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Baltimore is like that. There are some nice things, but they are surrounded by filthy slums. I had a friend from out of town discuss his Baltimore vacay itenerary with me. He planned to take his family for an all-day walking tour including Harbor Place, the Aquarium, Little Italy and a game at Camden Yards. When he got to the part about walking to and from Little Italy after dark I stepped in and suggested that he consider taking a cab, or eating at Harbor Place. He would have none of it and did it his way. I later asked him how it went. He ruefully admitted to me that every place that they visited was filthy, including the aquarium. He had to constantly warn the kids not to touch anything. After dinner they were hounded by aggressive panhandlers all the way back from the restaurant to Harbor Place. And the Orioles lost. (You don’t need to be Kreskin to see that one coming.)

Someone actually scheduled (and paid for!) a vacation in Balmer? Seriously? OMG!!! When I absolutely HAVE to go there, it’s in and out ASAP. As your friend noted, the Inner Harbor and Aquarium, best tourist spots in town, are filthy trash.

Balmer is THE panhandler capital of the USA. I was once on an elevator at Hopkins, going from the children’s ward (7th floor IIRC) to the ground level cafeteria and was panhandled right there on the elevator by another patient’s parent. And forget about the streets, downtown shops/restaurants, Inner Harbor. The Brits should come back and rid us of that wretched place.

Baltimore is like that. There are some nice things, but they are surrounded by filthy slums. I had a friend from out of town discuss his Baltimore vacay itenerary with me. He planned to take his family for an all-day walking tour including Harbor Place, the Aquarium, Little Italy and a game at Camden Yards. When he got to the part about walking to and from Little Italy after dark I stepped in and suggested that he consider taking a cab, or eating at Harbor Place. He would have none of it and did it his way. I later asked him how it went. He ruefully admitted to me that every place that they visited was filthy, including the aquarium. He had to constantly warn the kids not to touch anything. After dinner they were hounded by aggressive panhandlers all the way back from the restaurant to Harbor Place. And the Orioles lost. (You don’t need to be Kreskin to see that one coming.)

I live here. My parish is St. Leo's in Little Italy. Your assessment is either ridiculous, or outdated. For instance, the fairly long walk from LI to the stadium would be fine at night. BTW, the Orioles came close to the World Series last year.

He’s very, very lucky that panhandlers and filth were all the bad stuff that happened to them.