>Pennyaline wrote:

>> They crowd restaurants and museums. They crowd trendy department and food
>> stores. They crowd the sidewalks. They crowd into the Theater District, into
>> venues on- and off-. They go to movies. Their tour buses prowl the streets.
>> They are perfect strangers who ask us for directions and, not uncommonly,
>> ask to have their pictures taken. They crowd the Park and mass around
>> fountain and statuary like human pigeons. They take the subway. They
>> communicate with language and gestures and customs the natives don't
>> understand and may not cotton to. They're underfoot. They spend millions.

Geez! Why don't all tourists just drop dead, huh? Or stay at home
where they can sneer at *their* tourists. Tourism is a major, if not
the main, source of income for a good many cities, towns, and
countries. Many people like to travel, and the 'natives' are happy to
have customers. Just as 'natives' in any place are a mix of
personalities and habits, the same mix applies to those who travel. I
felt apologetic hearing a woman with an American accent loudly
repeating every other line to her husband(?) during a play, but I
shouldn't have. This isn't an *American* habit; it's a rude-person
habit. Tourists everywhere are cursed for spending too lavishly or
not enough; for being different or trying to fit in; for crowding
local restaurants or choosing familar foods; for crowding museums or
ignoring them; for over- or under-dressing; and on and on.

I have a friend who lived in northern Virginia for several years and
became familiar with (nearly) every public building, museum, and Metro
line in DC. She had only to see someone looking at a map or guidebook
with a puzzled expression to volunteer to help. Most of her 'clients'
were extremely grateful. Taking a picture of Mom, Dad, and the kids
blocking the view of some historical attraction isn't exactly hard
labor.

Lighten up!