of another type of "ugly traveller". I find the type that you described to be especially obnoxious, and I don't tolerate fools like that well. I'm sure I would have found it almost irresistible to get in a few "digs". Perhaps she failed to consider that while she may be a "sojourner", she was still on a walking tour with the hoi polloi.

When I go overseas, I try to be a "traveler," rather then a "tourist." I've never corrected someone who's called me a tourist to my face. It's not about how I am pigeonholed or anything superficial, though the woman you met in Berlin who declared herself a "sojourner" strikes me as arrogant. If she used the description of "common scruffy traveler," then she was incredibly arrogant. I'm a common, scruffy traveler by choice.

Beyond those points, what's the difference between a "traveler" and a "tourist"? A tourist is someone who doesn't step out of his or her comfort zone. That person prefers to be shielded from the culture being visited, rather than immersing himself or herself in it. Some characteristics: a tourist eats at McDonald's in Europe, rather than trying the local cuisine. He or she only goes on guided, expensive tours to be shuttled from site to site in comfort, rather than exploring on his or her own. A tourist doesn't bother to learn some phrases in the local language.

Well, Craig, I don't do any of the things you say tourists do, especially the McDonalds reference, but I know I am a tourist, not a traveller. To think otherwise is pretentious . A traveller is someone like Gertrude, Queen of the Desert. Research her. She taught herself Arabic, she taught herself Turkish, she rode camels In the desert of Arabia, and hobnobbed with tribal leaders there, as an "honourary man". Now SHE was a traveller.

Well, Norma: Tell me now who's being pretentious with the history lesson on Gertrude!

I've never eaten at a McDonalds in Europe, but I wouldn't rule it out if I was tired and hungry. I hire private guides to tour places that are important to me and when I want to see as much as possible in a limited amount of time. I have loved my European adventures, but I've never blazed a trail, and sometimes I just want to see Europe through the front door. I have no problems with being a tourist. But even I draw the line at selfie sticks.

Several years ago, when I checked in to my flight on line I notice a small box on the bottom of the age offering a first class upgrade. The price was VERY reasonable. In fact I wondered if it was an error, but I checked the box and ZAP! for a very small amount of money, I was in first class for both legs of a 7 hour trip.

Later that day when the flight was loading, I heard a commotion coming from the rear of the First Class cabin. A DYKWIA man was fussing that since he was a solid platinum/diamond, etc. traveler on the airline he MUST be given an upgrade to 1st class. But, the first class cabin was sold out. No empty seats.

Exasperated, he turned to the nearest first class passenger (me) and asked in an ugly tone "So how many miles did you fly to get into first class?" as though I must be a lesser being than he. I simply replied - "I paid for it". However, I tactfully avoided mentioning that the upgrade cost was only $15. :-) Had Mr. DYKWIA found out he probably would have burst a blood vessel on the spot. :-O

They are everywhere! in the check-in line up for BA's LHR > YVR my husband ran into one.

We had just come from Seville through Madrid to London and DH was in a perfectly presentable outfit of long-sleeved shirt, khakis and sneakers. When he got into the line for first class a fine fella dressed in almost the same outfit turned to him and suggested he was in the wrong line and pointed back to where the lesser mortals were milling about awaiting their boarding. DH merely showed him his boarding pass and said he was pretty sure he was in the right place. The guy turned away and I'm pretty sure he harrumphed, lol. Of course, as karma/fate dictated, they were seated side by side. Thank heavens for
pods! And FFs!

I must be a tourist, since I never felt any compunction not to stop in at Mickey D's, especially for breakfast. It's the one place you won't find any Americans, just locals.

Meh...I've eaten at McDonald's, and Burger King on holiday and ate at a Quick last year in France. We actually ate at mcds twice on that France trip too. Once because it was the easiest place for our Airbnb host to meet us, and once because we wanted something fast...and free wifi. And hubby actually got his coffee at mcds twice when we were in Paris! That's 4 mcds visits and a quick visit on our last trip.

But we also ate at a lot of local places too. Sometimes you just want something fast and/or familiar and/or cheap. I will say the 'shiny' burger at mcds (so called because I believe it was on a brioche bun) I had was quite tasty..better than the burgers offered here.

Funny, I rarely darken the door of mcds at home...i maybe get an actual meal from them twice a year, otherwise I'm getting a hot choc or a mcflurry.

I am not too proud to say that I have eaten at a McDonalds in Vienna, Paris, and Chartres. There have been times when it was the only reasonable option at that particular time and there's nothing wrong with it. Every meal in Europe does not have to be an experience in the 'local' cuisine.

It's not just when traveling that I have run into DYKWIA people, there have been many instances here in the US and in my own town. They are likely to pop up anywhere and in my experience are best just ignored.

As for the 'tourist' vs 'traveler' argument here is a post from a couple of years ago that was a very interesting read: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/tourist-touristy

I consider myself a traveler anytime I am going somewhere away from my home, but when I'm on a leisure trip somewhere I've dreamed of going all my life I am definitely a tourist.

Do you want to know how the travel industry makes the distinction between tourist vs traveler? There is none. You are all tourists to us.

In my tour director days, I ran into people just like the one described by the OP. They made for great stories when my fellow TD's would get together over a few drinks.

Well, Craig, I don't do any of the things you say tourists do,
especially the McDonalds reference, but I know I am a tourist, not a
traveller. To think otherwise is pretentious . A traveller is someone
like Gertrude, Queen of the Desert. Research her. She taught herself
Arabic, she taught herself Turkish, she rode camels In the desert of
Arabia, and hobnobbed with tribal leaders there, as an "honourary
man". Now SHE was a traveller.

Everyone sitting down? I agree with Norma.

The most incredible attitude I have ever encountered was an individual who stated that despite the risk inherit in visiting a certain locations this person felt impelled to go as only through that person's traveling could the world be a better a place.

Labeling yourself as anything, in an effort to differentiate yourself as superior than others is arrogant in and of its self. Usually the result of a lack of self confidence I would imagine.

McDonalds? I have eaten in 3 McDonalds in Europe and don't mind admitting it. The first in the train station in Rome. It was late at night, we had just arrived on the train and we were starving. Tasted funny. The second was in Bulgaria. I just wanted to go into a Macdonald's with a Cyrillic menu board. Got a milkshake. It was good. The third involved a special point in time and dealt with a special change in the world. Enjoyed all three experiences.

And Sam is right, in none of those McDonald's did I ever see another tourist or traveler or American for that matter. Well, maybe one in Rome.

Funny but most people my age, first trip to Paris, go to McDonalds and order a Royale with Cheese. It's a GenX right of passage! Guess we don't understand the snobbery stuff. Did I miss something?

Not all tourists are American. So the McDonalds criteria for one to be a tourist might be a bit vague. I believe that many people will not eat at McD's for religious reasons, Halal, Kosher, vegetarian and so on.

There is a certain cultural arrogance, or maybe just cultural ignorance, in linking any fast food chain with a "tourist".

When I visit a place, I like to think of myself as a visitor, travelling for pleasure. Which also makes me a tourist.

I have been to many McDonalds all over Europe... Sometimes for a coffee or to use the restroom and sometimes for food... So should I call myself a tourist, or a traveller or just someone sightseeing on a budget?:)

Edit
Peter... Just read your post... Love it... I am a visitor ! With my camera... Because I am also a photographer!

Terry, interesting about the photography thing. Last trip, I don't think I would have taken more than a couple of dozen photos, and the selfie thing, I don't understand that at all. I am not a natural photographer, and so I can't see things both with my eyes and through the lens at the same time.

So the eyes have it.

I do scribble a lot, a sort of travel blog or trip report, which mostly contains info of no use to anyone. It is a way, I suppose, of writing things into my memory.

Of course if you go to a KFC that's a whole different issue.

If Ms DYKWIA had such an inflated view of herself, why was she on a "walking tour" in Berlin to be sure? I would have been interested to hear what sort of presumably nonsense she was saying, but then I don't take part in a English language "walking tour" especially in Berlin, almost did once when approached a few years back when I was told one would be starting in half an hour or so. I thought about it ( it was free ) but left anyway.

The tourist/traveler split...I see myself mostly as a tourist in England, Austria, France, Poland, Hungary, etc. Not in Germany...there I am a traveler, but it's true any where I go in Europe I have tourist written all over me.

I don't go to McDonald's here and certainly do not over there, unless there is absolutely nothing else around or except to use the facilities. The last trip to London in 2012 I did go to the McDonald's at Kings Cross just to get a coffee, which turned out surprisingly good.

Sign me up for the KFC in China. It was one of the first big western chains to make it past the old red curtain, and apparently is a very different place than an American KFC- one of the markers that a Chinese couple or family had become part of the new middle class and many KFCs remain rather festive places there.

Difference between a traveller and a tourist, Craig? The size of the ego.

Well, I don't mind being called a fellow tourist, but fellow traveler still makes me cringe. If you weren't around in the U.S. in the 50's, google McCarthyism.

I always think that I'm a world traveler because I've traveled to many places on the globe, but when I land, I'm a tourist, hoping to connect with locals while seeing the sights. And I "play tourist" when I visit my home towns (Chicago where I grew up and SF Bay Area where I lived for a long stretch).

Tourist
Traveler
Sojourner
Voyager
Vagabond
Flaneur`
Sightseer
Visitor
Globetrotter
Journeyer
Tripper (in terms of travel)
Vacationist
Wayfarer
Jetsetter
Adventurer
Explorer
Wanderer
Trekker (as opposed to Trekkie)

Take your pick. Whatever you call yourself it's still travel away from home.

Just don't call yourself a traveler in England if you don't want some strange reactions.

Peter... Through the lens is the way I see the world...
If you are a writer, that is great.
Read a quote once that said it all for me.

"If I could tell the story in words II wouldn't need to lug around a camera"
Lewis Hine

If people want to be something whatever it is it´s their worry, I don´t bother.

I see myself as a mobile extensionalist observer.

James, I love that description! May I use it the next time I am on a RS tour? Just for laughs, of course!

On the subject of Mac Donalds, in my early days when I had no choice I made visited Italy in late July, It was 90+ degrees and very humid. Ugh! A friendly Italian advised me to go to MacDonad's to cool off since they had good AC and lots of ice in the drinks.

Maybe it's OK to visit Mac Donalds when in Scotland? At least it sounds Scottish.

If you are on a tour and there is that one person who annoys everyone be thankful because If you don't know who the most annoying person is....it might be you!
I like to do things on vacation that I can't do at home. One thing I can't do at home is to experience eating at McDonald's in a foreign country. They are way classier in France than the ones we have at home.

On the topic of McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, I occasionally patronize those during travels for a variety of reasons. Sometimes I'm tired of the local fare and just want a "taste of home", sometimes I'm between locations and just want something in a hurry, sometimes it's a convenient route to a WC and sometimes I just like to get a coffee and sit in their dining area and watch the world go by (and rest my back). Their upstairs dining area in Termini is one of my favourite spots for the latter activity. Whatever others may think of that, it works for me so I'll continue with that practice.

Doesn't matter what one is called. A rose by any other name will smell as sweetly, and an arrogant pig will smell as stinky.

I freely admit to patronizing fast food/chains when traveling overseas. I'm not a foodie or food tourist; it's not my primary reason for traveling. If saving time by eating at a place like McDonald's means I can fit in another museum/site/activity, it's time and money well spent for me. In fact at home rarely eat out at all, it just doesn't fit into my busy life. I like being decadent while traveling, eating things that are greasy, fattening, or full of chocolate and sugar is an essential part of the vacation for me.
I've only ever had a Krispy Kremes and KFC outside the US.
Fun fact about KFC: In Russia they serve beer on tap. On mainland China KFC's don't actually sell fried chicken, rather chicken sandwiches. But in Hong Kong they do sell fried chicken though. I've had KFC on five of the six inhabited continents, and by the end of the year I'm hoping to complete my quest in Argentina:)
A higher-end chain I like to patronize is Vapiano. It started in Germany but now can be found around the world. It does Pizza and Pasta in a fast food format, with the twist that your food is custom made in front of you.
So take that travel snobs!

Oh...Krispy Kreme! They don't exist in my neck of the woods. I only ever get them when we go to the uk. There used to be a little kiosk at Waterloo but then that disappeared. Then we found a kiosk at Victoria station and when we visited my sister in Portsmouth got some there...and in Bath! So KK is a treat for us when we travel.

And...we did eat at kfc on one of our trips to Paris...(hangs head in shame...lol)

Ha ha I am with Inna , traveller versus tourist is all baloney .
I used to stay with my granny in Paris for a few months every other summer when i was young.

Was i a traveller, tourist, or just visiting granny?
I have no idea. I went on tours, asked for granny to find me peanut butter( almost impossible in 70s) and bought tacky souvenirs for my friends , just like a tourist, I also hung out with neighborhood girls, went shopping for groceries at market, took out garbage, washed dishes etc, just like a local.

Anyways now i am just a tourist, and i have gone to mcdonalds a few times, buy a coke get the code to the bathroom, or when i brought my 13 yr old, he loved Egg McMuffins for breakfast, they were cheap protien breakie.

This is an interesting topic to me, less the MickyD tangent than that of DYKWIA type of personality and how to handle them. My counselor friend has the opinion that such people with their dysfunctional personality are drawn to a group tour, or a group walk, any group situation open to the public, because they don't really have that many friends of their own, and a group situation is a "captive audience" for their rantings. She says that although they seem to have too high esteem, in reality they have a needy personality with quite low self-esteem. She advises strategies such as interrupting their rant with something like, "I know you already are an expert on this topic, but I myself would like to ask the guide...(whatever you want to change the topic to)." so that, though in you are cutting them off, you're throwing them a bone (compliment) as you do so. True, it's hypocritical, but for someone like me who can not handle discord well, it's a way to shut them up while mollifying them at the same time.

When I am in Spain, my Spanish hosts seem to think that taking me to McDonald's will be a treat. I hardly ever go at home, but they think they are doing something nice for me, and I appreciate it. On one trip, I discovered a chicken wrap that didn't (yet) exist in the US. A year or so later, when it appeared on the US menu, it was fun to say that I had had that some time back in a McD's in Spain. When I was last in Barcelona, my friends wanted to have lunch at KFC because they had never been there and wanted to know what was good to order.

I am a big fan of fast food . . . except in North America. In France, it's anything snatched from a patisserie - sweet or savory (not a crepe lover). In Italy, well, it's usually gelato or a great salad or sandwich from the supermarket (they will make sandwiches to go from the meat/cheese/salad counter). In fact I've had great, cheap sandwiches like that in many countries - last time was in Hallstatt (cost less than €2).

I have gone into McD's for the toilet, but I prefer to use a 4- or 5-star hotel. The staff are a lot nicer about letting you use them, and they are nearly as attractive as the opulent lobbies.

Turnabout is fair play. The issue, James E, mph and a few others, is about laziness.

Does anyone need to go to McDonald's for a quick meal in Europe or anywhere else the omnipresent chain is located in the world? There are always local options for a quick bite that are better quality and less expensive or the same price. The best meal I have had in more than a dozen visits to Europe was fish and chips in Glasgow, a working man's repast. I've never been on a foodie tour in my life. It's about showing a little gumption and trying something new to broaden the palate. If someone wants to go to McDonald's, it's his or her choice, and I don't look down on it, but neither should anyone else look down on those who don't want to go to McDs. Does anyone need to purchase a group tour to see great sites in Europe or anywhere else? In 17 trips overseas, I have never been on a group tour in my life. If someone wants to spend the extra money to purchase a group tour, fine by me. Everything I need to know is in a decent guide book. If that makes me arrogant, I'm proud of it, because I am not lazy, know how to crack a book and do my travel homework. Does anyone need to stay at a swanky, five-star hotel overseas? Hostels, family-run B&Bs, pensions have worked fine for this middle-aged man.

Well this has certainly degenerated. DYKWIA--yes we do.

Twenty-plus years ago, with a newborn in tow, we actively sought out McDonalds while travelling in Central and Western Europe. Alas, but it was not for the food....it was for the bathrooms.......which had diaper changing tables!

Craig, I agree!! I have never been on a Group Tour …. Poooey Group Tours!!! Those are for Tourists and I am no tourist! If I can’t find a reliable car and driver sometimes I just grin and bear the walk! I remember that sort of thing happened on a trip back in 2009. Sometimes you just gotta tough it out. But I will stop at McDonalds for a milk shake.

I have popcorn now...keep it going.

I enjoy these.

My favorite is the Olive Oil Popcorn from Trader Joe's-love that!

I am going to take back my "Craig is a lonely middle-aged man" comment. Frankly, I thought it would have been deleted by now. In a roundabout way, he's just saying that he is "frugal". No problem with that. I'm fine with paying extra for whatever sojourner niceties I can afford, but I don't look down on those who choose different paths.

Generally I differentiate between a Traveler and a Tourist by how loudly they complain about European toilet paper.

Craig , sorry you are still coming off as arrogant and presumptious in assumptions.

I am not lazy buddy, i bet i have tucked away far many more days of foriegn independent travel under my belt then you, and if i want a diet coke form mickeys it does not make me lazy or stuoid, actually , it makes me frugal, diet coke at mickeys in paris 2 euros, diet cke at cafe in paris 4 or more euros...seems like you enjoy the luxuries more then i...

I buy food from bakeries and have picnics, i rent an apartment now and then so i can make my own bed every morning . And i stay in cheap hotels too, little family run places often, but i do that to save money so i can visit for 4 weeks , not 2.

I am still a tourist and so are you!

What hurts you so much about that, tourist is not a dirty word.

I don't care if you call me a traveler, tourist, or sojourner. I am too busy seeing the sights in Europe and soaking it all in to care!!! I must admit, I did eat at McDonald's once, just had to have me some fries, sometimes a little bit of home feels good ;)

Dave you are all wrong. You need corn popped in 90% Saturated Fat Coconut Oil. Nothing else even begins to compare. But since the food Nazis took over the country you cant find any prepackaged popcorn this way. You have to know a Laotian homie named Humnoy who three times a year smuggles the coconut oil into the US in small balloons concealed in his .... well too much information will spoil the flavor. If you want, I can hook you up. For corn we use Orville Redenbacher's organic non-genetically engineered corn. Now this was discontinued a few years ago but I have a few thousand kilos stored in an abandoned air raid shelter in the basement of a Budapest brothel. Again, I can hook you up. But please be specific that you want what is in the basement and not the other.

Do you know who I am? I tried to figure it out and didn't. Am I a tourist, traveler, sojourner, local? Do I do tours on my own, rent a car or by public transport, or organized tours? Do I eat local food or McDonald, KFC, coffee in local caffe houses or Starbucks? And the answer is: all of the above. Even one trip is many times all of the above. For example: with several friends of mine we flew to Prague, rented an apartment 4 stops by Metro from the center. Then went to Brno by train and had pension with a swimming pool in leafy neighborhood. Then rented a car and went out of touristy areas to Jeseniky mountains. Then back to Prague and flew to St.Petersburg. Four days on our own and 1 day with a guide to see Petershof and Catherine II's Palace. I read and speak Russian (not fluently but enough). Then by train to Moscow, rented an apartment and spent two days on our own then joined the cruise on Volga River from Moscow to Astrakhan. The cruise was done by Russian company. We were 7 English speakers (also from Australia). there were groups from Slovenia,Sweden, Belgium, France, etc.
Another time with group of friends in Australia including Tasmania for three weeks. We rented a car. Nothing booked ahead. When we arrived where we wanted to be we always rented villa, apartment or hotel. Once a dormitory. Never problem.
Or with my spouse we did England and then joined R.S.tour Paris and Heart of France. R.S.tour of Turkey we coupled with Greece on our own. Next time Adriatic R.S.tour coupled with Italy on our own.
2 weeks organized tour and one week on our own in Thailand.
3 weeks organized tour in China then to Europe on our own then back to US proving that Earth is round.
6 weeks in Nepal trekking to Everest more or less on our own hiring a guide and porter there. And so on and so on.
It's hard to put tourists (or travelers or whatever?) into one box. I think most people are like me in this. I think one word for us does not exist. So I would say: (S)he who likes travel.

Ilja, but what about T.P. and Popcorn? Between the two is where all truth lies.

James, you will have to refresh my memory what T.P. stands for. I probably did not pay enough attention at school.
The best popcorn I ever had is sold by my brother and his wife at Departure Bay ferry terminal in Nanaimo. I recommend this popcorn to everybody who happens to go by ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver, B.C. Horseshoe Bay in summer.

Ilja - TP = toilet paper.
James E - that brothel comment gave me a good belly laugh...thanks!

We all tend to take ourselves a little too seriously. After all, what are we talking about? What are we arguing over? A form of amusement and relaxation and maybe, but rarely it appears, a little personal enlightenment! Now there is Irony. Well except for those that see their junkets as a means towards world peace.

Popcorn consumed and guess we've exhausted the original topic of DYKWIA. Time to move along folks.

Why is everyone so offended by being labeled a "tourist"? Aren't most of us visiting a foreign country to see the sights and experience the culture? That sounds like a tourist to me, which is definitely no insult. I'll be spending two weeks traveling through Italy in the spring. I'll have only a carry on back pack, no tour groups, only renting apartments from locals, and I'm definitely a tourist. Because I don't live there and I just want to learn and experience the country. Maybe it's just me, but I'm much more concerned about enjoying myself than worrying about being labeled a "tourist" by people who feel that they travel "better" than the rest of us novice travelers. Get off your high horse and enjoy the world.

This has been a fun read this morning and oddly enough the part that is interesting to me is the McDonalds part. The discussion on who eats there in Europe brought back a funny memory. Like Terry Kathryn my husband is a photographer and we spend a lot of time in France. One year we were staying in Isle sur le Sorgue driving all over the surrounding areas and driving back really late at night . We came to a little French town fairly close to Isle with a long main street and the traffic was all backed up....for blocks and blocks and blocks. We thought there must have been an event like a parade or something but we had to stay in the line because it was only a 2 lane road.....so we crept along wondering what was going on. Then the whole line of cars turned in to an alley of sorts and by this time we just decided to go with the flow and we turned in also. A young French kid said ..in French....may I take your order? We had stumbled on a carry out only McDonalds. It was so busy they had several kids taking your order on walkie talkies, several taking your money and several at the end of the alley which wound around to the main road passing out the food....it was the oddest thing we had ever seen and we ordered something and chatted with all the kids... They were fun and said they said they never saw any Americans at all. They end to this story is that in the coming days we had to retrace this route and in the daylight we saw another huge McDonalds about a mile or two down the road that we did not see when it was dark......this was in the morning and it was packed....I mean packed!!!! We had to use the restroom so we went in and there were people everywhere, at the tables, sitting on the tables, sitting on the floor.No one in the restroom at all...ha. Everyone there appeared to be French. Thanks for bringing back fun memories.

Jane.. I love your story... A priceless little unplanned event!
Those experiences are why I travel...

That area is a photographers dream:)

It always amazes me how various conversations end up in places I never imagined they would. They take odd twists and turns and really show the variety of thinking that a group of people have.

One thing that we all pretty much know as travelers is that other people think differently about the same subject. I once remember RS giving a talk on the difference between Americans and many Europeans - Americans want 'freedom to', Europeans want 'freedom from'. In many cases he is right, but I also know several Europeans who came to the USA to get a big dose of 'freedom to'. IIRC, one of them, a Frenchman, bought a ranch in Wyoming where he specializes in raising grass feed beef and other animals as organically as possible. For whatever reason, he felt it was easier for him to do this in the USA than France. And, of course, I know Americans who have gone to other countries to live and would not think of giving up the social services they get (health care, better mass transit, help raising the kids, etc.) by moving back to the USA.

A DYKWIA person is not a person that does things differently whether it is about eating at MacDonalds or taking a lot of photographs. It is a person who thinks he or she is better than others and demand that others acknowledge it by giving up their rights in order to make the DYKWIA person happy. A DYKWIA will not criticize you for eating at MacDonalds. She doesn't care if you eat or starve to death. She only cares about #1 and she will push her way to the front of the line as though it is her god given right to get served out of turn. We've all probably run into a few while traveling, and in retrospect the stories are often amusing.

Well said, Barnstormer.

James, if I'm gonna get hooked up, then yes, it would be popcorn-though I think it only fair that you let poor Humnoy know that coconut oil is now available here in the U.S. at most markets. You should also know that I'm way ahead of you, as I use a bit in my oatmeal every morning. I'm happy to show up at the Shelter one day and mix up a batch for you and the Mrs., as long as I can get a private car. And some good coffee. Maybe take in the opera...do you know who I am??

Humnoy is pretty upset right now. Way to go Dave!

I just realized that I made a Canadian laugh. Woooooooo!!!!!!!! Quick, everyone go outside and look for a comet. Generally the Canadians are hunting for my hide.... Thank you Nicole P ................ wait, what are you really after....... you aren't with Homeland are you?

@ Craig...I agree with you. I travel in the same fashion, 2 start hotels, a hostel depending, Pensionen in Germany, B&Bs in England, elsewhere small hotels. But I do not fit anymore the definition of a middle age traveler, I'm now a geezer traveler in Germany, but a geezer tourist elsewhere who avoids fast food chains in Europe be it Quick, KFC, MacDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, although I'm tempted at times, such as at the Poznan main train station in 2005, the KFC looked tempting to try since I knew it wasn't there in 1999. In the end I didn't try the place.

Oh James E - I'm always finding things humourous. I tend to (mostly) look on the light side of life... :)

You need to go cheer up your neighbors.......... Glad I could bring a smile. This place gets a little too serious sometimes.