How much of a tourist are you?

Oh, I am a MAJOR tourist.

I like the out-of-the-way places but when I have the chance to see, in-person, a place that I have read about my whole life and seen in movies, you can bet I'll be there!

When the nay-sayers sneer, "Oh, you went to Paris and wasted your time going up in the Eiffel Tower? You went to Delhi and wasted time on the Taj Mahal?" I'm proud to say, "YES I DID!" and don't regret a moment of it.

My favorite? Oh, man, that's hard. There were the sacred moments, the WOW! moments, the "that was the tackiest thing I've ever seen" moments and they were all great.
 

I'm more of a Roman as in ''Do as the Romans do''... when I'm in other countries. I'd rather go where Tourist don't go than where the zillions follow like sheep ( sorry Jujube)...

I've visited some Major tourist sites... but many of them really don't deserve the hype and and the cost....that they have.


Here I live by one of the most visited cities in the world...

I haven't even visited Buckingham Palace.. no interest, why would I want to.. I can see it in the news every day...

I've been to other tourist attraction in the city..madame Tussauds, the Art galleries and museums.. the Boat museum.. the transport museum as well as the major one like the V&A, the Tate, The British National Library ( fab place)......and then of course there's the rest of the Uk that most Tourists don't know about..

... but on the whole when travelling overseas... I'm less interested in Tourist attractions than the places tourists rarely see..
 
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I remember visiting the 'Giants Causeway' in N.Ireland many years ago and I agree with the person who described it as 'Worth seeing, but not worth going to see'. So many places are like that and don't really live up to the hype. I like going to places with no idea of what I want to see, and discover little hidden gems in out of the way places.

We're off to Norway in a couple of weeks. Never been there before. Let's see what we find.
 
We liked the north rim of the Grand Canyon. On one trip we watched the moon rise over the canyon while we had a picnic supper.

Gibraltar was the only place that we went where there were apes running loose.

The open air tea room in the rain forest in Queensland was memorable.

We went for a sunset boat ride in Cabo San Lucas, but it was overcast, a couple of whales came along and gave us a show and saved the day.
 
I don't like to be around people or tourists while on vacation. I like to take off and explore on my own. In Hawaii, we rented cars on whatever island we were on and checked out the wilderness, scenic spots and beaches on our own, very romantic and relaxing.....good memories.
 
I don't have any bucket list need for any place in the world outside of the USA.
That being said a greater part of the USA is a fly over. The East, N. East, most
of the old West; North and South, its just a flyover to someplace else USA. if
you have no need for Comedy you can also fly over "Las Vegas" Cal. is a headache.
Sure, I have been to them and would never tell anyone else to waste the time of day.
I mean no insult to England, Europe or the med but go to hell is my decisions.
 
The most fun I had as a single tourist was my first time in London. I had done research on what to wear, certain mannerisms, and even eating European style (ie - no shifting the fork around). I was pleased that apparently I did my homework so well, that the locals didn't notice anything different about me.........until I opened my mouth. Then after a look of horror on their faces, their next question was always, "From where in the States are you?". It was fun to see.
 
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Yes, I'm a tourist but when I'm done with the tourist spots I like to wander off the beaten path. I like to see how the locals live. We always love Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona, but one of the most memorable experiences we've had was being there during the Madrid Train Bombing (like our 9/11) and seeing all the candles lit on the streets and the people of Barcelona marching and observing a moment of silence at 12 noon in solidarity the next day. It was touching and I will never forget it.

The most memorable place I've visited has to be Pompeii. We had a tour guide who narrated the entire experience. It was fascinating to hear how people lived in those times and how tragically they died.

We were recently in Rome and decided to just wander the streets. I needed to use the restroom so we ducked inside a no-cost museum. When we walked out the back we were looking at the ruins of the Roman forum! It wasn't in our plans but we will never forget it.

Roman Forum.jpeg
 
I like to see the major attractions and just wander to see what I find. Once we spent 10 days in Rome and did a lot of exploring off the beaten path. Now I take tours so have limited time to explore on my own.

I have been to Europe 6 times, took 6 cruises and have been to most of the states. We did a lot of exploring in our motorhome and we were able to take our 4 dogs. I really enjoyed the national parks.
 
Traveller or tourist? When I was younger, I took a Greyhound bus across vast Canada... and back, eventually. Gruelling, but eye-opening.

In four explorations of the Four-Corners region of the southwestern U.S., DW & I camped... or on two occasions, we stayed for a few days in homes of people we'd met. We hiked, climbed a peak or two, avoided rattle snakes & scorpions, went to Indigenous villages (sometimes to be Gringos sitting quietly while ceremonies or ceremonial dances took place... no cameras or recorders allowed).

In the UK, we spent a couple weeks driving around the perimeter of Scotland, staying at B&Bs, going to local events (music evening in a village's high-school auditorium)... also, an outdoor boot sale, ancient archaeology sites, etc) Trained down from Inverness for only five-days' stay in London, and got around in the tube, and took an open-top double decker tour of the streets, stayed in an inexpensive older hotel. Spent time in the British Museum, V&A Museum, the Design Museum, Natural History Museum. Ate meals in some good, affordable ethnic restaurants, and had fish & chips in the Bag o' Nails.

In Paris, we stayed in a very affordable old hotel within a few blocks of the Eifel, Greek cafƩ/restuarant across the quiet street. Walked a lot, took the Metro too. Louvre as well as small, obscure galleries & museums. And Belleville, where artists, art work & good food can be found. Then trained south and stayed in Arles, where we walked around and caught a van ride around Provence.

Another trip... Italy, off season (fall), in cheap hotels. Rome it was a pretty touristy stay for us, as was Florence, though in Venice we had walked around a whole lot. Didn't care for Florence, except when actually in cathedrals or museums.

In western and far-southern Mexico it was all very different, as we chose not to stay in resorts but where locals lived & worked. We walked everywhere, except took a 2nd-class bus from Jalisco to Nayarit. Worked with others five days or so, building a solar hot-water system in an orphanage. Often ate in places that were decent, unfancy & served delicious food, and sometimes just where we could quickly find something to eat. Took buses to see archaeological sites.

Thee weeks spent in Cuba were similar. A run-down but fairly clean old hotel, 12 miles outside Havana. A beach very close by, watched albatrosses flying over. Went to bars and outdoor cafƩs to hear great local music (shook hands with the musicians). Pedaled old bicycles from our hotel to nearby villages. Took a bus into Havana to walk the streets, or hire an unlicensed "taxi", went to a great evening baseball game.
 
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hollydolly said:
I've been to other tourist attraction in the city..madame Tussauds, the Art galleries and museums.. the Boat museum.. the transport museum as well as the major one like the V&A, the Tate, The British National Library ( fab place)......and then of course there's the rest of the Uk that most Tourists don't know about..
Click to expand...
I would love seeing all the museums.
 
One if the oddest museums I've been to is Leila's Hair Museum in Independance, MO.

It's a large collection of Victorian "hair art".....hair wreaths, hair jewelry, hair flowers, intricately crafted.

Some pieces are "mourning wreaths and broaches", made from deceased loved one's hair. Some are large "family" wreaths made from strands of hair from everyone in the family.

It was fascinating and creepy at the same time. I had to admire the intricate and painstaking work put into those creations.
 
One fascinating museum we discovered just off an alleyway in Berlin was dedicated to Otto Weidt who saved the lives of blind and deaf Jewish workers during WW2. He had a small factory making paint brushes and had a contract with the German army. At the back of the small work room, was a large wardrobe with a concealed door at the back leading into a small windowless room. If any soldiers appeared, the Jewish workers would go through the wardrobe and hide in the small room until arrangements could be made to smuggle them out of Germany.
 
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