Either you're eating at the wrong places, or the constant supply of food in the UK had atrophied your taste buds. :)

And we're back to the profoundly ignorant statements.
Are you looking to stir sh*t? Are you so ignorant that you think McDonald's and Applebee's is in ANYWAY representative of the vast culinary variety that the US has to offer? Or are you just the sort of traveller that chooses to limit his/herself to chains and make an ill informed set of opinions based on those experiences?

Excellent! PM me when you get to Seattle, and we'll go to a Mariners game. A ballpark on a summer night ranks among the happiest spots in America.

What a profoundly bizarre and unfounded statement. Do you have any direct experience of American food? Or are you just picking up on careless, ignorant stereotypes?

Heat up another M&S Melton Mowbray in the microwave while you devise your answer.

Now then, the nice Moderators have used their feather dusters on you and me before ... let's not do it again, eh? Be nice, despite the pressure! ;)

@ pinkcat ... that was un-necessary.

Instead of having another round of abusive comments, let me just post a couple of links of places, and food, that I like ... and places I/we go to eat. Which will, of course, be completely different to what other people like ... :D

Enjoy the menus. We do, whenever we can

http://www.alleycatalexandria.com/food.html
http://www.shootermcgees.com/id30.html
http://www.bilbobaggins.net/menu.html
http://www.fishmarketva.com/images/uploads/FM_Menu.pdf

I've enjoyed reading this thread, and for the most part it's stayed civil, which is also appreciated.

Reading some of the responses reminds me of the things I like about my country. Note I also spend time in yours a few times/year, although primarily London area, and do travel to Europe each year, whether biz or pleasure.

The US is huge (I think it's 5 days to drive across it) & because of that, has a broad range of geography. Heck, even in LA you can go from the beach to the desert to the mountains in 90 minutes! I've had friends from other states mention to me that it wasn't until they drove from Northern California to Southern California that they realized how different geographically the state was. And that doesn't include places like Alaska or Maine or the Southeast. The different geography is a big plus.

Weather too - depending on when & where you'll always have great weather.

Our national parks. They're breathtaking, and yet also different in their own rights. Nat'l parks on the eastern part of the US are different than on the western part. And even urban areas have some national parks. I'm a bit biased on this one because my sister was a national park ranger for many years in some of our loveliest parks: Grand Tetons, Sequoia, the Cascades & a few others. Without getting mushy, whenever I'm in one of the parks I'm in awe of God or the universe or something.

The interstate system. We do have good highways & roads, and whether you're traveling within a state or across the US, the highway system is quite good.

For the most part we speak English, although truthfully Boston English is different than Texas English ;). There are so many accents depending on which part of the country you visit. I know some folk in the South where the word you is a 2-syllable word :D

For the most part Americans are very friendly, talkative, helpful, and yes proud of our country. It's our nature. Doesn't mean there aren't areas that aren't, or where even some of us wouldn't want to live. The Southern Baptist area for me falls into the category of don't mind visiting, wouldn't want to live there, with its conservatism & prejudices.

There is good food/eating/restaurants in America. Obviously with chains you're going to get chain food. Some better than others. But there are so many different types of cuisines, especially based on which part of the country you're visiting, and aren't chains at all. Maine lobsters to authentic Mexican in the border states to BBQ in Texas to Creole in New Orleans to Chicago deepdish pizza to diners in various states with huge breakfasts.

The exchange rate & thus, shopping. 'Nuf said. I have Brit friends/colleagues who attend a trade show in Vegas every year, and they bring an empty suitcase & head to the mall/shops when they arrive.

Museums, art institutes, architecture. Granted, our buildings aren't as old as Europe, but we have some lovely buildings and some top notch museums.

To judge America by NY Times Square is like judging England by Picadilly Circus.

There is truly something for everyone here. And each state has its own unique characteristics, offerings, etc.

So don't drop other countries or cities from your to visit list, but keep the US on it as well.

Cheers.

I holiday in the US practically every year with my fiance and sometimes twice a year....reason's

1) Language - it is a big positive from us ignorant one language brits to be able to communicate with ye locals and although I am not intimidated by going to non English speaking countries..and regularly do with work unless travelling with a native speaker you can't help but ending up in "tourist spots/establishments" or where whatever guidebook has recommended to attend and with the US don't find that problem

2) As others have mentioned you can have every type of holiday (Beach, Citybreak, Activity, Cultural etc) that the vast majority look for in a holiday

3) Value - not so much the £:$ but the sheer number of flights from the UK to NA compared to Asia/Africa make travelling (especially for the masses in whY - which I count myself in) a desirable option for a holiday destination...and hotels (outside of NY) are generally good value of money for what you get in return (size/service levels etc)


I agree with comments that people should experience all parts of the world if they have the opportunity and personally my other half and I like to visit a new "country" each year as part of our holidays but luckily are able to have multiple breaks each year and the US is somewhere we can't help but return too. ^

OMG, some of the best meals we've had and restaurants we've visited are in the USA. I'll also add (and I know that it's a matter of personal choice) that I prefer California wines, including sparkling, to French/Italian ones.
And more importantly, I loose about 10 years on this side of the Atlantic and get carded almost everywhere when ordering drinks...:D

@ SkiAdcock Great input ... thanks!

You don't do great weather, you do HUGE weather :D
Whether it's freezing, boiling, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes or droughts .. the weather is BIG!

That's about the way to look at it. We travel with 2 cases, the second one containing 2 large sports bags. We come home with 4 heavy bags every time ;)

Absolutely, and wherever you go they're well-maintained and interesting. I have been to three utterly amazing [and different] museums ... National Marine Corps at Quantico 10/10, Smithsonian Aerospace 9/10 and National Rifle Association 8/10, and all IMO World leaders in their field.

I wouldn't go to either of them!!! :D :D

I beg to differ even as a vegetarian I've had great food in the USA, seriously good food and there's not a chain restaurant in sight on ACK.

It doesn't have to be a professional team either. Minor league baseball is one of the great summer fun bargains. And much better (closer) seats, too.

Not that major league games aren't fun, but they can easily cost hundreds of dollars for a family if they go for the full experience (dogs, beer, etc.)

I must agree with you Sharon! The only off-putting things about the USA for me are:

1. The ridiculous charging of visitors, who are allegedly wanted in the USA by the Dept of Tourism, for ESTA.

2. The attitude of many airport security people and petty-minded immigration officials. The endless lines for immigration for non-US citizens at some US airports. The senseless selection of non-US passport holders for embarrassing and very personal searches by TSA employees, whilst US citizens never get screened. We get quizzed thoroughly every time we come by immigration about our holiday visit a few years ago to Muscat, Oman.

Now, if these are annoyances for us - a white, pedigree typically British blue-blooded family, imagine how terrifying the ordeal would be for a muslim family holding British passports but born in, say, Karachi, Peshawar or Kabul.

We have good, honest, law-abiding, peaceful muslim friends from Mauritius who would love to see New York and go to a show on Broadway and see all the skyscrapers - their 6 year old son has a snowstorm we bought him from the Empire State Building and he looks at it often and just says "Wow!" The two children would also love to see Orlando and all that Mickey and Minnie have to offer! That family are terrified of the way they think they would be treated, and we have tried often to reassure them (even suggesting we all go together) - they are still fearful - isn't that dreadful?

By and large, we like America and Canada. As Sharon says, there is something for everyone - indeed, just one state, California, has everything! Our favourite for old fashioned charm and hospitality is Texas - the big-hearted Texans remind us of how people were in Britain about 30 years ago, holding doors open, doffing hats etc.

Colorado was lovely too - the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs was delightful.

Not keen on ball games, but Nascar racing provides a very entertaining night out and the opportunity to mix with Americans from a wide variety of backgrounds.

...............but why, oh why, do you build such beautiful, powerful cars and make amazing, wide, straight roads - and then have a stupid 55 mph speed limit? :D

This was because of the 1973 oil crisis.

I enjoy my local minor league (AAA, one step down from the Majors) team better than MLB, and precisely for the reasons noted. More family atmosphere, players playing their hardest to secure a big league contract (or players down from the majors on rehab), lower cost for tickets and concessions, etc.

Then again one thing I can't get here is a proper soccer match.

Soccer? Ptui. Double Ptui, in fact.

I'm happy to support this lot just to annoy my favourite Bar Manager who is a Cowboys fan. And anyway, who else should a Brit support when in Greater Washington?

I will admit I've never got interested in the American version of Rounders. American Pseudo-Rugby is as far as I can stretch ;)

However, all these cultural differences make for amusing bar-talk, whilst watching 8 different games on 12 different TVs. The BIG positive is that, unlike UK, you don't tend to get your head kicked in for supporting the wrong Team ;)

Completely agree, apart from the momentary madness re wines :D. Prefer the new world stuff.....:eek: