I also guess one has to take cultural differences into account. In some cultures one will get offended if you pick up a tab, in others it is expected to split the bill. Am I right?
You are correct. I have personally offended a guest from Italy when I recently sprung to pay the bill before he got his card out. I thought it would be like a funny “ha ha - I got it” sort of moment, but instead it turned just a bit sour. Turned out he had his mind set on it as a way to express his gratitude, and me interrupting was kind of like taking that away from him. Well, I had my mind set on something similar, so we sort of had our wires crossed.
Yes, and even the way you split bills may be different, depending on the country you may foot the entire bill with the understanding that the other person will do the same the next time, or literally just pay your half (Or just what you ordered, but that may be considered skimpy in some circles)