I am not Rick Steves

Europe travel icon Rick Steves’ appearance on a segment of 60 Minutes late last month has resulted in a strange phenomenon: I’ve been getting scads of emails from folks who’ve mistakenly addressed Steves’ messages to my address.

This, no doubt, is a result of the fact that my May 2003 Rick Steves interview generally shows up third or fourth in rank when you Google his name. Why readers would address their messages to Rick Steves at a RolfPotts.com domain is beyond me (especially when Rick’s own email address is prominent on my interview page) — but it’s been interesting to see what kinds of things people are saying to everyone’s favorite PBS travel guru.

For the most part, these messages have been requests for Europe travel advice that are befuddlingly specific (and presumably already available in Steves’ guidebooks) — such as which trains to take in France, or what to see on an $800 budget in Italy, or which airlines offer cheap fares to Ireland. Other messages, such as a terse “WHAT CHANNEL, DAY AND TIME IS YOUR PROGRAM ON IN BONITA SPRINGS, FLORIDA?” make me wonder if these people think Steves has anything better to do than act as their TV Guide.

To date, my favorite message comes from North Carolina, and reads as follows:

“The music used for Rick Steves travel show about Europe is totally synthesized and an embarrassment. I am a musician and it matters to me that synthesized brass sounds chip every attack-the same as a very poor musician would do. The show doesn’t seem to be hurting for budget. Why not record the opening tune with real instruments and real musicians? At a time when the arts seem to be the last thing on people’s minds, you could do something to improve rather than nurture that mindset.”

Stumbling across these messages in my inbox (which I’ve then been passing along to Rick) has made me realize just how hard it must be for Steves’ to reply to all his fans. It also makes me appreciate the integrity of the questions I get from Vagabonding readers — who are usually looking more for general advice and inspiration than they are specific trip details or overarching criticisms.

So, for the record, I am not Rick Steves! If you wish to share your thoughts with him, try: rick@ricksteves.com.