How NOT to behave on a trip!

Sometimes, poor judgment can lead to travel snafus. Sometimes it just leads to embarrassment. But sometimes it leads to arrest.

As a travel advisor, I see and hear all kinds of stories about other poor examples of behavior when people find themselves far from home. This is absolutely not confined to tales of the "Ugly American."  I thought I'd give a little roundup of some of my recent...favorites:

Graffiti...Ancient and Not So Ancient

You may have read about ancient graffiti--and some of the oldest examples can be found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, dating back 2000 years or more. 

One of the most fascinating examples is at Pompeii: apparent children's drawings based on gladiator fights. Would children have witnessed this extreme violence? Experts believe the artwork is based on memory, not imagination.

There are plenty of other lighter topics illustrated or written on the residential and civic walls of ancient Rome, from sexual innuendo all the way to another basic human impulse: "Gaius Pumidius Diphilus was here" in 78 B.C.

Unfortunately, a British tourist decided just this week that he, too, needed to leave his mark on Pompeii by carving his--and his children's--initials into a wall at the House of Vestals. A month before that, a visitor from Kazakhstan felt he needed to deface a villa in Pompeii. And last year, a couple was busted for carving their names into the wall of the Colosseum in Rome--with their keys.

Perhaps to some people these ancient sites are no different from their own driveways or backyard trees?

The Fountains of Rome

If you're even a casual classical music fan, you've probably heard Respighi's dual tributes, The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome. The fountains he so beautifully embodies in music are three elegant fountains he loved: the Triton fountain in Piazza Navona, which he set in the morning; the Trevi Fountain, which he imagined at noon; and the fountain at Villa Medici, which he portrays at sunset.

These aren't drinking fountains. But that did not stop a woman from wading into the Trevi Fountain last year to fill up her water bottle. First of all, you're not supposed to go into the fountain. And secondly, Rome has potable water streaming from public fountains all over the city (so do Zurich and many other cities in Europe), including at a spot next to the Trevi Fountain.

Next time, lady, use the Waidy app to find the closest nasone--the ubiquitous Roman public source of clean drinking water!

The aisle is not the lavatory. 

Last month, one of my Dallas acquaintances related a tale on Facebook that caused my jaw to drop. Her husband's flight was delayed because a passenger had urinated--deliberately--"all over the seats and all the way down the boarding lane and had to be arrested so he didn't do it again."

Just for kicks, I did a quick internet search to see if this had been a notable event. In fact, no, it was not! Only a few weeks before that, a flight had to be diverted to another airport because a passenger had used the aisle for a lavatory while the flight was in the air.

Then I found this, from India Today: "The man who urinated on a woman co-passenger onboard an Air India flight on November 26, 2022 has been identified as Shankar Mishra. The accused, in an inebriated condition, urinated on his co-passenger, a senior citizen in her seventies, in business class of an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi." This man, as it turns out, was a Wells Fargo executive based in India.

People, please! No public peeing on planes!

Fortunately, none of my clients would ever do any of these things and I am ever so thankful.

I know that I have a collection of the best clients, who treat others with kindness and who respect the destinations they visit. So here's to YOU, and cheers to your next Mon Voyage trip! (Because I know I'll never read about your travel behavior on the internet.)

I look forward to sharing the excellent company of my clients on these upcoming Small Group Trips.

Bravo, Berlin! Bravo to you--this March 2025 Mon Voyage City Break is basically sold out! Ask me about the waiting list, but first check out the details here.

With Irish Country Idyll, the Sequel, May 14-28, 2025, Mon Voyage will return to Ireland, this time in the company of Texas artist Dalynn Montgomery. Our privately-rented County Kerry manor house is stunning. For more info on this wonderful destination and this lovely springtime trip, click here. There's one room left.

Gems of Southeast Europe: This luxurious late June 2025 river cruise aboard the AmaMagna (the ship I call the Queen of the Danube) will be a change of pace. We'll visit countries that spent many decades behind the Iron Curtain. This cruise will surely be both enlightening and educational, in addition to being relaxing and indulgent. Read more here.

One week in Hungarian wine country and Budapest: If you'd like to add a fabulous Hungarian wine tour (and Budapest) after the late June cruise, reservations for this specially curated land extension may close as early as next week. We're staying at a castle. On a vineyard. Seriously. See the brochure here.

You are also welcome to participate in this tour even without the cruise. (I will still be taking cruise bookings, however!)

Wonders of Colombia: Looking for a new destination? How about Colombia's Magdalena River? Join us for this colorful new itinerary aboard the brand new AmaMelodia in late January 2026. Note that there were only ten cabins left the last time I checked. Take a look at this cruise here.

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Are you an ocean cruiser? Keep in mind that I also book small luxury ocean cruises like Seabourn, WindStar, and Silversea. I recently had lunch with my Silversea representative and they've got some beautiful new ships and an amazing variety of itineraries for 2025. Reach out if an ocean cruise is on your travel agenda!

Complex land trip ahead? Or maybe you're just too busy or feel ill-equipped to plan travel in this world of information overload? Let me coordinate a memorable trip for you, from start to finish.