Tourists are the worst.

Over the last few years I’ve gotten into the terrible habit of finding a silly idea, creating a blog around it, updating it furiously for a couple of weeks, and then abandoning it. One purpose of this blog/website is to consolidate everything- from book reviews, to procrastination, to life updates- into one source.

One of those silly ideas, which I actually quite liked, was dedicated to photos of tourists taking photos. Having lived in Notting Hill for over a year, one of London’s most touristy locations, I had to deal with these horrible pests on a daily basis. The worst would be on Saturday mornings, when I’d be running late (of course) to my Japanese class. I’d constantly have to fight my way to the Tube stop against throngs of semi-confused Belgians, Dutch, Americans, and- worst of all- Spanish, French, and Italians due to the weekly Portobello Road Market.

There’s nothing quite like exiting your home to immediately be asked the question, “Excuse. Julia Roberts library. Where?” In case you’re confused, remember that movie called Notting Hill with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant that happened to feature a travel book shop? The one that came out over 10 years ago? Well, it turns out that people are still determined to find not only the book shop, but also the blue door Hugh Grant’s character lived behind. Thrilling.

So, determined not to become overwhelmed by feelings of rage (I used to have a blog called Rageoline & Co. too), I decided to deal with tourists in another manner- by creating a little game. Perhaps if I found tourists funny enough, I could accept the fact that I couldn’t escape them. Ever.

I quickly noticed that tourists, more than anyone else, pose for photos in the most ridiculous ways possible. Also, the person taking the photo usually stretches him or herself into the strangest shapes in order to either appear more professional or to maximize awesome photo potential. My brain decided that taking photos of tourists taking photos would not only be meta in the most hipster of fashions, but would also be quite hilarious.

I’ve taken some pictures of Swedes at a World Cup game, a couple doing crazy maneuvers at Versailles, Indian families at the Taj Mahal, and even managed to get into someone’s photo, while taking a photo, at Northern Ireland’s Giant Causeway. A few of my faves are featured in the photo gallery above. It may be a while, but I plan to either feature more photos regularly or upload a new gallery in a couple months. I’ll do my best to provide better quality photos the next time around.

Tourists are funny.