The Tourist Experience

Working evenings and nights, sometimes I am tasked with locking up the site after business hours... I have found that the best way to get people to leave at the end of the day is to give them someplace to go. There are a couple of nearby places to which I refer people, one of which I went to for dinner with friends before tonight's shift. We are all June babies, celebrating a month late, so we went to one of the nicest local places:

Every once in a while, it's good to see one's home territory through the eyes of a tourist- I have been referring people to this restaurant for years (if they are on a budget, I tell them to order one drink apiece, split an appetizer plate or two, and live la dolce vita for a half hour before going to a less expensive place for a main course), and it is nice to see that my local knowledge is sound.

Me being me, I am now reminded of a Gang of Four song which is most appropriate:





Of course, playing the tourist isn't the same as being a tourist- as I walked from my parking spot to the restaurant, I ran into plenty of locals that I knew.