What Level of Hell is This?!?

 

The other night we watched an old movie, “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium” (1969).

Cute movie. Lots of stars from the era. A VERY young and yummy Ian McShane. It’s about a group of American tourists taking part in one of those package tours of Europe. “9 countries in 18 days” kind of thing. The movie didn’t get very good reviews but I thought it was hilarious.

 

You have your stereotypical Americans: old married couple fighting constantly; middle-aged couple with promiscuous daughter; nervous man meeting foreign relatives he’s never seen, suspicious guy who steals everything he can from the hotel rooms.

 

And they are all trying to pack as much culture in as they possibly can while being run ragged from country to country. And of course you have your romance between the tour guide and the pretty single American girl.

 

Both Marv and I thought this trip would be like something out of Dante’s Inferno. Packed in a bus like sardines with a bunch of strangers and dragged all over the place. Of course, we both are introverts.

 

Now, if this was a trip with actual friends we actually like and enjoy spending time with, it would be different. And in the movie, some of the people do make friendships that might carry over after the trip. But the schlepping through all the countries at high speed is not at all attractive. Even if the world wasn’t as insane as it is now. Besides, thanks to computers, you can “visit” any place in the world. Any museum in the world. And for introverts, that’s the way we like it.

 

Our own bed. The food we prefer. Not needing an interpreter. Unless you’re talking to a young person and can’t decipher the slang. Word, yo.