Funniest thing for April

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is PAUL MAJOR of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:

Back in 1968 I went to Europe with my mother. I was 20 and in charge. Feeling very responsible, I researched the destinations and learned handy phrases in the language of each country.

At the end of a full day of sightseeing in Rome, we found a taxi stand. In Italian, I negotiated a price with one of the drivers. I also remembered reading that sometimes they charged a supplement for a second passenger. I nodded toward my mother and asked if there was a surcharge for this second passenger.
He started to laugh uproariously and happily shared the story with his fellow cabdrivers.

Apparently, what I had asked, pointing at my mother, was if there was a charge for “excess baggage.”