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The cities of Europe
Oct. 13th, 2012 10:38 pmI was going to write something long... but looking back on my previous posts I decided to do something short and to the point for once. So, here are some thoughts about the various cities I visited on this trip:
Safety:
The two cities that I felt the safest was in Lucerne and London. This is despite the fact that there's often not a bobby in sight (not counting the guards in the funny hats which are more of a tourist attraction than crime deterrent in London). Now, London, this was explained away by our tour guide as due to the fact that every inch of the city is covered in security cameras (due to former issues with IRA bombings) such that you can't sneeze without being caught on tape, much less commit a crime. Lucerne...I have no idea why you can feel safe in a city that goes pretty much lights out at 7 PM even if you are alone walking the streets after dark.
Paris and Italy, despite often having armed troops in public locations (seriously, are you under martial law or something?) gives me the jeebies if I'm ever not with the group. These are also the two places that multiple tour guides warn us about. Paris is apparently a city where you need to be careful of being mugged. Italy is just a nation of pickpockets and swindlers. Given that several tour members fell prey to the swindling, and almost fell prey to "pro" pickpocketing... it is kinda scary.
Bathrooms:
Lucerne had the best bathrooms hands down. Of course, that's probably cuz it had the least population, including tourism. Paris and London are okay when it comes to cleanliness, but the restrooms are often either require or "encourage" mandatory donations. >.>
Italy is the worst, especially Milan and Rome. Many of the toilets in the public restrooms there don't even have the bench part of the toilet, just the underlying bowl. That's just... ugh. I'd take even the squat toilets of China from 10 years ago over some of those.
Ambience/Architecture:
Personal opinion time...but I think pretty much all the post-renaissance stuff is overly gilded and tacky. That just leaves Lucerne and the older parts of Rome. The Roman ruins are fun from a historical perspective. But personally I like the quaint calmness of Lucerne
General Annoyances:
* Breakfasts in European hotels suck; don't hold any expectations unless you're paying exorbitant prices for the gourmet experience.
* Every freaking country has a different outlet format. Apparently if you buy a set of international adapters, you get like 7 different ones for Europe. This makes no sense to me - why would you unify your monetary system but not the electrical things bought with said money? Wouldn't this make it hell to buy any kind of equipment/appliance that comes with a plug from a different European country? WTF.
* Hot water is an alien concept unheard of in many European shops. Including the ones that serve tea.
* There's nothing all that special about 99% of the ice cream shops (gellateria) in Italy. You just need to find that one store which offers unlimited number of tiny scoops of every flavor in the shop on a single cone for an affordable price. That is, I've heard of such a thing. Never seen it with my own eyes though.
* Beware the pickpockets and guard your purse carefully. Do not make any form of eye contact of do anything to acknowledge random street vendors coming up to you and try to shake your hand/take your picture/stuff things in your hand. If you do, expect to pay or have a escape route/scapegoat handy.
* Prices are horrendous all around, and that's even before you convert to USD. I try not to think too much on it in order not to spoil what's supposed to be a fun vacation.
Safety:
The two cities that I felt the safest was in Lucerne and London. This is despite the fact that there's often not a bobby in sight (not counting the guards in the funny hats which are more of a tourist attraction than crime deterrent in London). Now, London, this was explained away by our tour guide as due to the fact that every inch of the city is covered in security cameras (due to former issues with IRA bombings) such that you can't sneeze without being caught on tape, much less commit a crime. Lucerne...I have no idea why you can feel safe in a city that goes pretty much lights out at 7 PM even if you are alone walking the streets after dark.
Paris and Italy, despite often having armed troops in public locations (seriously, are you under martial law or something?) gives me the jeebies if I'm ever not with the group. These are also the two places that multiple tour guides warn us about. Paris is apparently a city where you need to be careful of being mugged. Italy is just a nation of pickpockets and swindlers. Given that several tour members fell prey to the swindling, and almost fell prey to "pro" pickpocketing... it is kinda scary.
Bathrooms:
Lucerne had the best bathrooms hands down. Of course, that's probably cuz it had the least population, including tourism. Paris and London are okay when it comes to cleanliness, but the restrooms are often either require or "encourage" mandatory donations. >.>
Italy is the worst, especially Milan and Rome. Many of the toilets in the public restrooms there don't even have the bench part of the toilet, just the underlying bowl. That's just... ugh. I'd take even the squat toilets of China from 10 years ago over some of those.
Ambience/Architecture:
Personal opinion time...but I think pretty much all the post-renaissance stuff is overly gilded and tacky. That just leaves Lucerne and the older parts of Rome. The Roman ruins are fun from a historical perspective. But personally I like the quaint calmness of Lucerne
General Annoyances:
* Breakfasts in European hotels suck; don't hold any expectations unless you're paying exorbitant prices for the gourmet experience.
* Every freaking country has a different outlet format. Apparently if you buy a set of international adapters, you get like 7 different ones for Europe. This makes no sense to me - why would you unify your monetary system but not the electrical things bought with said money? Wouldn't this make it hell to buy any kind of equipment/appliance that comes with a plug from a different European country? WTF.
* Hot water is an alien concept unheard of in many European shops. Including the ones that serve tea.
* There's nothing all that special about 99% of the ice cream shops (gellateria) in Italy. You just need to find that one store which offers unlimited number of tiny scoops of every flavor in the shop on a single cone for an affordable price. That is, I've heard of such a thing. Never seen it with my own eyes though.
* Beware the pickpockets and guard your purse carefully. Do not make any form of eye contact of do anything to acknowledge random street vendors coming up to you and try to shake your hand/take your picture/stuff things in your hand. If you do, expect to pay or have a escape route/scapegoat handy.
* Prices are horrendous all around, and that's even before you convert to USD. I try not to think too much on it in order not to spoil what's supposed to be a fun vacation.
