Tour Tales
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| Every tour has its odd moments. Share yours! |
This month's mixed-up moments
As a new Tour News feature, every month we'll feature a few funny or inspiring anecdotes from Rick Steves' tour alums. This month's collection comes from online postings at our Graffiti Wall.
If you have a true tour tale to share, send it to stories@ricksteves.com. If you have a photo that illustrates it, please attach it. We'd love to hear from you!
Teeter Taught Her
I wanted to explore my Irish roots my whole life. On my first trip, just after landing at Dublin airport, my friend and I hailed a cab and headed into town. We were so excited, and the cabbie engaged us in conversation about our trip and plans. I thought I was pretty familiar with the Irish brogue, but this first encounter with the real thing was a bit of a workout. When in the course of inquiring about our plans the cabbie asked if we were planning on going to "the Teeter," I stalled, running through my guidebooks in my mind. I couldn't think of any monuments or sightseeing spots called The Teeter, so I just kind of shrugged. Cabbie asks which one we're going to, and now I'm cornered. Pal starts to giggle uncontrollably. I stall, struggling for an answer. Finally I ask, "what's the Teeter?" Cabbie looks at me like I'm recently arrived from Mars, pal goes into fits of laughter, and I finally figure out that this native Dubliner is reasonably inquiring whether the uncultured Yanks intend to take in any of performances at one of the many theaters (NOT "teeters"!) for which Dublin is known round the world. My tongue may be able to approximate an Irish brogue, but my ears never did quite get the hang of it!
— Molly from San Francisco, CA
Men and Directions…in Any Language
During our first trip to Italy several years ago, my husband learned "some Italian" so we would be polite. We were in Pisa on a very, very hot and humid day. We had taken the train from Florence for a day trip. After a long morning and lunch in the hot sun we did not have the energy to walk back to the train. After a few minutes of hunting for the tabachi shop to get bus tickets, my husband found a police officer. He practiced his Italian phrases for asking directions and then very bravely we walked over and asked how to find the tabachi shop. The police officer replied that we were to "go down that street turn left and the shop would be on the right." My poor husband turned to me after walking away and said he didn't understand a word he'd been told. I told him exactly what we'd been told. He looked at me with a perplexed expression and asked how I knew that. I replied, "he answered you in English." Hubby had been so intent in concentrating to understand the directions in Italian, he didn't notice the English.
— Sally from Littleton, CO
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