[quote]CrookedCrown wrote:
AlexD wrote:
Paris is overrated 
Paris is a really beautiful city. Pity that it’s full of Parisians. [/quote]
I will give you that 
(they are the reason of my previous statement).
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Come to Wales. It is a place of culture and frivolity. Sorry, I mean racism and unemployment.
But the people are pretty cool, when they’re not drunk.
BBB[/quote]
so your saying there horrible?
lol just kidding
[quote]Yolked Up wrote:
They’re all beautiful places i’ve been to greece, ayia napa, spain - barcelona, madrid and also to ibiza and majorca and they’re all really beutiful places. Good for sight seeing and relaxing, last two are great for partyin.
Just don’t expectg to get laid, one things i’ve noticed about meditaranean chicks is that they hate big guys, they prefer more noraml looking guys. tbh they won’t find someone like you attractive at all - over-muscled and pale, no offence man, but just that Id let you know before hand, chicks in that region are very shallow like that.[/quote]
funny how I am of irish decent (pale) and I am kinda big (300 pounds) and I got laid plenty by the caliber of chicks that would never hit on me in the states
funny how that works
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Alright with all this talk about pick pockets I just have to ask
Whats the deal with throwing one of them a beating? I never ever get into fights at home and have never started one in my life. I know it is a terrible idea to have a run in with the law in a foreign country though. Is that reason enough to not break one of their fingers if I catch one trying to rob me? I cant imagine what my reaction would be if I catch someone trying to reach into my pocket. I would hope he/she would just run away because that would make it simple to just go about my day, but if I grab someones wrist while their hand in my pocket instincts tend to take over. How common is it that petty thieves carry weapons? That’s something I would not be interested in getting involved with lol. [/quote]
In the countries you mentioned it is probably not a good idea to do anything that could get you entangled with the authorities because they tend to be fairly corrupt. Wrecking a pick pocket could be one of those acts.
One pick pocket trap to be aware of is you will all of a sudden be surrounded by a pack of children with one or two of them trying to get your attention with a map or newspaper. While you are distracted you will get your pocket picked. That is how a pack of gypsy kids got a friend of my parents in Italy.
Watch out for getting shortchanged at bars too they are big on that there. That is why it can be good to have smaller bills when you go to a bar so you aren’t breaking big bills and having to make heads or tails or what looks like monopoly money when you are liquered up.
If you hook of with a group of people it can also be a good idea to let bar tender know that you are on your own tab. That is how a guy I know got stuck with a big bar tab after he went to the bathroom in a Paris bar, when he came out the group of “fellow Americans” he had been with had disappeared and the barman and the bouncers said that they told him he was paying for all their drinks.
Pfft, not all of us are that bad… Besides, like AlisaV said, we have great music. If you can, try to get yourself invited to a social event by them, the atmosphere is amazing.
On a different note - why americans should never be allowed to travel - lol
[quote]ZeroSleep wrote:
Pfft, not all of us are that bad… Besides, like AlisaV said, we have great music. If you can, try to get yourself invited to a social event by them, the atmosphere is amazing.
On a different note - why americans should never be allowed to travel - lol[/quote]
How awesome! We have a real life gypsy posting on the site…
…kidding!
Excuse my “American ignorance” but what exactly classifies someone as a gypsy? Here, the term is used to describe nomadic-type people with no real sense of identity towards the ‘other’ (more common) groups of people. And based on how I am interpreting the responses, why are they tolerated? Or are they more of just a nuisance with every right to do what they are doing?
And Sifu, thanks for the tips. Good stuff I hadn’t considered.
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
How awesome! We have a real life gypsy posting on the site…
…kidding![/quote]
What would you know? No, I’m no what most people would think of as a gypsy, but my blood is 50 % tater (Norwegian and Swedish Travellers - Wikipedia). Though I live like any other Norwegian kid most of the time, that doesn’t really change that fact, does it? Or would you say Obama isn’t black anymore because he’s a president, he has to be white?
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Excuse my “American ignorance” but what exactly classifies someone as a gypsy? Here, the term is used to describe nomadic-type people with no real sense of identity towards the ‘other’ (more common) groups of people. And based on how I am interpreting the responses, why are they tolerated? Or are they more of just a nuisance with every right to do what they are doing?
And Sifu, thanks for the tips. Good stuff I hadn’t considered. [/quote]
It’s used to describe the Romani people.
Ehm, they’re not really tolerated, but what would anyone do about them? Go all nazi or something? Good luck with that.
[quote]ZeroSleep wrote:
BONEZ217 wrote:
Excuse my “American ignorance” but what exactly classifies someone as a gypsy? Here, the term is used to describe nomadic-type people with no real sense of identity towards the ‘other’ (more common) groups of people. And based on how I am interpreting the responses, why are they tolerated? Or are they more of just a nuisance with every right to do what they are doing?
And Sifu, thanks for the tips. Good stuff I hadn’t considered.
It’s used to describe the Romani people.
Ehm, they’re not really tolerated, but what would anyone do about them? Go all nazi or something? Good luck.[/quote]
There has to be more to it than that.
I find it hard to believe that everyone has such a negative view of people from an entire country. (From Romania, that is what you meant right?)
What do they do that is looked down upon? And surely not everyone from an entire country can fall into one category; or am I mistaken?
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Excuse my “American ignorance” but what exactly classifies someone as a gypsy? Here, the term is used to describe nomadic-type people with no real sense of identity towards the ‘other’ (more common) groups of people. And based on how I am interpreting the responses, why are they tolerated? Or are they more of just a nuisance with every right to do what they are doing?
And Sifu, thanks for the tips. Good stuff I hadn’t considered. [/quote]
They are either Roma or Sinti and they do not really have a country.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
There has to be more to it than that.
I find it hard to believe that everyone has such a negative view of people from an entire country. (From Romania, that is what you meant right?)
What do they do that is looked down upon? And surely not everyone from an entire country can fall into one category; or am I mistaken?[/quote]
Actually, they’re an ethnic group of people who originally came from India. You can find groups of them in pretty much any European country.
They’re usually poor, living in pure Romani ghettos, and some of them make a living out of thieving, begging or hand-crafted items like blankets.
EDIT: If you want something easier to read, the wiki page isn’t too bad, though it’s far from perfect. Romani people - Wikipedia
Ah
Gotcha
Thanks
Anytime 
Please be aware if you go near the UK it does not use the euro but the pound and you cannot sign for goods with a credit card in the UK you need chip and pin.
And as for hitting a pick pocket in Europe we have gone silly for the ‘‘European court of human rights’’ and you would probably get deported lol. Silly i know but hey thanks brussels!
[quote]orion wrote:
BONEZ217 wrote:
Excuse my “American ignorance” but what exactly classifies someone as a gypsy? Here, the term is used to describe nomadic-type people with no real sense of identity towards the ‘other’ (more common) groups of people. And based on how I am interpreting the responses, why are they tolerated? Or are they more of just a nuisance with every right to do what they are doing?
And Sifu, thanks for the tips. Good stuff I hadn’t considered.
They are either Roma or Sinti and they do not really have a country.[/quote]
People from Rome are Italian, because it is the capital of Italy.
[quote]planets85 wrote:
Please be aware if you go near the UK it does not use the euro but the pound and you cannot sign for goods with a credit card in the UK you need chip and pin.
And as for hitting a pick pocket in Europe we have gone silly for the ‘‘European court of human rights’’ and you would probably get deported lol. Silly i know but hey thanks brussels![/quote]
Let’s not pretend that you actually understand human rights law.
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
orion wrote:
BONEZ217 wrote:
Excuse my “American ignorance” but what exactly classifies someone as a gypsy? Here, the term is used to describe nomadic-type people with no real sense of identity towards the ‘other’ (more common) groups of people. And based on how I am interpreting the responses, why are they tolerated? Or are they more of just a nuisance with every right to do what they are doing?
And Sifu, thanks for the tips. Good stuff I hadn’t considered.
They are either Roma or Sinti and they do not really have a country.
People from Rome are Italian, because it is the capital of Italy.[/quote]
Actually he is referring to the Roma people who are a minority of gypsies that have mixed European/Indian blood and their distinct language and culture. Combined, there is nearly a million of them in the countries he will be visiting. They do usually however speak the local language.
[quote]Sifu wrote:
BONEZ217 wrote:
Alright with all this talk about pick pockets I just have to ask
Whats the deal with throwing one of them a beating? I never ever get into fights at home and have never started one in my life. I know it is a terrible idea to have a run in with the law in a foreign country though. Is that reason enough to not break one of their fingers if I catch one trying to rob me? I cant imagine what my reaction would be if I catch someone trying to reach into my pocket. I would hope he/she would just run away because that would make it simple to just go about my day, but if I grab someones wrist while their hand in my pocket instincts tend to take over. How common is it that petty thieves carry weapons? That’s something I would not be interested in getting involved with lol.
In the countries you mentioned it is probably not a good idea to do anything that could get you entangled with the authorities because they tend to be fairly corrupt. Wrecking a pick pocket could be one of those acts.
[/quote]
I hate to say this, but I kind of agree. Not all or even most police officers in Italy/Greece (dunno about Spain) are corrupt, but all you need to do is run into a bad batch to turn your trip into a NIGHTMARE. Some of them have no scrupels at all. When I was little I watched my mother get punched to the ground (black eyes and all) by some fat fucker who lived next to us in Chania, Crete, all over some verbal altercation. Thank god she has the family chin, she actually got up and was trying to attack him after getting beat, lol. We called the police, and they wouldn’t show. Guess what? He was an off duty police officer. That guy has now died of cancer and I can’t think of someone more deserving.
Well I made it home alive. Lost about 12 pounds. Other than the lack of fulfilling meals everything was great. Just posting this to give me something to do while I try to stay up for a few more hours and make the jet lag a little easier to deal with.
I’ll post some pics in the next few days.
edited