Most Embarrassing Travel Moments: 2007
Part of the fun of travel is the ridiculous spots we find ourselves in due to a language barrier, cultural misunderstanding, or just bad luck. Do you dare to share your most embarrassing European travel moment?
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
Lost in Translation
While dining in a small locals restaurant in Northern Spain. The waiter, not speeking any english, found a translation card and brought it to us so we could decipher the menu. My mother-in-law thinking the translation card was a menu tried ordering from it. Saying, "I will have the avacado" as if avacado is an entree anywhere.
Kim
Colorado Springs, CO USA Fri 12/28/2007
Train
A few years ago, I was getting re-married in Switzerland. I got my 72 yr. mother to go since she'd never been to Europe. We flew into London 1st,then onto Belgium. She had been constipated for several days and had taken several laxatives. While we were waiting for our train to leave in Brussels I got off the train leaving mother alone. As I was talking to a fellow American at the train station, with hundreds of people walking by toilet paper along with feces falls out from under the train. Getting back on the train she then tells me she finally relieved herself. To this day I still kid her about this, even giving her a sign that says only use the toilet when the train is moving.
Tim Gallenstein
Golden, Co USA Tue 12/04/2007
Riding the bus in Madrid
I got on my first bus in Madrid and after finding out the fare, proceeded to put a coin in (what I thought was) the coin slot. The driver started talking too quickly for me to understand, apparently quite flustered. Turns out, you are supposed to lay your coins down on a surface next to the driver, and the slot is not for coins but for some type of card. I don´t know what he was saying to me and I was afraid I´d broken the machine. Finally I understood, ¨don´t worry¨ so I took a seat. Fortunately there were no passengers on the bus, but I was still embarrassed for the rest of the ride.
Alex
Denver, CO USA Sat 12/01/2007
Kindly Italian
Thanks, Chris! This re-affirms my thinking that there are wonderful, thoughtful people everywhere. We hear alot about the negatives and rip offs, but not enough of the experience you had.
Steve
Richmond, VA USA Sun 11/18/2007
Lost In Milan
After many hours of travel; sleeping with my head on a American Airlines 777 dinner tray from Chicago, circumnavigating the maze of terminals and security at Heathrow, and being delayed several hours waiting for my Alitalia flight to depart I had finally arrived at Milan Malpensa. Now anyone who has been to Malpensa knows that it is far from being in Milan. You need to take an express train from Malpensa to Milan proper, speaking little (well none really) Italian I managed to find the station for the express train in the terminal, buy a ticket, and embark on my journey into Milan. Now the train goes into Stazione Centrale, which was no where near where my hotel was, so looking at the map I had purchased at the Borders before I left I decided on what would be a good stop for me to get off that would be closer to my hotel. Or so I though. I got off at that stop...and it was like I had stepped into 28 Days Later. It was only 8:30 local time but the station was deserted. Not a single person in the station...just some trash gently blowing across the floor. I ended on out of the station and started walking in a direction, dragging my suitcase behind me on the cobbled streets of Milan. I wandered around a couple blocks before I decided to look at my map again...the spiderweb of streets that make up Milan are almost impossible to comprehend, especially someone who comes from a relatively gridded city like Chicago. The problem was I knew where I needed to go on the map but I had no idea where I was. I strolled aimlessly a few more blocks until I saw an older Italian man out walking his dog. Using the few Italians words I know I spit out "Dove Via Butti?" and he began spitting out directions to my hotel in Italian...finishing with "Capice?" I shook my head in pretend comprehension, but he could tell I didn't understand. So he told me again..."Capice?" I said "Si" and proceeded to walk in the direction that he had been motioning. He must of realized that I still had no idea where I was going because minutes later he was back by my side leading me to my hotel. We kept walking, kept walking, kept walking...and finally we arrived at my
hotel. I left the gentleman with a handshake and a "Grazie Millie" I wanted to say thank you again to that man who guided to me to my hotel that night in Milan, if it wasn't for you I think I would still be wandering the neighborhoods of Milan.
Chris
Chicago, USA Mon 11/12/2007
Italian Dinner Misunderstanding
During my honeymoon, we were lucky to see Italy which was my first foreign travel experience. The first night, we decided to eat at a restaurant in the suburbs of Rome. I wanted pasta and my husband wanted meat so we ordered accordingly. Well, I got my plate first, and my poor husband watched clueless as I ate, but his food didn't come. Then, I finished, and his food arrived. We didn't understand "first" & "second" plates! I'm sure the locals got a kick out of that one.
Sasha
Germantown, MD USA Wed 09/26/2007
Italian Elevators
After few days Italy, one begins to just assume that everything mechanical is broken. In Rome, I complained just about everyday about the elevator at our hotel being out of service. The poor door man kept having to check it and saying it was working fine. Then in Sorrento I had the same experience with the hotel's elevator there. From the outside I was pressing the foor indicator lights thinking they we were pressure sensitive or something. We walked up and down a lot of stairs for no good reason...
Francis Saffell
Springfield, OR USA Sat 09/01/2007
Get that wording correct
Many years ago, while stationed in Italy, several of my friends and I were looking forward to visiting the casino in Venice. We had lost our way on the road and I was chosen to ask for directions seeing as how I had a better command of the language. We stopped the car and I asked an elderly women where the casino was. This elderly lady screamed at me and we almost got the car blasted with her umbrella. My fellow passengers asked me what that was all about but I didn't know. Further down the road I asked an elderly man the same question again in Italian and he started laughing. Once again the guys asked me whats going on. I told them perhaps the locals were strange!We never did find the casino. It wasn't until years later that I leared that the word casino, as we Americans pronounce it, means a house of ill repute. OOOPS!!!!
Pete Panozzo <email>
West Chicago, IL USA Sat 09/01/2007
most embarrasing moments
We were in Normandy in June 2007 for the big 60th D-Day celebrations. On the outskirts of Grandcamp-Maisy, we stopped to look at a spectacular new World Peace statue. Three people were also looking at it, and one of the men asked me what I thought of it. I told him it was spectacular but too large for the small roundabout where it was placed. He then introduced himself, gave me his card identifying him as the National Assembly member for that area and proudly said he was responsible for getting the statue for the community. My husband and our good friend are still razzing me about my diplomatic skills!
Cary Miller <email>
Hayden, ID USA Fri 08/31/2007
Morons at the Tower
Hi. While at the Eiffel Tower last year, we were waiting in line for the lift to the top near midnight in June. My wife and I were there for our 25th wedding anniversary. These two twenty-somethings had waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too much to drink, and were making all sorts of comments - loudly - about the various women in line. Turns out they were Australian. The Aussies continued to run their mouths until I told them point blank to shut the hell up, which they did, more or less.
Paul Barhill
Virginia Beach, VA USA Fri 08/17/2007
St. Peter's Basilica
I frequently travel with my mother who recently turned 71. When we were getting ready to go to Italy I had to work hard to get her to say "i-talian" versus "I-talians." I probably give her too much credit for just being ignorant and hoping she'll learn, but when we went to St. Peter's I was admiring the beauty of the building and art as we entered the very acoustically gifted building. I assumed that the way the sound carried was part of why people were being so quiet. My mom walked back over to me while I was standing before the Pieta and said is a very normal voice, "These catholics overdo everything." I can't even describe how embarrassed I was, trying to figure out if I could pretend I didn't know her.
Linda <email>
Portland, OR USA Tue 08/14/2007
Insert Foot in Mouth
We were stationed in Aviano Italy for 6 years and during the first year I had fallen in love with a local funiture store (Ovvio) I saved up the money and courage to purchase a set of loveseats and chair. On the day I went to place my order there was the same woman I had encounted on past trips to the store. She was very unfriendly and seemed to dislike Americans, so when I walked in and saw that I would have to speak to her about my order I became very nervous. I had practiced what I wanted to say in perfect Italian, however when I opened my mouth, all that came out was "I don't speak Spanish" in Spanish. I just wanted to die right there!! She looked at me just the way I felt. Like a "stupid American" Needless to say, I waited for another day for my purchase.
Erin Wilson <email>
Moore, OK USA Sun 08/05/2007
our favorite dead dictator
When I was in my early twenties, I travelled to Italy with three friends. We all spoke some French (learned in school) and figured if we added vowels to the ends of French words, we'd be able to communicate adequately with Italians who spoke no English. Early in our trip, we wanted to ask the elderly proprietress of a cheap, cavernous hotel where the shower was. We knew that the French word for shower is "douche," so taking it from there, we carefully formulated our question in Italo-French and tried it out on the proprietress. She burst out laughing. We didn't realize we we'd asked "Is Il Ducce here?"
Karen Klingon
New York City, NY USA Fri 07/13/2007
Once, two of my friends and I decided to take an 11 day voyage from Geneva to Milan, Florence, Venice, Vatican, Rome, back to Nice [not enough time for each city, I know]. On our first stop in Geneva, we went to this small hostel, where we 3 shared a 3-person room. There were 2 sinks, and something that appeared to be a toilet, but there was no privacy. My 2 roomies [1 guy and 1 girl] refused to use it. I, on the other hand, felt the need to go mmmmm somewhere around 2:30. I tried to pee while they were sleeping and I woke them up. Come to find out, that's where you wash your feet.
Alyson
TN USA Fri 07/06/2007
Careful Listening
Sally, I did the same thing as your husband! Arriving in Venice on the night train from Vienna, we were leaving luggage at the station. The attendant was explaining something to me, and I said, "I am sorry, I don't speak Italian." He gave me a bemused expression, and my travel buddy looked at me and said, "He was speaking English." I didn't expect it, so I didn't hear it.
Alice
Stoughton, WI USA Thu 07/05/2007
Not Quite Authenic Italian Food...
Last summer I was traveling with two guy friends across Europe for 31 days. Late in our trip, we were busy exploring Orvieto in Italy and decided to take a break for dinner. Bent on eating cheap, we wandered from menu to menu- checking each cafe and resturant for the cheapest price. The winner was a small cafe with 4 euro meals to everyone elses 8 and up. The guys were sold but I was a little dubious at the price difference. I couldn't help but make some references to the movie "National Lampoon's European Vacation" (there's a french cafe scene where the family gets frozen meals) as we sat down to order. We waited for our food and I persisted in making jokes like, "I think I heard the microwave ding- our food must be ready". Pretty soon our waitress brought our pasta- in disposable white trays. We stared at eachother flabbergasted. Lifting the trays we could see the microwave directions written in Italian on the bottom. We choked down our frozen meals (one of them was still frozen in the center!) and a good deal of laughter. We weren't exactly travel savvy Americans. If something sounds too good to be true...it probably is!
Jennifer <email>
San Gabriel, CA USA Sun 06/17/2007
Careful listening
During our first trip to Italy several years ago, my husband learned "some Italian" so we would be polite. I learned to read some Italian so we could navigate and order in restaurants.
We were in Pisa on a very, very hot and humid day. We took the train from Florence for a day trip. We'd walked to the leaning tower from the train station which was a bit of a hike, but not bad.
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 D <email>
Littleton, CO USA Tue 06/12/2007
A funny thing happened on the way to Sorrento
While in Sorrento, a friend of the owner of the B&B we were staying in drove us into town. He spoke ZERO English. No problem! As we approached the town of Sorrento, Alfredo inserted a CD, rolled the windows down on his new BMW, and cranked up the volume. We were driving slowly through the heavy traffic down the main drag of town, surrounded by English speaking British and American tourists. The stereo is playing a high energy techno groove. But then the lyrics started: a young woman screaming, "I'M HORNY! HORNY HORNY HORNY!"
Of course it's doubtful that our new Italian friend Alfredo had any clue what the lyric meant. We died laughing!
John <email>
Fort Worth, TX USA Fri 06/08/2007
Speaking up on an Italian train
While traveling through Europe for the first time with my wife, we found ourselves packing into an Italian train passing through Milan. I was dying to strike up a conversation, but since I don't speak Italian, I didn’t. Pulling into Milan train station, one of the passengers leaves our car and in perfect English wishes us a safe journey. Now I'm really kicking myself for not speaking up. There are a bunch of college students, someone must speak English? So I gather my courage as the train is departing the station and ask some of the passengers if that are students at the university in Milan. Safe question right? Wrong. No one speaks English. All they understood was “Milan”, and we just left that station! They assumed we just missed our stop and they are now starting to panic. Everyone in the car is asking us questions at the same time in Italian. Now they are all panicking. We no doubt are now receiving good advice on how to get off the train and navigate back to our stop. This activity reaches a fevered pitch and nothing we can say in English is going to calm things down. It seems like anything, particularly anything with the word Milan in it makes it worse. This goes on for what seems like forever, before we pass a few stations the commotion settles down. We ended up sitting and looking at our hands the rest of the train trip in fear that if we spoke the train car would erupt again.
Thankfully the rest of experiences with speaking up have turned out pretty well, even in Italy.
Dave <email>
Solon, OH USA Thu 06/07/2007
western joys
Travelling for the first time to England in 2004, I needed to go to the toilet desparately at Singapore Airport. I was astonished to see that I had to squat to use the toilets. Well after finishing I headed back to the waiting area and proceded to tell the other passengers about it when a young lady then informed me that the western toilets were the other way. I had a chuckle and remembered that when we traveled to Greece 2 years later.
Matina Bayley <email>
Adelaide, SA Australia Sat 05/05/2007
Paris Ugly American Moment
We were standing far back in line to get Metro tickets in Paris (the kiosk was broken) when this loud voice with a Texas twang shouted out "All We Want to Do is Get Tickets to 'Noter Dame'! (He mis-pronounced Notre-Dame probably thinking he was going to a basketball game at the university not a church) to the man in the ticket booth. My companion and I without exchanging a word slunk away and took a taxi. We didn't want to face anyone in that group with an American accent after that outburst.
Will O'Glen <email>
San Jose, CA USA Tue 04/10/2007
French Friends
I was traveling to Carmargue with my french (elderly) friends. Monsieur kept asking in french for me to stop but there was nothing and I continued on. Finally I pulled up to a gate only to find that the building was closed also. He kept insisting that help in loosen the seat belt. Next I know he is out of the car and urinating. It had taken me a good 20 minutes to realize what his need for stopping was!
Anne Horsman <email>
Columbus, Ohio USA Thu 03/22/2007
Eiffel Tower....
We just returned from a trip to Paris with our 4 young children. One day we were at the Eiffel Tower on the second level waiting for the lift to take us back down. We were still a bit jet-lagged, so I sat down to wait on a bench with my 3 year old daughter and 6 month old baby. My husband entertained our sons- ages 7 and 5 to pass the time. Behind us in line was a Finnish couple. They kept commenting on our family- "Wow, how can you have that many kids so fast! Are they Swedish? No, Americans. Boy, that mother sure looks tired", and other things- none of which was really rude but they went on and on. Well, my husband speaks Finnish fluently and he finally turned to them and said with a big smile on his face "Yes, we are a little tired. Children sure can keep you busy but they are having fun. It is a great experience for them to see Paris," and a few other joking comments. The Finns stood their with their mouths WIDE open! Of course, they assumed that no one could understand them so they said whatever they wanted to. The elevator arrived and they still stood there mortified and embarassed...they stepped back and did not even get on the same lift but waited for the next one. We had a good laugh about it- but there is a lesson to be learned....Be careful about what you say around others in Europe because chances are people (or some person nearby) can understand you even if it doesn't appear that way! ....P.S. Parisians were so nice and kind to us!
Shauna
Utah USA Mon 03/19/2007
Are we both speaking English??
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 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
San Francisco, CA USA Fri 03/16/2007
Language faux pas
I thought I was doing pretty well speaking my high school French in Paris. One day on a recent trip I bought my favorite baba au rhum from a patisserie and was happily eating it while strolling along a beautiful street on the Left Bank. However, some of the rum sauce dripped all over my hands and pocketbook, making a sticky mess. So I went into a cafe and asked a woman who worked there for a napkin, preferably a wet one. She screamed at me that I was "fou" (crazy) and only later did I realize that "napkin" has two meanings and God knows what I was asking for when I asked for a "wet" one!
Dorothy
New York, NY USA Wed 03/14/2007
How's your French?
WARNING TO ALL - Brush up on your French after hearing this.... I was visiting a friend in St Tropez, and he took me out to see some sights - I asked how one referred to the humidity, (that was so oppressive)in french. He told me,and later, back at his family's home when we were meeting his large extended family, I thought I'd wow them all with my grasp of their language... Well, I got a withering look from my friend who later told me that I just announced to them all that I was 'in heat'.
Gwen
Edmonton, AB Canada Sun 03/11/2007
London Local pic
We had just visited Westminister Abbey were entering the tube entrance and I decided to take a quick picture before we left that area. While getting my shot ready, a local (with red spiked hair and chains) thought I was taking a picture of him and started yelling at me. My husband saw him coming towards us and started walking off like he didn't know me, I took one look at the man and followed my hubby's lead. Safely on the tube, I reviewed the photo I got....it looks like the man is smiling and waving at me!
Heather
WI USA Sun 02/25/2007
Scary Polish/Russian massage
We were being shown around Warsaw by an associate, who kept talking about her masseuse Sergei all week. Sure enough toward the end of our stay she shared the good news : she had arranged for Sergei to massage us at his own home! Reluctantly we followed her up the decrepit stairs to his flat, where he ushered me into a room. While it had a proper table, the décor was decidedly un-spa like. Being Russian, he had decorated with Soviet memorabilia, swords and knives. I took off my pants and top, leaving on my bra, undies and socks. He started working on my shoulders and I thought “OK, not bad, just like at home” but then he flung my bra off and started the most painful massage I’ve ever endured. He didn’t speak any English, mainly Russian with a bit of Polish. I speak English and a bit of French. Finally he stops, and comes at me with some device that looks like a block of wood with light bulbs plugged into it. He manages in English to say “Eet eez my method”. I forcefully said “nyet, nyet”, the woman who took us to see him walks in and talks to him and says to me “Sergei says “don’t you want to be beautiful” and shows me marks on her abdomen that look like light bulb burns. I said no, I don’t want to be beautiful and avoided the method. Then I endured some bone cracking which was a bit scary. He finished it off by cracking my back by lifting me off my feet from behind (while I was still topless). I kept telling myself “Europeans think of nudity differently”. Finally the massage was over and I was getting dressed—Sergei lights up a cigarette!
It was scary/fun/horrible/interesting/strange, all at the same time, but a pretty good travel story.
Incidentally, I had to pay for that experience the equivalent of $20 CAD, and then Sergei announced there was no time for anybody else to be massaged.
Ange
Peterborough, ON Canada Mon 02/19/2007
Pisa Italy Photographs
I took photographs of the leaning tower of Pisa but straightened them in my view finder without realizing it. Upon printing photos I was suprised,amused but disappointed.
JS
CA USA Sat 02/17/2007
Ugly Americans
During our guided tour of Versailles in November, our tour guide had a rough time with a group of young American schoolgirls. They were probebly late teens. They were late getting their tickets which made us late getting started. The tour guide went out to try to hurry them along and one of them snapped at her. She was very upset and I felt horrible being an American at that point.
Lisa
Texas USA Thu 02/08/2007
Ugly (and embarassing) Americans
This message board brought back several memories. In Italy last November, my traveling companions and I took a day tour to Pompeii. Our tour guide spoke German, Italian, English and Spanish and translated for the different groups of passengers as we traveled. Once in Naples, we took on another tour guide for our group who appeared to be a retired professor. Many of his comments included words like fantastic, beautiful, etc. to describe of Naples and Pompeii. A group of (ugly)Americans included a woman who felt it necessary to keep snidely commenting on his use of adjectives. While, I think she was quiet enough not to be heard by the guide, it was embarassing to me. The worst was yet to come, however. On the trip home, one of the men in her group started spouting off loudly. He had an opinion about everything including the Tomkat wedding that was scheduled for the next day. Being wrong about nearly everything he was saying didn't even slow him down. But he saved the best for last. His final opinion was this: "I've got this thing figured out. The Italians keep saying stuff is ancient so they don't have to paint anything." A light came on for me then. If only the Romans bought about 5000 gallons of white paint, the Coliseum would look as good as new! Not only was his ignorance of the cost of maintaining and preserving all of Italy's art and antiquities apalling, but his complaining about the country and its people in front of a guide who spoke fluent English as well as several other languages was extremely embarrassing. My only hope is that the guide has seen enough polite, thoughtful and considerate Americans not to have a bad opinion of all of us.
Marhanal
NC USA Wed 02/07/2007
Table Manners
I was traveling in Germany several years backwith my aunt and uncle who were in their late 60s and early 70s. The first morning we were there, we went to the dining room for breakfast and there were only coffee cups on the table except for one very large plastic cup. We got our meal and when we sat down I saw my uncle had filled the cup with milk. It was, of course, the container for table trash. He continued to drink as if it was the proper thing to do but didn't make that mistake again.
Marhanal
NC USA Wed 02/07/2007
DRIVING
A few years ago we were traveling in Germany with a rental car. I had just merged onto an autobahn and was driving along in the right lane. I noticed a large bus behind me and every so often, the driver would blink his lights at me. I checked everything and did not notice anything wrong and I was traveling with the traffic. He continued to do this for 4-5 times and I was beginning to get a little flustered. Eventually a car pulled up beside me and the passenger hollered something at me in German. By then I was so flustered that I hollered back in English "I don't speak English". It was only after then that I realized my left turn signal was still blinking. I still chuckle when I think of that incident.
Fred
vancouver, WA USA Tue 02/06/2007
table manners
When in Germany, my sister and I noted that restaurants frequently have a small canister on the table. We didn't think much of it, and, as one does in the U.S., left our trash -paper napkins, tea bag envelopes, cracker wrappers, etc.- on the table. After a few days, we noticed that the neat Europeans dispose of all of their trash as they use it, in the canister. The staff empties it when they clear the table. We were mortified when we thought of the terrible mess we left our tables in! (Now, we wonder why Americans don't do the same thing. It really does look quite sloppy to have litter all over the table).
Dr. B.
Portland, OR USA Sun 01/28/2007
The Great Hotel Switch
Back in the mid-80's my wife and I were traveling with our two sons, ages 13 and 11. We had a rental car and had found our way ( with many traffic problems) to our hotel on the outskirts of Rome. I had made arrangements via mail, and about a week before we left the States, I sent them a check for the entire amount of our stay. When we dragged our luggage into the hotel, we were told that since we had not used a credit card, our check was not accepted & they were fully booked. they had no room for us. I was furious. After arguing with the clerk for about a half hour, I told the boys to take the luggage over to some sofas in the reception area because we would be sleeping there that night. "DAAAAAAAD! Are you serious?" My wife was ready to shrink into her shoes, but I pressed on. When the boys hesitated with the luggage, I took it over to the sofas, and began to unload the suitcases. It wasn't long, and the manager appeared. He told me that he had located a room in a hotel down the street for a price lower than what he charged. I told him that I would go with him to the new hotel to inspect the new room. If it was unacceptable, I would return to sleep in his lobby. When we got to the new hotel, he had a hurried conversation with the manager, and they showed me to our SIUTE!! It had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a sitting area. Breakfast was included!!! All of this cost about 1/2 of what we were going to pay for a room with two double beds. Needless to say, we accepted the new "room." To this day, the rest of the family counts this as their most humiliating experience. That is saying a lot, because I am prone to having lots of fun at times. I, however, count it as one of my greatest coups!!!
Steve
Hudsonville, MI USA Sat 01/27/2007
Italian Reservation goof
I had been studying Italian and mustered the courage to call a hotel in Italy to request a room. All was going well until the hotel proprietor asked when we would arrive. I responded "Alle tre nel pomodoro." The proprietor started laughing as I had said that we would arrive at 3 in the tomato instead of 3 in the afternoon (pomeriggio.)
Sean <email>
San Francisco, CA USA Sat 01/13/2007