Wow, even more bad news about our further declining status in the world, an Italian restaurant in Venice that was actually helped financed by an American who gave an Italian a loan is giving discounts to "Poor Americans". Too bad no discount for air fare and hotel accommodation.

Hemingway haunt gives discounts to "poor Americans" - Yahoo! News

What I do not understand is if he does it because:
1- He is a nice guy and want to help Americans
2- As a Joke
3- The business is suffering

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An American who has enough money to fly to Venice and stay in Venice, has enough money to eat in Venice. That same American has enough money NOT to eat in that owner's restaurant. So to that Italian restaurant owner with the "poor Americans eat here," sign I give you the thumbs down icon. Good bye.

Let me get this straight....""Since the start of January, we noticed a drop in (American) customers of between five and 10 percent and now that we are in April its looks really frightening," , Harry's owner, told Reuters by phone from Venice on Monday.

Frightening? So, they like to brag about having a better currency but at the same time fear loosing our business???? And to make us 'feel better" and attract more American customers they decide to talk down to us ..." in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20 percent discount on all items of the menu during the short term of their recovery." Like, hey I am sorry for you, here is this discount so you won't cry. If this is not a case of bad marketing then explain.

First and foremost, genuine victims of the sub-prime loan market can barely make it needless to say I don't expect them to be in Venice eating at such an expensive place (my assumption) so they picked up the wrong line, dumb dumb dumb.


Hmmmmmmmm

The restaurant get two enthusiastic thumbs down from me too.

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I find it particularly ironic because the owner's father was down and out after World War 2 and received a loan from an American named Harry to open the restaurant. I am sure the owner realizes that the Americans who would probably visit this establishment are not financially hurting, it seems like an insult if you ask me. To me it looks like he is trying to jab at America which is experiencing some hard times, surprising considering Italians tend to like Americans, a contrast to other countries on the Continent like France and Germany.

How about airlines offering Americans discount tickets so we can take advantage of this Venetian's "generosity"?

I am not surprised, I am jokingly referred to as the "Poor American" in Ireland where I go to medical school. Dublin is actually even more expensive than Venice for a lot of things. On occasion when someone hears my accent, I tell them I'm Canadian, it usually helps avoid any kind of potential arguments, sometimes I pretend I can't speak. Despite a lot of similarities between Europeans and Americans, the USA is not popular in this part of the world, it was under the surface until recently, but its more open now and even fashionable. A lot of people here were upset about Bush's Iraq War, and now that they were right about Bush, that he screwed up and now the US is in deep trouble economically, many people are rubbing it in. I think the owner of that restaurant seemed to just rub it in about America's bad luck.

...its not just the war.....but the quality of Americans that has evolved over the last 60 years.
The world which saw Wilson,Kennedy, and Reagan.....is seeing Clinton and Bush now.
One cheated his wife and the other send thousands to death for perto companies.
The American s of the 40's,50s, and 60's projected a 'saviour of the world' image via sacrifice, and the present American generation sacrifices the world for its own pleasures.
America has changed, and people have noticed.And how.........

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btw Tipton there are scores of 'chartered' airlines that leave for Europe by the dozen.....they work if u change ur date of travel to their schedules.....but board and room in Italy,Switzerland and France can be cheap if negociated well. I stayed in Chur[Graubunden,Switzerland], for a year in 1991 for the 7000 Swiss Franks.Rent, food at al.And Switzerland is Expensive! Italy is cheaper.So is France.....

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Switzerland in 1991? Try 2008, nearly twenty years later, its insanely expensive there these days. Most of Europe is ridiculously expensive. During the 1990's Europe faced a slow economy, now the roles seemed to have been reversed, Europe's economy is steadily growing while the US is in serious trouble.