tourists – Page 3 of 4 – Rasmenian Detritus

Miles of Berlin Before We Sleep

August 20, 2009December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"Gotta go over the Berlin Wall I don't understand it.... I gotta go over the wall I don't understand this bit at all...." -Sex Pistols, Holiday in the Sun * * * The world is full of great cities, each of them considered "great" for reasons all their own. I haven't seen them all and there's a good chance that I never will, but I've seen a few. I've been rained on in London. I've stepped in Parisian doggie doo on my way to the Eiffel Tower. I've drunk sweet, sweet Guinness in Dublin. I've done a shitty Sean Connery imitation in Edinburgh. I have yet to argue with a NYC cab driver, but it's on my list of clichés to act out. Then there's Berlin. Sure, I consumed sausages, beer and sauerkraut in Berlin, so there's one more big city cliché checked off on the list, but there's so much more to it. I went crazy in Berlin. I walked around slack-jawed, laughed, learned, cried and shook my fist at Berlin while...

Copenhagen, Part 2: Nothing is Rotten in the State of Denmark

August 7, 2009December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

“Traveling expands the mind rarely” -Hans Christian Andersen “My life is a lovely story, happy and full of incident.” -Hans Christian Andersen “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” -Marcellus, Hamlet scene iv * * * It only took one day for me to decide that Copenhagen was my new favorite place in the world and that absolutely nothing was rotten in the state of Denmark as far as I could tell. The second day there only assured me that I was right.Of course, I didn't need that assurance, but you get the point.Since we were there as tourists, we were obligated to make a trip to see The Little Mermaid statue at the harbor at Langelinie. No, this was not Disney shit - what I'm talking about here is a statue based on the original Hans Christian Andersen story.First, we had to make a trip near the Royal Theater opera house to catch the boat that would take us to the...

French Table Manners

May 4, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

From time to time, I'll read blogs and articles that have been written by other expats living in France. Some of these people are "travel experts." Others are people who have visited Paris once or twice. Many are expats like myself.One topic that always seems to come up is French table manners. It seems that many Americans are confused about French table manners and possibly, even a bit intimidated.That's silly. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just people eating food. And besides, they've done away with the guillotine over here.I am not a travel expert (what the hell does that mean, anyway?) and I'm not snobbish enough to have earned the joy of having an etiquette stick shoved up my ass, but I likely know more than the average tourist and my opposable thumbs have allowed me to use a knife and fork for the past few years without a major incident. There are a few things I've read...

Annoying Americans, Volume 3 – Ordering Food

March 17, 2009November 24, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

Ok, so imagine this: a group of people that you don't know come over to your house for dinner. They don't speak your language very well - they expect you, as the host, to comprehend everything that they say. They point & pantomime, occasionally spitting out a few words that you can understand.This group of strangers gag when they see the food that you set before them. They balk in their foreign tongue & ask for other food items that you've never heard of, as those things exist only in their country.They're obnoxious, rude & don't understand what the problem is.Of course, the problem could be that they're naturally assholian, but it's more likely that they're just ignorant.Which is worse? Um... does it matter?I've seen this happen here in Paris. It's fucking painful to watch. American tourists in restaurants & cafés who haven't the slightest clue about ordering food in France. To be fair, it can be confusing. However, I've...

Annoying Americans, Volume 1 – Blending In

February 2, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

There's a strange phenomenon that occurs after living in France even for a very short time. It's a little odd, but it does happen.It doesn't take very long, but eventually, you can forget how to speak English.Now, don't get the wrong idea. Maybe what you're thinking is, "Wow...being immersed in the French language can actually push English right out of your brain?"Of course that isn't what I mean. Don't be asinine. Besides, what kind of dolt forgets their native language like that?Here's an example:One not so very interesting day, I decided to take my camera & go for a stroll through the Montmartre Cemetery. I'm all alone & searching for the grave of Degas. I'm having no luck, so I head back to entrance so that I can take a gander at the map.That's when I saw them. The four of them were wearing matching T-shirts that read "Paris", all spelled out in glitter. They were wearing their matching backpacks,...

The Giant Spoon and Skinny Streets of Spain

August 14, 2007December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

So, what did you do today?I went to SPAIN!Yep, after a day of lounging around on the beach, Olivier and I got up bright and early, left the cat in the apartment at La Grande Motte and hit the road to spend the day in Spain. After a few hours on the highway, we reached the French/Spanish border.We went to Figueres and our first priority was of course, to find food. We found a tiny place that served tiny, microwaved frozen burritos and other frozen crap. Oh, well... we ate it... and yes, I would pay for it later. There is a Salvador Dali museum in Figueres and we headed back to the car so that we could make an attempt at finding it. On the way back to the parking garage, we happened upon a the biggest absinthe spoon ever.However, there wasn't a glass or bottle of the green stuff to go along with it. We happened upon the museum on our...