I was 22 years old on my first trip to Europe, in London by myself. An older guy and a younger guy stopped me off of Trafalgar Square. Garrulous, laughing, friendly--he was cracking jokes right and left and chatting about my being "a yank." The younger guy, interestingly, said almost nothing. He then suggested we go to a nearby bar so that he could buy "the yank" a drink. I don't drink, and I declined. He continued. I had been sort of suspicious, and this cemented it. He tried several more times, began leading me down an alley. I just smiled and said, "Sorry, I really have to be on my way," and quickly marched off. The big grin faded immediately, he turned around, and when I looked back from further across the square, he seemed to have accosted someone else.

Fortunately (knock on wood) that's the only time anything shady like that has happened to me abroad. Instead, I'm constantly asked for directions everywhere I go. In London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, Athens, and virtually everywhere else I've traveled. In Athens I got it three times, in Greek, in just a five day stay. What's really funny is I'm often able to GIVE the directions! I'm a tourist, I've been scrutinizing maps for ages.