try being a mets fan....

Oh definitely! That's what made the NY knock-off caps so funny. Normally I'm trying to blend in and not look too American with my clothes. This time, it was my NYC tote bag that was helping me to fit in!

Yes, it definitely still felt like Europe. It's hard to explain. While they are embracing some aspects of American culture, it's not an unconditional or unconscious embrace. In some ways, I would say they are being "Europeanized" more than "Americanized" (which was one of the fears about the EU.)

16/ Maybe this isn’t new, but they all bring their dogs on vacation. So many dogs.
17/ There was very little toplessness on the beaches. My husband noticed this change. 😉 And even much more modest men’s bathing suits (very few “nut-huggers”).

15/ The variety of car makes & models is also an ongoing trend—mostly European brands, but also lots of Korean, Chinese, as well as US. (Yet surprisingly few Japanese other than Nissan.) Each country used to be dominated by a few local brands.

14/ With only a few exceptions, CC’s are virtually universally accepted. And as has been an ongoing trend, the Europeans are way more advanced with the use of “tap” for CC payment. There was even a “tap” basket in church at the collection during mass. You can now survive with almost no cash.

13/ Despite the crowds (and what has been reported in the news), we saw almost NO anti-tourism protests. And we encountered no anti-American sentiment. (Of course, the lack of Americans probably helped…)

12/ And also the variety of ethnic (i.e., non-French) restaurants, especially from the Middle East and North Africa, even in smaller cities. While this partially reflects their imperial legacy, they now seemed more integrated and accepted as part of the local fabric. And lots of pizza.

11/ The presence of hamburgers and chicken on menus at regular restaurants was surprising. (Obviously, the French are known for their frites, but usually with moules or steak.) And scrambled eggs and bacon at breakfast was unexpected.

10/ But this also means that air conditioning is becoming much more popular. It is certainly easier to find decent a/c in hotels and shops.

9/ They are getting hit hard by climate change. The melting of the glacier at Mont Blanc is truly shocking (we were there in 1996). And we accidentally got caught up in the recent wildfire (the country’s worst since 1949.) Many of the old growth grapevines can’t survive the drought conditions.

8/ But it was actually refreshing to be able to walk through a city without smelling marijuana everywhere. (Maybe I’m just getting old, but I find the smell of marijuana worse than cigarettes.)

7/ Europeans still smoke cigarettes way more than Americans (and are still kind of oblivious to it bothering non-smokers), although they no longer smoke indoors. Some now vape, but to a lesser extent than in the US.

6/ They wish they could bring their youngest to the US so he could learn too, but they are afraid to travel there now.

5/ At one point I heard a tween girl speaking perfect American English standing next to a woman in a Red Sox shirt. I asked where they were from: Grenoble, France. But they had lived in Mass. for several years, where the older kids picked up English.