I hope you are joking…..

We’ll take it from there, dependant on your answer

-A

Is this a joke?

Your friend probably saw one drunk lad peeing outside at 3am, and one person smoking on the Milan subway, and now she considers herself the expert on Italy. Tell her to get a life.

no.. i’m being completely serious!

My friend said she HATED italy for those reasons..and more! I just want to know if there is any truth in her accusations! because I am really looking forward to Florence/Rome etc.

… sorry, i’m not trying to sound ethnocentric or ignorant, I just want to know if any of what she said reflected even a grain of truth.

I bet alot of us on this board have had a pee in a doorway somewhere and we have all laughed it off, doesn’t matter what country you are in, as for smoking on public transport, just open the window or better still, Walk, you get to see alot more that way
I remember New York stunk off dead rats, but that didn’t put me off, I’d go back tommorrow if I could

Public bathrooms are not one of Europe’s strong points. I’ve noticed urine smells in several cities – but it’s not pervasive and overwhelming. I suppose the hotter it is, the more you’ll notice it – but I really doubt she faced continual urine smells.

Always have toilet paper with you, and soap.

Be prepared to spend 50 Euro cents or so for a public WC, or else go into a cafe and use the facilities (but then you’d probably want to buy a drink). Or stay at a centrally located place, and go back there to use the facilities.

In Italy, people aren’t allowed to smoke on public transport by law, and I never saw this happen. How many times did it happen that she saw this?

I thought Florence was one of the cleanest places I was at in Europe. When was your friend in Europe??? I have never experienced a smoker on any public transport other than a taxi driver.

quote:
I bet alot of us on this board have had a pee in a doorway somewhere and we have all laughed it off

Have we?? I can’t imagine anything more yuk!

As for Florence, I have no idea if it smells of pee or not. But the Paris metro smells pretty disgusting (not sure what it is though).

Didn’t smell any pee in Florence. Never saw anyone urinating in public. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but I didn’t notice any public fouling taking place.

Smoking on public transport wasn’t seen either. However smoking in restaurants is the norm.

Rome could be considered "dirty" if you like your cities filled with sparkling steel and glass structures, but it’s an ancient city! It’s part of its charm.

Paying to use the toilet is the norm throughout most cities.

Don’t allow one persons bad experience make you write off an entire country without experiencing it for yourself!
[url=‘http://www.colin-julie.com/travel.htm’]Rome & Florence Travelogue[/url]

I have been living and traveling through all of Italy for 3 months. I love it, and haven’t found it any dirtier than any other cities I have been in. Perhaps she is meaning that it is more rundown. If that is the case, yeah it is. But that is what makes Italy so beautiful, the fact that it has retained its old-world charm. If every building was modern it would lose all of that. As for smoking, I’ve never seen anyone smoke on public transport. And yes, throughout all of Europe it is rare to find public bathrooms.

Have a fantastic trip to Italy. Bring along or buy an extra suitcase. You are going to want to bring back a lot of pesto, olive oil, and a caseload of Illy coffee for your espresso maker (you can get them for about 10 euros.)

Ciao!

Hah, I must admit, it’s funny you weren’t joking with the OP

Basically, I second what everyone on here has said. Of course there are exceptions, and maybe your friend who was in Firenze truly did have all these experiences, but they are not the "Modus Operandi" for Firenze. So no worries.

The smoking may take some getting used to for you if you are the type of person who is very put off by it (I’m not). While it might be "illegal" in certain places, that’s not to say that you won’t see and smell people smoking in them. The Belgrade Airport was one of the smokiest places I’ve been in my life, for example, and I think it was "non-smoking."

All in all, have an awesome trip. I’m sure you will!!!

-A

sadly, i have not been able to travel as much as some of the other people on this forum, but the one place i have been in this world, is italy. i did not find roma dirty at all. and firenze does NOT smell like pee.

quote:help! i was looking forward to italy until today!…

if becuase your friend told you 3 absurd things and you think this is going ruin your trip, thats too bad. personally, i went to italy for the culture, art, museums, the buildings and the food.

Don’t let that ruin your trip. The only problem that I have had was in Barcelona. I found there was a garbage smell for most of the time I was there. You couldn’t even open the window of the hotel because of the smell. After a while, you just get used to it. Southern Europe can get very warm and there are bound to be some odors, but i’m sure that even your own city has those problems at times. Even with that odor, it didn’t effect my trip to Spain at all. I would return to Barcelona in a second, if I had the chance. Just go and see Italy for yourself, and don’t worry about what your friend has said. Everyone on this board, seems to think that there is no problem at all.

1) Europe isn’t home — it’s different. A couple of negatives (in my opinion) are: 1) public restrooms aren’t as common, some smell and some will charge you. 2) smoking is more common, though usually NOT a problem on public transportation where there are very stiff fines for smoking in a non-smoking car.

2) Europe is like home — Most people visit big cities in Europe. Every big city in the world has it’s dirty sections, places that smell like pee, whatever.

So — if you expect Europe to be just like all the things you like about home, it won’t be. If you expect big cities in Europe to be totally different from big cities at home, they won’t be.

It’s really too bad that your friend couldn’t enjoy the place because of some negatives that seem pretty minor compared to all that’s wonderful about Italy.

Thanks! – you have reinstated my italian exitement!
i’ll let you all know in September how it was…

Solveig, I’m rather surprised that your friend’s "experiences" in Italy actually made you concerned. But at least you had the wisdom to consult Eurotrip first.

People peeing outside in Florence, that’s just ridiculous. Especially for a developed country like Italy (it’s a G7 country for cryig out loud.) As I said, she probably ran into a group of drunk lads at 3AM who were peeing outside on some isolated street. As a young lad myself, I’ve done this several times in several cities in several countries. To conclude that "everyone pees outside in Florence" is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Your friend is without a doubt one of thoese people who sees one thing and jumps to the conclusion that this one thing characterizes a particular place/people.

No, Rome is not dirty, and no I wouldn’t call it "run-down" either as someone said above. Just being old does not constitute a building as run down. Modern buildings don’t look "run-down" because they have no paint that can peel off, nor does car exhaust stick to their metal/glass exteriors…most of them just have a nasty 1970s look to them, whereas a baroque building is timeless, even though it requires more upkeep on the outside. There are areas of Rome (key word: areas. Not the city in general) that remind you you’re in a big city with its share of unattractive areas. However, Rome is and always will be one of the world’s most attractive cities.

On smoking, heads up to everyone:

As of January 10, 2005, smoking is illegal in all enclosed public spaces across Italy, including restaurants, bars, offices, you-name-it, unless there is a designated smoking area separated from the rest of the establishment by floor-to-ceiling walls. The designated smoking room must also have a ventilation system. This law is currently being challenged by the country’s restaurant associations, out of fear of losing customers and/or feeling that they should not be put in a position to police their customers, and also because the installation of floor-to-celing walls and ventilation systems would cost too much for most businesses. Some restaurants, cafes, and bars have threatened to defy the ban. Since then, a new health minister has expresed interest in easing smoking restrictions. Until the restauranteurs succeed in changing or ammending the ban, there are stiff fines for both the customer and the restaurant if someone decides to light up. For the customer, the fines can vary. The first customer to be fined when the law came into effect was fined only €27.50 but the fine can go as high €275.

Solveig

I would just like to say that considering your friend was supposed to be on honeymoon, and all she did was complain about pee smells and smoking, well…..her new husband must be a saint (or a masochist).
GOOD LUCK TO HIM!
I can pretty much guarantee that on MY honeymoon…..if i left the hotel room long enough to sample the place we were in, i would be so loved up with the romance of the holiday, i would probably not complain even if we were staying in a shanty town, at the edge of a sewage works.
If she can’t see the beauty and charm of an unfamiliar city on honeymoon, then she’s got no chance on usual holidays.

GET YOURSELF TO ITALY AND HAVE A FABULOUS TIME

I was at a rock concert last weekend here in Montreal where, while we were lining up outside the venue, a really drunk guy decided to pee on the sidewalk. Right in front of us. I’ve never seen anything like that in downtown Montreal before, and I’ve lived here my whole life. We called the security guard over and he escorted the drunk guy to get his ticket refunded cause they weren’t about to let him in.

So yeah, isolated incidents happen.

But come on, it sounds like your friend just had a miserable personal experience in Italy and she’s projecting. I can sympathize, because I caught some sort of nasty bug in Italy and spent part of my time there in bed with 102 fever. Not fun. But I recognize that it’s not Italy’s fault, it was just my personal experience and the country itself is amazing.

heh maybe your friend was staying near the Medici chapels, the walls of that place truly do double as public urinals.

The concert you went to…. was it U2?
I went to the Vancouver concert! it was great!

but speaking of the peeing man you saw.. I saw a similar event in Vancouver – the homeless man was wearing shorts and his zipper was undone..he was sitting down and he took his **** out and pissed right in front of me…

so i guess that urinating in public is an everywhere thing!

If you’re in Vancouver, you no doubt know that the corner of Main and Hastings smells like a urinal.

Haha, no, the concert was Collective Soul.

I saw U2 a few years ago on their last tour. This time around it’s too $$$ for me.

Yes, Florence smells like pee.

Yes, gypsies wait to rob you the moment you step off the train in Rome.

Yes, perverts masturbate on you in the NY Subway.

Yes, you’ll die in a freeway "road rage" shooting on the streets of LA.

Yes, you’ll get gassed while riding night trains in Europe.

Yes, French people spit on Americans.

Yes, all Germans are anti-Semites.

Is this what you wanted to hear?

I never noticed any of that in Florence.

… the fact that I’m going back to live there for 2 months this summer to study there should tell you something too!

People masturbate on you in the NYC subway? woohoo…
how does one masturbate ON someone???

French people spit on Americans? Dont most people spit on Americans? or should I say just the 51% that voted in that psychopathic mass murderer?

My god. Dump this friend. Go to Italy. Make new friends.

Rome was chaotic, smoggy, dirty, and crowded. But I believe that is it’s charm. And the people are hot tempered. Reminded me of Manila.

The moment I stepped into ROme, I couldn’t breathe. It is one of the most polluted cities so that’s what you get.

Oh and didn’t have any encounters with gypsies.

One word, ROme is Chaos.

I disagree entirely. I’ve never gotten that impression of Rome.

quote:Yes, Florence smells like pee.

Yes, gypsies wait to rob you the moment you step off the train in Rome.

Yes, perverts masturbate on you in the NY Subway.

Yes, you’ll die in a freeway "road rage" shooting on the streets of LA.

Yes, you’ll get gassed while riding night trains in Europe.

Yes, French people spit on Americans.

Yes, all Germans are anti-Semites.

Is this what you wanted to hear?

In my opinion…Rome and Florence are two fabulous cities. Both cities have an excellent mix of old world and modern. Just take a walk and you will be amazed how well they have inter-weave modern architecture with ancient ruins. So do yourself a favor and forget the negative impression of each city your friend has filled your head with and visit Rome and Florence with an open mind and discover how wrong your friend was.

You should be more worried about the european squaters (basically a hole in the ground that is considered a toilet), than paying to go to the bathroom. Paying to use public bathrooms is common through out europe. Use free public bathrooms in museums, mickey-d’s, and other american fast food chains (the only reason to go into one of these establishments!!!).

relax and enjoy.

quote:But the Paris metro smells pretty disgusting (not sure what it is though).

I noticed and after a couple of weeks spent there I realised that it was from the burned (OK, not burned but at least overheat) rubber on the wheels.

regars,
Radu[url=‘http://www.outdoorholiday.com’ title=‘Active tours in Eastern Europe. Hiking tours, horde-riding, mountain-biking, cycling, trekking the Carpathians.’] Active Tours in Carpathians [/url]

I once saw a lady hike up her skirt and drop a shit on a platform of the Underground in London, so I reckon Florence might not be so bad.

Kirsty
http://www.travoholic.com

And you call her "a lady" ??
And…did you take pictures of her )

radu[url=‘http://www.outdoorholiday.com’ title=‘Vacations in Romanian Mountains’]Adventure Tours[/url]

You may have seen a woman take a crap in public in London, hell it can take place every single f***ing day, but people are always quicker to judge a southern European country. It sucks, and it really pisses me off. And it’s not as if Italy is a shithole…it’s a developed country with one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Southern European? Seriously? I wouldn’t even know which countries officially are known as Southern Europe let alone be inclined to ‘judge’ them. I really doubt there’s an evil anti-Southern Europe vibe floating around out there. Maybe Eastern vs. Western Europe… but Southern? Bollocks I say!

Are you being sarcastic?

First of all, it’s pretty clear which countries classify are southern Europe, the ones that practice siestas, eat olives, drink wine, have a gorgeous climate, and are descended from people that wore togas.

That said,

How many pickpocket warnings have you heard for Barcelona, but never a single peep about Amsterdam? Amsterdam! Haven’t you noticed how all the train gassing urban legends take place in Italy? And then there’s the occasional posters who condescend towards Greece and Portugal. Or how about: "Hi, I’m a ‘blonde’ American girl, will I receive unwanted attention in Spain/Italy/France?" (Umm, you think WAY too higly of yourself if you think some plain Midwestern girl such as yourself will receive more attention than the drop-dead gorgeous native girls of Spain.) How come such questions are never asked about Britain?…I mean I have British buddies, this group of guys are the biggest dogs on the planet. The list is endless, and I’m sorry if you’re offended by my pointing out the massive superiority complex and condescending attitude Anglos tend to have for Greco-Latin societies. I’m glad people defend eastern Europe, but it’s the southern countries that are subject to more negative comments and negative assumptions than any other European region….you occasionally see it on these boards, and I’ve often times encountered it from British/American/Anglo-Canadian backpackers during my experiences traveling and living in southern Europe. It’s also deeply ingrained in the North American media. You may not notice these things, maybe becuase you’ve just never taken notice of it, or maybe because it’s second nature to you (which is worse). But it’s there, it’s real, and this thread is just another example.

Ya I guess people do go on about slimy Italian men and pickpockets in Rome but I’ve neve chalked it up to being some kind of anti-Southern thing. I realise I can figure out southern Europe by looking at a map, it’s just that I’ve never heard the countries of the area grouped together before as victims of some great evil of the North American media or whatever. Will pay better attention.

It’s not only Southern European countries, it’s within-country as well. Just as there is a general anti-Southern bias in the U.S., you’d find the same thing in Italy, Spain, probably even Germany. Ask any northern Italian and they’ll gladly spout off prejudices about the south.

Kirsty, there’s an anti-southern prejudice ingrained in Anglo peoples. I’m sorry if you’re offended by me pointing this out, but it’s true. I never said there’s an organized North American "evil conspiracy" against southern Europe. I said there’s a North American cultural prejudice against southern Europe. Big fucking difference between the two. I don’t need your sarcasm.

If you don’t notice it, it’s probably because it’s nature to you. You’re part of the problem. Newbies come on here and ask dumb questions and make unfair assumptions. And I don’t just get it from virtual people on Eurotrip…I get it from face to face interactions as well, whenever I’m in southern Europe, from Anglo backpackers. I have no problem snapping back at them when they make dumb comments and spread false information (about the water supposedly being bad, about these countries supposedly being poor -they’re NOT, about crime -which is actually very very low, about baby-throwing gypsies in Rome, and all sorts of dumb MYTHS that float around backpacking culture, and other condescending stereotypes and misinformation promoted by the North American media).

I wasn’t being sarcastic at all, just playful. Sorry!

I’m definately not offended at all by you pointing this out… you seem to have thought about it a lot more than I have so I’ll trust that you know what you’re talking about! It’s just something that has never come to my attention… mostly because I’m not personally ‘anti-Southern’. I have heard all those comments you’ve mentioned though but, having not spent much time in the countries can’t really comment and have never thought to refute them.

But out of curiosity, why do you think these myths and stereotypes exist? Rumours about blonde people getting hasselled in the Middle East are everywhere… because for the most part blonde women DO get hasselled there. Stereotypes generally stem from somewhere. Where does this North American cultural prejudice come from? Why would the media promote such negative stereotypes?

By the way… I’m not trying to engage in a debate with you so please don’t get up me.

luv the beach is right.

Florence and Venice do not smell particularly well. However, I am not certain that it is a &quotee" or urine smell… You want a clear-cut urine/bad smell?? Try hanging-around New Orleans in July or August, especially just after it rains… Yuck!!

quote:
luv the beach is right.

Me-too?
http://redwing.hutman.net/%7Emreed/warriorshtm/bigdogmetoo.htm

quote: there’s an anti-southern prejudice ingrained in Anglo peoples. I never said there’s an organized North American "evil conspiracy" against southern Europe. I said there’s a North American cultural prejudice against southern Europe. Big fucking difference between the two.

If you don’t notice it, it’s probably because it’s nature to you. You’re part of the problem. Newbies come on here and ask dumb questions and make unfair assumptions. And I don’t just get it from virtual people on Eurotrip…I get it from face to face interactions as well, whenever I’m in southern Europe, from Anglo backpackers. I have no problem snapping back at them when they make dumb comments and spread false information (about the water supposedly being bad, about these countries supposedly being poor -they’re NOT, about crime -which is actually very very low, about baby-throwing gypsies in Rome, and all sorts of dumb MYTHS that float around backpacking culture, and other condescending stereotypes and misinformation promoted by the North American media).

I do not only support this statement. I am actaully ready to tattoo it on my back!!!

It is so true and so much represent my thinking that I could have written it myself (I didn’t. the merit is all yours).
This is something i m giving a lot of thinking lately, especially because made me argue a lot with a good friend of mine who stated Paris to be smelly and dirty (she complained about the dog shit, but mind me! no central European even KNOW that stereotype!). Now, I believe everyone has the right to an opinion, bad or good. But I heard this comment being put thru a gazillion too many times from North American travellers and I snapped back at it with force. I have got to consider it quite disrespectful and quite ignorant as well.
Not to mention a lonely planet writer who told me :"I have always wanted to travel to Italy, but that is like South America right? lots of crime and robberies there".
I am with you all the way. A Southern European prejudice from North American definitely exhist and it is strong too.

quote:But out of curiosity, why do you think these myths and stereotypes exist? Rumours about blonde people getting hasselled in the Middle East are everywhere… because for the most part blonde women DO get hasselled there. Stereotypes generally stem from somewhere. Where does this North American cultural prejudice come from? Why would the media promote such negative stereotypes?

I think this has a quite simple explanation.
I think North America is a medley of cultures and many European cultures have a share in there, but more so the Norther European nations (or at least these aspects prevailed with time). For example North America promote slow driving (excellent habit), fatty food (not so good), fixed working hours with no long lunch break. Like most North European countries.
Souther Europe is undoubtably different from Northern Europe in a number of aspects (yes, food that is definitely more different from the American one than the English or Danish one), yet given its historical and cultural influence, it is not possible to discard this part of Europe for any American traveller.

Accepting the southern European culture which is similar (in habits, in some traditions, in the way people live watching TV and following fashion), yet DIFFERENT from your own (American) is actually harder than accepting a totally different one (think about the traditional Chinese or Indian lifestyle) when terms of comparisons are really rare and the differences really stark.

It is easier to get wind up and promote negative sterotypes at a the southern European way of life, that American culture feels could be improved to be just like what North America is used to and consider correct (out of habit, not out of thinking. I m not making any judgement here. It is the same for every country and culture), than to accept the differences or to think about a full revolution to tranform India, China, or other places, into a new American Midwest…

In the end, I believe North America still feels strongly its ties with Europe, mostly in the cultural sphere. And therefore Europe is the natural term of comparison. But what differs greatly from the North American standard is not easy to accept and there is an inside drive towards changing it to fit what is the American norm… I believe prejudices come out from here.

Sorry for another too long post (briefness is not one of my talents)

quote:
Planning to spend 2 weeks of my trip in Italy..
A friend just came back from a 3 week honeymoon in italy and told me some bad stuff…. can anyone debunk these for me?

1. Florence smells like pee because everyone pees on the street.
2. Rome was dirty and you had to pay for bathrooms.
3. People smoke on public transport!

help! i was looking forward to italy until today!…

Solveig:
Perhaps I can shed some light on your question. In the summer time in Europe, a lot of people get bedbugs because of uncleanliness, sweating and not bathing regularly. They use pee to help ward off the bedbugs and some folks don’t wash it off in the mornings or whenever. that is probably what your friend was smelling. Yes, people do pee on the streets sometimes, but, if you are smelling pee on train or bus, then that stench is coming from someone’s body. Pee/Urine helps ward off bedbugs. So you will smell a lot of pee not only in Florence but in a lot of other cities. Just breathe thru you mouth and try to get thru it. Actually, the cigarette smoke helps mask the smell of the pee, so maybe a little smoke ain’t so bad but I wouldn’t want to ride any bus that allows smoking. I don’t like cig smoke either, but, the world ain’t perfect. yes you can smoke on trains in designated cars but I don’t recall anyone smoking on the buses. Go and have a great time. And if you stay at a hostel, use some of your pee on your body at night to ward off bedbugs and then make sure you take a shower in the morning before you leave the hostel. Good Luck.

Kirsty,

I’m sorry if I misunderstood you, and you’re more than welcome to play devil’s advocate in order to foster further discussion.

Why do these stereotype exist? Well, I don’t know for sure. But it is a fact that southern Europe developed later than northern Europe, with the exception of France (a culturally southern country, but which resembles northern Europe in some ways) which industrialized around the same time as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc. Italy blossomed in the period following WWII (and then experienced amazing economic growth in the 1980s…mind you that Italy only received in Marshall Plan aid only a quarter as much as Britain despite being the same size), followed by Spain, Greece, and Portugal which didn’t "mature" economically until the late 1980s and 1990s. So, the stereotype of these countries being &quotoor" remains, despite the fact that they are by no means poor anymore. They are now wealthy by world standards (especially Italy), and even surpass northern Europe in certain areas such as healthcare (France, Italy, and Spain were ranked by the World Health Organization a UN branch as having the best 3 health care systems in the world) and life expectancy (Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain are on par with Japan). Economically, the gap is closing: according to the CIA worldfactbook, Greece’s per capita GDP/PPP in 2004 was $21,300, not far behind Sweden at $28,400. (By comparison, Brazil, considered a middle-income country, as at $8,100). And the gap is only getting smaller.

And because they have the &quotoor" stereotype, the "crime" stereotype lingers (People tend to wrongly assume that where there’s poverty, there’s crime). With the exception of the mafia in Sicily (who never ever bother tourists) crime has traditionally never been a major problem in the southern sountries, in fact only recently (now that these countries are rich) has there been a rise in crime, following industrialization and urbanization. (In fact, crime rates are always higher in urbanized societies whether rich or poor than in rural societies). Tourists are quick to jump to a conclusion if their wallet is stolen in Barcelona, without fully understanding the internal workings of that country. For starters, this may be a problem in Barcelona, but virtually unheard of in Segovia. It’s like New York: it doesn’t represent the entire country. And second, there’s a whole list of reasons (such as illegal immigrants trying to survive) that tourists never take into account. In Greece, several crimes are committed each year by tourists, and as I’ve written on these boards before, the problem reached wild proportions in the summer 2003, adding a new term to the Greek vocabulary: xoúliggan tourismós (hooligan tourism). Regardless, Spain, Portugal, and Greece have the lowest crime rates in western Europe, while Italy is in the middle (in better position than Britain and Germany). One can argue that a number of crimes go unreported but that’s a flawed argument and here’s why: A.) these statistics factor in crimes that never go unreported such as murder, burglaries, and car thefts, and B) there’s no reason to beleive that petty theft is better reported in northern Europe and North America than in southern Europe. And for the benefit of the doubt, these stats confirm decent crime levels at worse.

As for women receiving attention: again, this is rooted in the past. In the past (we’re talking 1950s here) single women in rural areas (these countries were very rural in the 1950s) didn’t leave the house unless they were going to school or work. So, any women hanging out in the piazza at 9 PM received a lot of attention. A LOT has changed since then…I repeat: a LOT has changed since then (just as the US and Canada have also changed since then), but the stereotype lingers. Nowadays, Spanish/Greek/Italian young women not only go out on weekends (and are actually encouraged i>not discouraged by their parents’ generation to do so) but they also dress far sexier than their North American counterparts. They are generally speaking in better shape (US and UK are the most overweight countries in the world), they dress more revealing, they tan in the summer, and the way they apply their makeup…these girls look like they stepped out of a fashion magazine. There’s no way in hell that plain Jane from Kansas I don’t care if she’s blonde is going to get more attention than these girls.

The "blonde" part comes from the stereotype that all Italians/Spaniards/Greeks look a certain way. They don’t, just as Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, and Anglo-Saxon peoples don’t all have the same eye and hair color, neither do Greco-Latins. While it is true that blonde hair is certainly less common than in northern Europe, blondes in southern Europe do exist, in fact a very significant portion of the southern population is blonde (and also keep in mind that many northern European women and North American women bleach their brown hair blonde). Super-blonde is extremely rare, but the darker blondes are actually quite common. Black hair is also quite common, obviously. But the majority fall in the brown-hair medium. Blue eyes are very common, I’m inclined to say 25% of the population.

I hope this answers your questions!! I have lived in Greece and France, and almost all of my backpacking experience in Europe is in southern Europe, especially Greece, Spain, southern France, and central Italy. I love their landscape, in my opinion, it’s the most beautiful in the world. This is also why I love California, because of how much it reminds me of southern Europe: the climate is similar; the vegetation, coast, and landscape are identical; and the Spanish place-names add a nice twist. For visiting and living, hands down, I choose southern Europe. I love the lifestyle, something Anglo peoples have trouble understanding. People complain about the "heat" but it is far more bearable than the heat we get in Chicago. In Chicago, we can have a cool day in the summer, but if it gets hot, it also gets humid, and it remains hot for the entire day. In Italy, or Greece, or Spain, first off, it’s not humid, and second, the heat peaks in the middle of the day, but temperatures always dip in the evening, as early as 6PM. You will need something warm to wear in some places (like Santorini) late at night. Southern Europeans avoid heavy physical activity in the middle of the day siesta hours but that doesn’t mean they work less…Spain and Greece have longer work weeks than most other EU countries, and Italy’s are the same as Germany’s. They wake up earlier in the day and they take care of most of their business in the morning (8am-1pm), while North Americans do most of their errands in the afternoon hours. During siesta time, you can sit in the shade and have a quiet conversation, or read a book, or nap, or go to the beach! And they also go to bed later. In the summer, on the weekends, everyone’s outside way past sunset, while in the UK, businesses close early. At midnight, people wine and dine under the stars, old people go for a stroll in the piazza, little kids run around, everybody’s enjoying a gorgeous summer evening. They have a zest for life, and here you experience what summer is supposed to be. The food is amazing -and healthy. And the desserts (and the sweet shops), I love it all.

And all of this is under fire from globalization.

Thanks for the reads guys. I just had a thought though… Ok, so North Americans stereotype Southern Europeans. Do you think that Southern Europeans tend to stereotype North Americans as being fat, materialistic, dumb… etc. Canada often escapes unscathed, but I know the attitude in the UK, Australia, NZ and many other places is quite harsh against Americans. Sure the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and their neighbours might be subject to stereotypes but they’re not the only ones and I’m sure they’ve got a few of their own up their sleeves. I guess the aim is to defeat them one at a time and hope people will start to pay attention to things and learn about how things really are. I guess that’s where travelling comes in!!

quote:I guess the aim is to defeat them one at a time and hope people will start to pay attention to things and learn about how things really are. I guess that’s where travelling comes in!!

Or, it could be that there are plenty of ignorant assholes everywhere.