It occured to the wife and I that America doesn't sell what we are looking for.
I don't care about free ring tones for the cell phone I will never own.
I don't care to talk financial "strategy" with a twenty-something at the local Bank of America branch which is a converted gas station.
I don't need a second mortgage from "Bobs" mortgage company.
I don't do "half de-cafe-latte with a twist of....(Starbucks).  It warmed my heart to see the EU in fact did not embrace the American concept of brands, as this too is a hollow empty bucket, a marketing ploy devoid of any cultural recognition.
Yes, I saw the real Disney castle, it's in Bavaria and it's light years ahead of the plastic one in Orlando.

For me, this is a very odd statement.  On the one hand, I too don't want or buy anything that is listed above--except the occassional latte, of which the first one I ever bought was in Normandy in 1988.  but America has all of the things I want to buy.  and there are other americans who do want lattes and cell phones with rings,,,,and I don't find anything wrong with that.  I don't judge them, it's their life and their choices,,,,and it doesn't prevent me from finding what I want.