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Tourist observations in your town?

Posted by (California USA) on

Over the past several days I've been going through jury duty selection so I've spent loooong lunch hours people watching downtown. There have been an abundance of weekday tourists that I wasn't aware of during all of the years I was working. The tourists we usually encountered were the weekend LAlien day trippers.

Just this week there have been 3-4 large coaches letting out Japanese, German, Italian and other groups at the courthouse where I have to assemble every morning. At lunch time I spotted even more well dressed tourists, easily identified by their cameras, day bags, sensible shoes, hats, coordinated outfits, etc. I was noticing them way before I spotted some with their blue Princess Cruise bags wandering up and down State St. It's been an eye opener for this recently retired person.

The incident that prompted me to share this with the forum was observing something that gets reported when driving in Europe, the dread encounter with law enforcement or the possibility of a ticket. When walking across the street today I saw a car turn left where there clearly was a no left turn sign (between 10 am -6 pm). Directly behind the car was a policeman on a motorcycle so as the car turned, the policeman turned on his/her chirpy siren. The car pulled over right beside me and I could see that they were clearly tourists, the passenger had an unfolded map she was holding. The policeman talked to them for a few minutes and then let them go on their way with a verbal warning.

In a town saturated with tourists it was nice to see that this person wasn't going home with a ticket or traumatic experience of being pulled over by the police. The policeman told them to be more careful of signs and our myriad of one way streets and let them continue on their way. I couldn't tell if the tourists were non English readers/speakers or not. I don't think a local would have been treated this way but it was kind of nice to see that the policeman wasn't handing out tickets to visitors who were clearly struggling to find their way but weren't endangering anyone.

Posted by
2128 posts

I was on jury duty a few years ago and while on break there were several tour busses at the courthouse. I almost went downtown today not knowing the cruise ship was in the harbor. Glad I didn't! Santa Barbara doesn't get the hoards like Europe, thankfully. It is nice to hear that the tourists did not get a ticket. I have lived here for over 20 years and still have to think when I want to make a turn. I still go round and round sometimes to get to where I want to go.

I drove years ago out of Rome to Teramo. I was petrified then and wouldn't consider doing it now. No break on tickets there!

Posted by
658 posts

I was in Lucerne, Switzerland 2 years ago and crossed a small street against the red-light. 2 policemen immediately pointed out the light and gave me a verbal warning. In NYC we cross the street all the time if no traffic is coming.

Posted by
244 posts

We live in Northern California. Last week we took a day trip up to Lassen National Park. The road into the park was closed 12 miles in. At the parking area there is a small picnic area. We walked down the closed road and met a couple from Prague., a family from Japan, and another group from Germany. The couple from Prague were enjoying a 3 week trip through the National Parks. Every time we are in Lassen we have run into Europeans. So nice to meet and talk and share suggestions of what to see and do in our part of the world.

Posted by
368 posts

I live near San Francisco. In San Francisco, when I worked there, and now, there are many tourists. I think I tend to take SF for granted and think why do all these people want to come here? The you get what we call a heartbreak day. One where it breaks your heart because it is so beautiful. Even with the crime and areas that are not so nice, there are certainly a lot of beautiful things to see. Maybe I just need fresh eyes and time to play tourist in my own town.

Posted by
103 posts

I live in Detroit. Eight years ago, when the financial situation was at its worst, some friends of mine from NYC came to visit. They stayed in a B&B near the old Tiger Stadium (which was still standing at the time) and followed the hosts' recommendations on places to go and things to see. They raved about some of the wonderful things we have here such as the new (at that time) promenade along the Detroit River, the museums, and so forth. Not long afterwards, a friend from Munich came to visit. We crossed over to Windsor, Ontario, to eat at a Hungarian restaurant that is one of our favorites, drove around Belle Isle and Grosse Pointe and along the Detroit River, went to the Cranbrook art museum (the DIA was closed the day she was here), Pewabic Pottery, Sindbad's (restaurant) and some other classy places, and she was just thrilled with this place. As a Detroit resident, I still never think of this area as a place for tourists, but it obviously is. That's completely omitting the various professional entertainment and sports venues (such as the Fox Theatre, Michigan Opera Theatre, Joe Louis Arena, Comerica Park).

Posted by
7051 posts

We get tons of tourists in the Nation's Capital, especially during summers and at the time of Presidential inaugurations. Lots of families with kids of various ages who take advantage of the free Smithsonian Museums and festivities like the 4th of July fireworks on the Mall. The visitors are always in good spirits and seem to be enjoying themselves - it reminds me of how awestruck I was when I first visited (and now I take everything for granted, sadly). They are good sports considering hot and humid it can be. A lot of visitors come from areas where it's obvious they have no or very little experience with public transit/ subway systems, so they end up driving the locals nuts by violating the unspoken subway rules ("stand on the right and pass on the left", and not stopping right at the top or crowding the doors). Sometimes large groups of tourists are overwhelming and cause bottlenecks here and there but they typically stick to the main tourist sites and rarely explore any off-the-beaten path places or neighborhoods (at least not in large numbers). I don't notice couples (probably because they really blend in) as much as families with kids.

Posted by
5678 posts

I see tourists everyday. I work within a block of the 9/11 memorial and we have the tour guide holding up her closed umbrella. We have the families from Europe traveling right now--is there a holiday? I saw a French family on the subway on Wednesday. The camera's are the give away. But also the huddling on the corner trying to figure out which way to go is a sure sign! Of course, in NYC if you really want to up your tourist quotient for the day, you head to Times Square or Rockefeller Center! I work for British organization and we get lots of visitors from the UK. Before Brexit you could always spot them by all the shopping bags!

Posted by
539 posts

We live on the Alaska Highway in northern British Columbia. Our Summers are very short and we get a very high number of Americans travelling the highway in Summer because one relative or another worked on it during its construction in 1942. Mostly they're travelling in large motor homes or campers. It's nice to run into them at the gas station or coffee shop and strike up a conversation, help with travel times to the next town or gas station, point them to the tire repair shop, etc. I think of how I appreciate local contact when we're in Europe and hope the folks travelling the highway feel the same when I reach out to them.

After all, who doesn't love a Canadian, eh?

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