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It is unrealistic to expect tourists to learn something of the language when they are on a tour to multiple countries. Last time we were in Europe we went to Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and Norway. Between us we have some Italian French and Indonesian but we often find when we attempt to use these languages, even Italian which is our most fluent, people answer in English.
I find that if we simply ask, in English, whether people speak English, they are fine with that. If they do not they will inevitably find someone who can.
We found people in Paris friendly, and actually we had absolute no problems in Hawaii. Perhaps as we live in a very large city we do not expect too much in that way. We have been to London many times and despite the reputation of the English, we find the people very compatible.
Never been to Hawaii, but Las Vegas is full of the jaded, tourist industry service types who obviously hate their jobs.
We went to Quebec, which I heard was the rudest place in North America. Not true
I made my son order in french and the waiter was very patient . He even thanked us for allowing him to serve us which in my opinion was the other way around
We went to Cozumel and i made both of the boys speak spanish. As they said "hola" to practically everyone, they were treated well.
Point is that anywhere a little respeft and kindness can go a long way.
Except in Las Vegas or New Mexico. ( I recommend packing in the second one. )
I was there a few years ago and it started raining at the Champs-Elysees. When I walked inside a store the employees were changing the price on the umbrellas! Anything on that street will be overpriced but to get caught in the act doubling/tripling the price because it was raining is a whole new level. I laughed and said I'd rather get wet for free!
I've been to over a dozen European countries and I can't see myself returning to France. Too many other cool places to go!
Funny but that kind of stuff probably happens in just about every tourist spot in the world. We were in Midtown Manhattan last July when a sudden rain shower drenched anyone who was outside. We saw exactly the same thing happen. Demand determines price I guess.
I agree about the cruise ship problem; however, Barcelona has about 6 times the population of Venice and is spread out more. Barcelona can absorb considerably more tourists than Venice.
I am so glad I visited Venice when it was truly magical, decades before it was swamped with cruise ships.
The only seagoing vessel on the days I was there as a very young woman belonged to the U.S. Navy.
To get to Venice I took the train there from Switzerland, and by the time I arrived in Venice—with the help of my phrase book—I could speak rudimentary Italian, i.e. knew currency, numbers, greetings, directions, food items, etc.
I did that for every country I visited throughout Europe. The only difficult language was Dutch (especially pronunciation), and over the years I have learned enough Dutch to get by there, too, even though it is not "necessary" since most of the Dutch, like the Belgians, know multiple languages, including English.
Now your posts make sense. You have a natural talent for picking up languages. Congratulations.
Most people are not so lucky. It would take months of study for many of us to pick up what you learned on a train ride.
Now your posts make sense. You have a natural talent for picking up languages. Congratulations.
Most people are not so lucky. It would take months of study for many of us to pick up what you learned on a train ride.
I have no knack for languages at all, but I had a similar experiences with Italian . I learned quite a lot of basic Italian from the phrase book on the boat from Corfu. It helped that I knew some tourist French and Spanish, and also that Italian is a fun language to speak and not too difficult for the English-speaking ear to understanding. E pericoloso sporgersi.
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Originally Posted by just_because
Yeah, blame the uncivilised greeks, spanish, czechs, hungarians, portuganese, bulgarians, dutch for british problems. Or French, Germans, or Belgians (when there is football to terrorize there). Some of these foreign people put on football matches just to make Brits get drunk and violent and destroy the place. And then they have the gall (or Gaul) to blame our British lads? What's with these people?
What are you talking about, football hooliganism hasn't been a problem in the UK since the 1980's, indeed such is the dramatic drop in football hooliganism that other countries come to the UK for advice. The UK has very low levels of football related violence especially when compared to other parts of the world.
As for resorts like Zante, Malia, Kavos, Ayia Napa, Ibiza, Sunny Beach etc they do only have themselves to blame, for the way they cater to the drunk fuelled minority who go abroad on Clubbing and Partying holidays, and specifically choose these resorts because that is what they cater for.
Magaluf is implimenting change through the introduction of a five-year regeneration plan which srted in in 2015, and is closing cheap alcohol bars and clubs, giving the police new powers, and encouranging families to holiday in the resort rather than cetering for the clubbing and partying crowd.
If Magaluf can manage to change then so can other resorts, and it should be noted that I have blamed certain resorts and not entire countries or nationalities as you make out in your post, indeed most countries have lots of perfectly nice family resorts with no trouble, it's the usual suspect resorts that cause the problems.
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"“If a thing loves, it is infinite.”"
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Location: Great Britain
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Oh and as for British Drinking, it has massively declined over the last decades, and there has been a substantial ride in coffee shops, cafes, casual dining and other leisure facilities. This is reflected on the high street and the night time economy in the UK.
Interesting post, BNW. One reason there may be a drop in alcohol consumption is cost. It has always been expensive to purchase beverages out, especially alcohol, and that has gotten only more so over the years. If it gets high enough, something’s got to give. Coffee in a coffee shop, while decidedly no bargain, is cheaper than alcohol at a pub in absolute terms.
Depends on the type of coffee you're buying. One of the more complex espresso drinks from Costa or Starbucks can easily run you more than the cheap pint option at a pub.
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