Since when is this cheap?

[njmom47]

Did you try your search with the word "discount" or "cheap?"
I belong to a few websites that you can choose your destination and they will email you when there are deals available. (not that I'm traveling any time soon but....one can hope!)

 

[Ava]

No more than we teach "foriegner hate" over here. Both sides are guilty. Have you ever heard the term "Ugly American"? There is a reason that phrase is popular. Some of us can go over and give "uncle sam" a huge black eye.

I was in Lisbon last summer with my inlaws where a lovely (and I use that term loosely) young couple were literally screaming at the waitress for moving to slow and not speaking English. When I mentioned that they were in Portugal and that the national language is Portugese, they said "Well if they want my money, they should learn some english". Oh yeah, darlin' you are definitely endearing them to Americans. Had they read a guide book they would have found out that meals are very leisurely in Portugal. people take their time eating so a waitress/waiter generally will not stop every 5-7 minutes to check on you like they do here, that is seen as intruding or "rushing" you.

I also think that we go to other countries ignorant of the customs. Every one talks about rude Parisians but I find that they are not rude but very, very formal. they don't speak loud in public and speaking loud on cell phones is a big faux pas, some thing we yanks do all the time especially in inappropriate places (museums).

So buy a guide book and travel Europe, it is absolutely stunning.

P.S. I am by no means an expert, these are just my thoughts after a few trips.

I know this is off-topic but I find this discussion interesting. I traveled all over Western Europe after college & didn't really encounter any rudeness. In Paris I went to the post office to mail a purchase home to myself and had the most patient older woman wait on me. It took me several minutes to understand that she was asking if I wanted to send my package "par bateau" or "par avion" but eventually we understood each other. (I took French in high school but am not proficient in it at all.)

I think more often than not Americans are treated rudely overseas because they act like the young couple you encountered. They don't take time to learn the customs of the country they're visiting, and they expect everyone to speak English. In my experience, the majority of people in Europe do speak English, especially in tourist areas, but they are more polite about it if you at least attempt to greet them in their own language. I got by in most of the countries I visited only knowing basic words such as "hello," "goodbye," "please" and "thank you."

Before we had DD we belonged to a travel club that offered very reasonably priced (in my opinion) trips to Europe. The last trip we took with them was to Budapest & Prague; it was about $2200 for the two of us, which included flights, hotels, airport transfers, & a 1/2 day tour of each city with entrance to a couple attractions. I thought that was a pretty good deal, and my favorite thing about that club is their prices include the flights. That's usually the biggest portion of the cost of an overseas trip, and many other tour companies I've looked at don't include the flights.