Why I stopped bothering with post questions on alternative destinations

Matthew 7:6

Matthew 7:6

Speaking of Google searches- you made me do it, lol.

I’d say it depends on how much information the OP gives. If they’re a first timer, they’re most likely going to stick to the beaten path and that’s ok. If they give examples of places they’ve been and what they liked, then that’s more to go on.

Yes, I have noticed a lot of postings of questions that are not really questions when you get down to it. They are more like statements in the form "I have chosen to do xxx, tell me I am right and those who tell me otherwise are not right." These usually get deleted after the person sees that we all don't agree. Oh well, live and learn.

For anyone else, Matthew 7:6 - Do not give what is holy to doges; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

and then there's Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.

Pasteur. “ Chance favors the prepared mind.” Prepared to take advice....

Questions that are not questions. Its human nature.

Questions that are not questions. Its human nature.

Is it? :-)

Chani, interesting typo.... don't give what is holy to doges.....
Does that mean don't take your holy objects to the Doges Palace?
🤔

This week I asked for help on a road trip through France and Spain

As a direct result of online comments I have

Amalgamated Bilbao and Seant Jean to a longer stopover in a specific village near San Sebastian

I have dropped Andorra for a village near Foix

I have decided to look up a specific prehistoric park and put it top of my list

Maybe it was the specific comments / attitude you contributed?

I’m glad to have people sharing alternative stops. I really appreciated the person who gave us the idea to stay at Mittenwald, Germany on our way to Salzburg one year. By chance, my screensaver little chapel that winter happened to be located on a nearby lake we hiked around! Also, an overall charming town.

Future ideas for small Italian towns have been gleaned from people answering itinerary advice for others’ postings.

doric8 - LOL. I thought about editing the post but why spoil someone else's chuckle :-)

Why throw shade at dogs. Dogs are great. Well, a lot of them, anyway.

Someone asked me what would happen if a virus wiped out humans and dogs were left to rule the planet. I told them it would be chaos. You would have dogs leading packs and so forth, but there would be no real government or civilization.

I have gotten a lot of ideas for smaller places to visit from other people's threads here, as well as very helpful information about less-than-prominent sights in larger cities. The OP may or may not have taken the information to heart, but I did.

I can understand the reluctance to make changes when you have an entire itinerary laid out and lodgings booked, even if the latter are not non-refundable. I hate canceling stuff. But you're right: Why ask if you have every intention of proceeding down the road you're on?

Do you know how many ideas I have gotten from just reading forums? Your suggestions may have fallen on the deaf ears of the OP, but who knows how many other travelers you have helped? Please do not ever stop giving out suggestions on alternative destinations...you never know how far reaching your suggestions are.

Although I can't remember asking this forum for alternative destinations, I have certainly benefited from others doing so. I have a whole list of what would be considered alternative places to visit, all of which I have learned about here from all of you who are considerate enough to chime in. Thank you and please don't stop!

@ Letizia and lisa......great that you are interested in seeing "alternative" (for lack of a better word) cities and towns.

Should you be interested in seeing such places in Germany, numerous, numerous places come to mind in eastern and North Germany, be they in Mecklenburg, Westfalen, or Schleswig-Holstein, etc.

I know what you mean, but... several years ago while taking a Parisian friend to visit a beautiful church on top of a hill in an isolated, little known walled village in Burgundy, I stumbled on an American family huffing and puffing up the hill. They said someone on the RS Helpline had recommended this village and church and was it worth the climb. I said yes it was and I was the one who had recommended this place on the Helpline.

So, it does happen, but I do hold back somewhat now, also.

PS. We ran into the family in Vézelay later that day, where they told us they had really liked the little church on the hill.

Like acraven, I get valuable ideas for future visits.

When I see someone suggest a place I immediately go to Google Maps to see where it is? I look at the photos to see if it looks like something I'd enjoy? If so, I capture it by saving as a "want to visit" on Google Maps. When I'm next in the area, I revisit those green flags to see if I can make them work into my itinerary. Sometimes they end up being my favorites.

To me, the way to find real hidden gems is to have someone who knows the area suggest them.

Andre is right, but so are the other responders.

I agree it depends on who's doing the asking. If it's a first timer, very often they fit into Andre's scenario. They just want to be told that what they're doing is right. But if it's a more experienced traveler (such as many who've responded in this thread), they genuinely want to make adjustments. And they're not just looking for the "brand names" of travel - the places they've already heard of, that their friends will ask about ("So you went to Paris - how was Versailles and the Eiffel Tower?").

So, for those who really don't seem to want to hear that they're not doing it perfectly, I agree with Andre - I'm much less inclined to give a response. But for those who've given enough detail to indicate that they really are open to making changes, I'm happy to make suggestions - and they often do get taken.

The only time I hold back from offering recommendations is when I see the OP hasn't responded to anybody else's suggestions. Otherwise, I don't look for the motive of the OP unless I see snarky remarks from him or her. That seems very rare indeed.

As others have written, I have gotten so many great ideas from threads like that so I want to make sure I do my part and help others when asked.