Americans abroad

[scott43]

So the biggest issue with Americans abroad is parking?

I suspect it's a metaphor...

 

[BLiP]

I’m less worried about what the car rental companies require and more worried about having proper identification in the event that I am stopped by local police, am involved in an accident, park my rented Ferrari in a protected historical area, etc. At $20, an IDP is one of the cheapest expenses on any international trip.

 

[James]

So the biggest issue with Americans abroad is parking?

Leaving their Ferraris in Piazzas.

 

[afadeev]

It’s been a few years, but is an international drivers license a thing? I’ve driven in Germany, Austria, Peru, Bolivia and was told each and every time my US drivers license was valid as long as it was current.

It is NOT.
I've rented cars across Europe, including Italy, post-Covid. No-one asks for anything other than the US DL.

The article is a 110% troll piece.
There is a Fiat parked in front of the 488, so clearly, people drive and park there.
And yeah, I walked and dined right on that square. It's mostly pedestrian, but cars DO drive through it. It's a medieval part of town, so driving there is not fun, but doable.

a

 

[Novaloafah]

There's a reason every Canadian backpacker has the Maple Leaf on their pack though.

Mind you not unlike the Scots and the Welsh in that regard...

Oh we like to pretend we are better but yeah, not so much. Maybe Canadians saying they are American when we do "stuff" is skewing the numbers?

 

[Primoz]

@afadeev if Fiat is parked there, it really doesn't mean a thing. Most European (old) city centers are pedestrian zones only, yet people still live and work there, and all deliveries are still done with cars/trucks. But that doesn't mean everyone can drive there, just because delivery van just passed by, or because owners Fiat is parked there. I have no idea what was in this case, but another car being parked there, doesn't mean all is good and he didn't do anything wrong.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Ya, too often we earn our bad reputation.
We aren't alone though, look around a little and it really is not too hard to find nonresidents doing stupid stuff everywhere.

You ain’t got nothing on the Brits and Russians. First and foremost Brits. I am yet to meet a truly obnoxious American anywhere in the world. Perhaps I just got lucky but the vast majority was easygoing, cheerful and just a bit overly enthusiastic folk.
And the Americans I‘ve had the pleasure to work with have all been top notch fellas.

 

[Primoz]

While I have plenty of other reasons to complain about Americans , I totally agree with @Tony Storaro. In all these years, I never ever meet anyone of you who would be annoying or obnoxious. So if we forget your politics, I really don't think anyone would hate you here (I'm sure you can't sy same for me ). There are representatives of other nations that are way more obnoxious then you guys are. Seems like I'm not only who really likes Britts and Russians, with one exception of Russinans... normal ones are some of nicest and most friendly people on World, while rich (or richer ones), are most obnoxious people people on World, and not just some, but more or less every single one.

 

[Bill Miles]

Here is a little story. I was on an international aviation rulemaking committee and we had a meeting in Europe (I think this one was in France).

A French guy offered a German guy a taste of some special wine he had. The German guy chugged it. We almost had WW III.

Then there was the time a Russian certification team visited us in Wichita. At the end of our meeting, the Russian guy brought a bottle of vodka out of his briefcase and stated we needed to have a toast to properly conclude the meeting. We complied in the interest of international relations even though our chief engineer was a strict teetotaler (he examined our expense reports for alcoholic beverages) and I don't know what would have happened if he found out.

 

[Tony Storaro]

While I have plenty of other reasons to complain about Americans , I totally agree with @Tony Storaro. In all these years, I never ever meet anyone of you who would be annoying or obnoxious. So if we forget your politics, I really don't think anyone would hate you here (I'm sure you can't sy same for me ). There are representatives of other nations that are way more obnoxious then you guys are. Seems like I'm not only who really likes Britts and Russians, with one exception of Russinans... normal ones are some of nicest and most friendly people on World, while rich (or richer ones), are most obnoxious people people on World, and not just some, but more or less every single one.

Yeah I am talking tourists here. Normal people are well…normal everywhere

 

[Primoz]

@Tony Storaro I was talking about tourists too, but with "normal" I meant people with sort of normal income, not those few top % of rich ones. Back in days, when Russians were still allowed to travel EU normally, by far best and nicests guests we had in our apartment were Russians. On the other side, especially when traveling around my wife's home country (Finland), I had "pleasure" to meet also a bit richer ones. And it's hard to find more arrogant and obnoxious people. So yeah, Americans are just fine and as far as I'm concerned not problematic, not arrogant and not annoying at all But people who drive Ferrari (or any other 100+k eur worth car) are same, whole bunch of ego problems, not related to citizenship or nationality

 

[RobSN]

I'll just leave this here.

American Tourist Fined For Parking Ferrari In Historic Florence Square | Carscoops

Police quickly responded and found the man didn't have even have an international driving permit

www.carscoops.com

His #1 mistake was to go to Florence (Firenze). I returned a rental car in 2008 and possibly made a wrong turn in Florence, immediately turned round and found the right way to go. 10 months later in 2009, by which time I no longer had my rental receipt or anything, the effing Florence authorities levied a fine against me with a blurry photo of a license plate in basically a kangaroo court action. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER go to Florence again. I will NEVER spend any money that will in any way benefit Florence. Little sh!ts.

 

[Cheizz]

Ah... courts and bitching on them. How bad would it be if courts - supreme or otherwise - were political in any way? Scandalous!

 

[RobSN]

Ah... courts and bitching on them. How bad would it be if courts - supreme or otherwise - were political in any way? Scandalous!

Nah - it was the extreme unfairness of the authorities in Firenze of waiting 10 months before assessing the fine, thereby making it impossible to mount a defense. As for the political comment, you've been reading too many uninformed political commentators I suspect!

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

For better or worse I haven't heard much about Chinese tourists of late. They were all the rage a few years ago prepandemic surpassing the American tourist, or any nationality really, with their strange, funny, embarrassing, and sometimes downright shocking tourist antics.

 

[Tony Storaro]

His #1 mistake was to go to Florence (Firenze). I returned a rental car in 2008 and possibly made a wrong turn in Florence, immediately turned round and found the right way to go. 10 months later in 2009, by which time I no longer had my rental receipt or anything, the effing Florence authorities levied a fine against me with a blurry photo of a license plate in basically a kangaroo court action. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER go to Florence again. I will NEVER spend any money that will in any way benefit Florence. Little sh!ts.

Florence is beautiful and Tuscany is amazing. Just don’t rent a car perhaps

Wonderful memories of me sleeping on the lap of my then GF now wife in the gardens of Pitti Palace, drunk AF…

 

[RobSN]

Florence is beautiful and Tuscany is amazing. Just don’t rent a car perhaps

Wonderful memories of me sleeping on the lap of my then GF now wife in the gardens of Pitti Palace, drunk AF…

Tuscany IS amazing, and I have been back 3 times since that 2008 visit, but not Firenze ... Not entirely sure how you could get drunk AF in Tuscany though ... hold on, hmmm, Chianti, Vin Santo, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the list is endless ...