Unusual Holiday Habits: Why Some Tourists Insist on Visiting McDonald’s and Supermarkets Abroad
Exploring the International Golden Arches
In a thread on Reddit, a number of frequent travellers spoke of their love of visiting McDonald’s whenever they go abroad. Some said they had to find the golden arches as soon as they’d touched down in a new country, as part of their explorations. Whether they simply love the familiarity of the fast food chain, or they like to see how different it is in another nation, a lot of holidaymakers insist on spending some of their trip abroad in a Maccy Ds.
One user Corduroy_Bear started the thread and wrote: “I always make sure to try and visit a McDonald’s in every country I travel to. I mostly do it to see how it compares back home (USA for me). I don’t necessarily eat a meal there, but I’ll go in to look at the menu, restaurant layout, etc. I always find it interesting to see what is different and what is still the same.”
Hundreds of others replied, saying they did exactly the same whenever they went abroad. One wrote: “I do the same thing. Finding familiarity in foreign places is really endearing.”
Another said: “I too visit McDonalds when I travel because I like to see the differences in what they offer. It’s fun.”
A third added: “One of my favourite holiday souvenirs was a French Pokémon card I got from a McDonald’s Happy meal in Monaco.”
International Supermarket Explorations
Others insisted they had to go to supermarkets while they were abroad – something that is apparently very common with people on holiday. American travel blogger Lex declared grocery shopping abroad to be her “beige flag” activity – i.e. a dull personality trait that others might find really dull. In a reel on Instagram, she showed herself exploring a supermarket in Fiji and captioned the footage: “My beige flag is that I am wildly entertained by walking around grocery stores in other countries. Checking out grocery stores is one of my favourite free activities that you can find anywhere. I think it’s really interesting to see what unique foods they carry and to see what the locals eat.”
Instead of finding it boring, lots of people replied saying they also loved visiting foreign supermarkets. One wrote: “I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE! Let’s start a club where we just travel to other countries and wander around all the grocery stores we can find.”
Another said: “Visiting another country and not going to at least one supermarket makes my trip incomplete! I love it.”
A third added: “It’s one of life’s great pleasures, I wholeheartedly agree.”
Writer Olga Alexandru told Reader’s Digest: “One of the first things I do, after dropping my bags off, is go to the grocery store. I don’t cook every meal in my rental accommodation; that would be boring and beside the point of travelling to a new place. But I do love to look for local delicacies.”
Fridge magnets and postcards offer snapshots of the places you’ve been to, but the supermarket sells tastes that can instantly transport you back to your holiday. Madeline Diamond told Travel + Leisure that the supermarket is where she gets her favourite mementos from. She said: “Grabbing snacks from a place where thousands of locals do daily is what ultimately makes me feel immersed in a destination. You’ll discover delicious foods that might become your best souvenirs.”
Meanwhile, people from other countries just don’t understand these British holiday habits. And you could be breaking these weird foreign rules on holiday without even realizing it.
