Pushy French are world's worst tourists: study

[wombat2u2004]

Wait a minute,

If they are pushy as visitors and rude as hosts......

hmmmm

And you think they'll share their snail flavoured crisps with ya ???
No way !!!!

[RICHARD]

And you think they'll share their snail flavoured crisps with ya ???
No way !!!!

I draw the line at tacos de tripa, Intestine Tacos!

Really!

[Bonny]

I call them the Poopie French. On vacation out West years ago there were French & German tourists everywhere. Maybe the money exchange was in their favor. A Frenchman was trying to put leaded gas into an unleaded gas car rental gas tank because it was cheaper. The nozzles on the hoses are different & he was getting gas all over the place. :eek Then if you met them on the sidewalk or trails they would not move out of the way or single file it. I got to the point when I met them I would stop & not move & they would have to go around me. Then two French families got into it over a motel room. They kept trying to get the cheapest discount for a room. Finally the clerk told them she didn't have any rooms for either of them. Then I was in a convenient store & had my stuff at the register & a Poopie French lady barged in right in front of me. The clerk told her I was first in line she would have to wait her turn. They had zero manners & sucked big time.

[wombat2u2004]

I call them the Poopie French. On vacation out West years ago there were French & German tourists everywhere. Maybe the money exchange was in their favor. A Frenchman was trying to put leaded gas into an unleaded gas car rental gas tank because it was cheaper. The nozzles on the hoses are different & he was getting gas all over the place. :eek Then if you met them on the sidewalk or trails they would not move out of the way or single file it. I got to the point when I met them I would stop & not move & they would have to go around me. Then two French families got into it over a motel room. They kept trying to get the cheapest discount for a room. Finally the clerk told them she didn't have any rooms for either of them. Then I was in a convenient store & had my stuff at the register & a Poopie French lady barged in right in front of me. The clerk told her I was first in line she would have to wait her turn. They had zero manners & sucked big time.

You know why french people have big noses ???
Cos the air is free !!! HAAAAAH !!!!!

[Bonny]

On the other side of the coin. We had 3 French students stay with us for a month, three different summers back in the 1970's. They were the best well behaved kids & clean.

When in Alaska years ago we stayed at B&B in Valdez. There was a snorkel snouted French doctor & his lovely wife. They wouldn't sleep in the basement room so we gave up our room on the upper level. I can only think the reason was the possibilty of an earthquake & the place caving in is all. He reaked of arrogants & his sweet wife was not French but Oriental. At breakfast he complained about the food. The hostess said they trashed the room she put them in. So you run into all kinds. I would of liked to have thrown my cup of coffee in his face though just for good measure.

[Sirrahsim]

I haven't had a chance to go down to France yet but a while ago I was being helped by a lady speaking French in Belgium. She was all smiles and chatty cathy with everyone else but when it was my turn she didn't even TRY to speak to me even though I smiled and said hello in French just like everyone else She did crack a smile when I said Merci though so maybe the rest of it was just too butchered to be understandable
Here in Germany I have had MANY good experiences with language and it seems that everyone I have met so far appreciates that I TRY to ask/order in German

[Kirsten]

Here in Germany I have had MANY good experiences with language and it seems that everyone I have met so far appreciates that I TRY to ask/order in German

Where in Germany are you? It's true, many Germans appreciate when people from other countries try to speak our language (btw, I think German must be very difficult to learn). Do the Germans you know try to speak English with you? I have to admit that many Germans speak a horrible English...

Kirsten

[wombat2u2004]

I draw the line at tacos de tripa, Intestine Tacos!

Really!

Ahhhhh...they taste like crap

[Scorpio]

The Germans take the prize for me. Pushing in front of you in queues and acting generally crass. In the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, there are signs asking you to not plant your heathen ass on the benches reserved for moslems. One German lady was sitting right next to the sign. Meanwhile, on the floor of the mosque, a German was pretending to pray moslem-style, while he got his son to video him.

[Sonia59]

K9karen:
In France the tip is optional. People leave a tip only when they are very happy and they think the waiter deserves it. If food was not good or if you were served quickly and had no attention, you don't leave a tip. This is usually what people do, now some always leave a tip, and some never do.

Glad you had nice experience



Bonny, good news for you with the euro not as high as it used to be, you will have less of the stingy poopy visitors


Standing in a queue is definitely not a French, and more generally, European thing Except in great Britain

[Sirrahsim]

This afternoon I took the boys to the park and there was a lady there with her son who was speaking a language I couldn't identify. After a little gesturing and broken German we figured out that we each spoke a (VERY!) little bit of German and French. Between the two languages we were able to exchange names and ages of all the kiddos and she told me that she was visiting her daughter and something about a baby.... Oh and I asked her what time it was
It was great fun! Though not really the topic of the thread it seems relevant

[smokey the elder]

I don't think it's fair to tar a group with a broad brush. I found, many years ago, when I tried out my college German in Germany the folks liked the attempt. I bet my accent was terrible! I think for the most part if you can say, Hello, goodbye, please and thank you in a language that can get one pretty far.

I hope all these line jumpers don't go to Disney World or Universal Orlando...line jumpers are VERY frowned upon!

[Kirsten]

I live way over by Trier! In my experience so far, I will speak German the best I can and they will answer me in English. Maybe because I live near a US military base?? I've only met a couple of people who I could not understand at all, even with asking them to speak slowly, but we managed to communicate well enough with hand gestures I love Germany

I never visited Trier (it's about 375 km away from where I live) but it must be a beautiful city. One of the oldest towns in Germany, with a strong Roman background and influence...
Yes, could be very well that the people there are used to the US people on the military base and that's why they speak English with you.

Glad that you like Germany! However, the weather is really awful this spring, usually it's not that bad!

Sirrahsim, I agree that German is difficult. In my case it's because of the grammer. I do understand a lot, though.

Randi, I used to be on holiday in Denmark many times when I was younger, and I always found that most Danes spoke an excellent German - with a cute accent, of course!

In the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, there are signs asking you to not plant your heathen ass on the benches reserved for moslems. One German lady was sitting right next to the sign. Meanwhile, on the floor of the mosque, a German was pretending to pray moslem-style, while he got his son to video him.

I agree that was disrespectful. If I was there, I would have been ashamed of my fellow countrymen... However, not all Germans are like that, there are many who respect foreign cultures.

This afternoon I took the boys to the park and there was a lady there with her son who was speaking a language I couldn't identify. After a little gesturing and broken German we figured out that we each spoke a (VERY!) little bit of German and French.

Maybe they were from Luxembourg oder Belgium? These countries are very close to where you live now...

Kirsten

[Sirrahsim]

Yes they very well could have been from Luxembourg or Belgium! That didn't even occur to silly me