Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
likely to have an uncomfortable relationship with sex and their bodies than Europeans do.
(I sense that there is more violence associated with sex here than there; in fact, Americ-
ans report at least double the incidence of rape as citizens of most European countries.)
And I have a hunch that the French, who have as many words for a kiss as Eskimos have
for snow, enjoy making love more than we Americans do. I like a continent where sexual
misconduct won't doom a politician with anyone other than his family and friends, and
where the human body is considered a divine work of art worth admiring openly.
We've covered a lot of ground about how America perceives Europe. Now let's flip things
around, to see how Europe perceives America.
Americans—mindful of the now-dated “Ugly American” stereotype—tend to be con-
scientious ambassadors of their country when traveling to Europe. And many are fearful
that they might receive a negative welcome—especially in France, which has a reputation
for being “anti-American.” Through my tour business, I take a thousand Americans to
France annually. Each year, I survey them in an email, asking, “How were you respected
by the local people?” Even in times when the media was telling us how “anti-American”
the world was, nobody complained. The French have always given American individuals
a warm welcome, even if they don't care for our foreign policy. In Europe, the mark of
a friend is not someone who constantly fawns over your obvious strengths, but someone
who tells you when you are off-base and disappointing them.
When European countries refuse to support US foreign policy, many Americans say,
“Don't they remember how we saved them from the Nazis?” The answer is yes, absolutely
they do. I was recently filming in France's Burgundy, at a charming little mom-and-pop
château. When I'm filming, get out of my way—the sun's going down, and we've got
work to do. But the aristocratic couple whose family had called that castle home for cen-
turies insisted, “We must stop and have a ceremony because we have an American film
crew here working in our castle.” They cracked open a fine bottle of wine and brought
out—with great ceremony, as if it were a precious relic—the beautiful 48-star American
flag they had hoisted over their château on that great day in 1944 when they were freed by
the American troops. They implored us, “Please go home and tell your friends that we will
never forget what America did for us with its heroics, its economic and military might,
and its commitment to liberty.” In addition to being grateful to the US for helping to free
them from Hitler, Europeans also appreciate our defeat of the Soviet Union with a bold
and determined battle of economic attrition during the Cold War.
