Roman Holiday

Mark of New Jersey

Mark is a Founding Editor of The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, the predecessor of Ordinary Times.

Related Post Roulette

5 Responses

  1. Jaybird says:

    If you are a local, you are probably poor and have a poor government (though universal health care) and thus cannot afford $3 for an espresso. If you are American, you probably are one of those types who vacations in Italy. $3! Don’t forget to tip!

    It’s not unfairness, it’s justice.Report

  2. greginak says:

    Locals do some fleecing of tourists in any city. The hard part about Rome was the weak dollar a couple of years ago. Great gellato though.Report

    • Mark Thompson in reply to greginak says:

      No doubt. But for some reason, it seemed a lot harder to get to the areas where the locals don’t fleece the tourists in Rome. I suppose that’s maybe just because Rome is on the whole such a major tourist destination. Still, on that same trip we went to Vienna (one of the world’s more expensive cities) and Florence, and had nowhere near the sensation of getting fleeced. We found both places to be not only cheaper than central Rome, but also far more comfortable and easy to get good food.

      I do have to agree with you on the gelato, though…addicting.Report

  3. Jaybird says:

    An honest question:

    If I am willing to pay $3 for an espresso, why does it matter if the shop owner is willing to take only $1 from a local for one?

    Note: I am not talking about the example given where the waiter was bringing out stuff to “try” and charging full price at the same time. The customers did not agree to that…

    But as someone who, once upon a time, started every morning with a six-shooter, I wonder what the true problem is with buying an espresso for $3 when the buyer knows it’s $3 beforehand.Report

    • Mark Thompson in reply to Jaybird says:

      There’s no problem with it at all from a moral standpoint. It’s just that most people would presumably rather pay the same price and get the same quality as the locals if they had the chance to. That said, the practice of using lower-quality ingredients for tourists than for locals is borderline fraudulent.Report