Teresa Giudice of the reality show “Real Housewives of New Jersey” was spotted vacationing in the Dominican republic recently. Apparently not everyone here is a fan of the star, during a bar room brawl started by Guidice spraying champagne on other patrons in the bar she was punched in the face.

After she was punched, of course her husband got into the fight and it continued to escalate and eventually involve a large number of people in the bar. In the end 8 people were arrested including Joe and Teresa Giudice.

This does bring up a good travel tip. Something to think about as you are visiting the DR or vacation. A little restraint is a good thing. Coming to a developing country thinking you can safely drop all common sense is a sure way to get you into some serious trouble here. Remember that while you might view this as a partying vacation, not everyone around you will view things the same, they live here and this is their home. You should treat people with the same respect here as you would want to be treated in your own home town.

Second point. Bar room brawls get serious here. Many people carry guns and many of the laws are a bit looser here, if they get enforced at all! Likely if you pick a fight with one Dominican he’s going to have a large number of friends and family nearby, and they WILL join in on the fight. In this case Giudice had the backing of at least part of the crew from Bravo who were also vacationing, if she didn’t likely things would not have went as well for them.

If you use common sense the Dominican Republic is a safe place to vacation with family and friends and the people here are good people. Just take reasonable precautions not to cause trouble or go into areas you are likely to find it.