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OT: European trip

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A comment on Hawaii. It was hot and very humid particularly in Honolulu. I ran into a lady on the big island--a native Hawaiian who complained to me that this has been the worst year ever for humidity. That made me feel better in the respect that it might have been just an outlier of a year that we decided to make this trip because there is no way I could stand living in this kind of climate for any significant length of time if that's the way it was all the time. I found it greener than Ireland though and it is very beautiful there and I'd particularly point out the beaches. I decided I liked the Big Island and Maui better than Oahu/Honolulu. Everything tends to be more if not very expensive there but most all manufactured commodities have to be shipped in so that's not really a surprise. Personally I didn't really buy much to bring back with me--we didn't take a lot of luggage and there wasn't a lot of room. One of the things that caught my eye were luthier built electric guitars made out of Koa wood that were very very beautiful but starting around $3500 and we didn't have room for them. I love guitars but I always gravitate back to the same one which is one of my cheaper ones. I settled for some guitar picks instead. As for beer---Maui brewing company is very very good. Made a great IPA. Other than that the other Hawaiian craft brands were kind of so-so IMO.
 
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eco's bones said:
A comment on Hawaii. It was hot and very humid particularly in Honolulu. I ran into a lady on the big island--a native Hawaiian who complained to me that this has been the worst year ever for humidity. That made me feel better in the respect that it might have been just an outlier of a year that we decided to make this trip because there is no way I could stand living in this kind of climate for any significant length of time if that's the way it was all the time. I found it greener than Ireland though and it is very beautiful there and I'd particularly point out the beaches. I decided I liked the Big Island and Maui better than Oahu/Honolulu. Everything tends to be more if not very expensive there but most all manufactured commodities have to be shipped in so that's not really a surprise. Personally I didn't really buy much to bring back with me--we didn't take a lot of luggage and there wasn't a lot of room. One of the things that caught my eye were luthier built electric guitars made out of Koa wood that were very very beautiful but starting around $3500 and we didn't have room for them. I love guitars but I always gravitate back to the same one which is one of my cheaper ones. I settled for some guitar picks instead. As for beer---Maui brewing company is very very good. Made a great IPA. Other than that the other Hawaiian craft brands were kind of so-so IMO.
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Glad you enjoyed Hawaii. It is an incredibly lush environment
 
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Amazing Kreiderman said:
That's normal in Europe. But for that 50 cents you get public toilets so clean you don't need desinfectant for every single skin cell after using it
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Yeah even in England train stations they have pay toilets but I don't feel ill at the thought of using them like I would in the subway in NY (or even MSG).
eco's bones said:
A comment on Hawaii. It was hot and very humid particularly in Honolulu. I ran into a lady on the big island--a native Hawaiian who complained to me that this has been the worst year ever for humidity. That made me feel better in the respect that it might have been just an outlier of a year that we decided to make this trip because there is no way I could stand living in this kind of climate for any significant length of time if that's the way it was all the time.
Click to expand...
That's the weather in singapore every day. 85-90 degrees, 80-90% humidity and some form of rain.
 
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sbjnyc said:
Yeah even in England train stations they have pay toilets but I don't feel ill at the thought of using them like I would in the subway in NY (or even MSG).

That's the weather in singapore every day. 85-90 degrees, 80-90% humidity and some form of rain.
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We were kind of missing the rain part. In Honolulu 10 minutes out of the hotel and I was sweating a lot. Trying to stay somewhat cool was an issue for me. I'm not used to that kind of climate.
 
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Found a painting of Liam Neeson at D'Orsay Museum.
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Some pics from my phone. Havent processed pics from my SLR yet. I guess I didn't take phone pics of Munich.

@Wicked Backhand
 
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eco's bones said:
A comment on Hawaii. It was hot and very humid particularly in Honolulu. I ran into a lady on the big island--a native Hawaiian who complained to me that this has been the worst year ever for humidity. That made me feel better in the respect that it might have been just an outlier of a year that we decided to make this trip because there is no way I could stand living in this kind of climate for any significant length of time if that's the way it was all the time. I found it greener than Ireland though and it is very beautiful there and I'd particularly point out the beaches. I decided I liked the Big Island and Maui better than Oahu/Honolulu. Everything tends to be more if not very expensive there but most all manufactured commodities have to be shipped in so that's not really a surprise. Personally I didn't really buy much to bring back with me--we didn't take a lot of luggage and there wasn't a lot of room. One of the things that caught my eye were luthier built electric guitars made out of Koa wood that were very very beautiful but starting around $3500 and we didn't have room for them. I love guitars but I always gravitate back to the same one which is one of my cheaper ones. I settled for some guitar picks instead. As for beer---Maui brewing company is very very good. Made a great IPA. Other than that the other Hawaiian craft brands were kind of so-so IMO.
Click to expand...


I just got back from 2.5 weeks in hawaii. I did 3 days in maui 3 days in the big island and the rest in Oahu. The big island was by far my favorite less developed all nature. Driving from Kona to Hilo was a view with the fresh lava and the sunset. Maui was great. Oahu had its moments though especially the futher you got away from the city. The north shore was most definatly my favorite part of Oahu.

As for europe because i have family in Portugal and Italy those are basically the only places ive been to (portugal 13 times and 3 times to Italy). Although i have been to Spain and loved it. I do plan on a big trip to greece next year. My sister just went with her family and she loved it.
 
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Blueblood9 said:
I just got back from 2.5 weeks in hawaii. I did 3 days in maui 3 days in the big island and the rest in Oahu. The big island was by far my favorite less developed all nature. Driving from Kona to Hilo was a view with the fresh lava and the sunset. Maui was great. Oahu had its moments though especially the futher you got away from the city. The north shore was most definatly my favorite part of Oahu.

As for europe because i have family in Portugal and Italy those are basically the only places ive been to (portugal 13 times and 3 times to Italy). Although i have been to Spain and loved it. I do plan on a big trip to greece next year. My sister just went with her family and she loved it.
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We were 4 days in Oahu, 5 on the Big Island and 2 on Maui. I liked the Big Island best too and Maui after that even if we were there only two days. On Oahu we went to the Polynesian Center---other than that it was all Honolulu. On the Big Island we stayed at a gated condo community somewhere around Waikoala (sp?) which was an hour (?) north of Kona or thereabouts. There was a beach nearby where the trees ran down to the shoreline that provided quite a lot of shade and I liked that. We went to Volcanoes National Park and to Hilo too. All that stuff is great for my daughter who has a geology degree and has been working the last few summers for the US Forestry Service. I did catch two entire Rangers games and parts of two others. The other thing is I miss my dogs when I'm away. We went to the same islands though and I'd rank them 1. Big Island 2. Maui 3. Oahu.
 
eco's bones said:
As for beer---Maui brewing company is very very good. Made a great IPA. Other than that the other Hawaiian craft brands were kind of so-so IMO.
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Maui Brewing Company was opened by a friend of mine. He sold it and moved to Vegas back in the mid 2000s. Every time I see him I remind him that he moved from Maui to Vegas by choice. I still can't figure that one out.

My favorite Hawaiian beer is Kona Fire Rock. You can get it here on the mainland too.
 
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Boris Zubov said:
Maui Brewing Company was opened by a friend of mine. He sold it and moved to Vegas back in the mid 2000s. Every time I see him I remind him that he moved from Maui to Vegas by choice. I still can't figure that one out.

My favorite Hawaiian beer is Kona Fire Rock. You can get it here on the mainland too.
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I'm an IPA person mainly. I'll drink stouts or porters usually too. It's funny I didn't see the one you mentioned the couple times we went to the grocery store because we were only like an hour away from Kona. Maybe I just missed it. Maui Brewing Company did make a very good IPA. Liked it quite a lot. We went to a Luau on her last full day in Maui and they had an ale made out of sweet potato from Maui Brewing Company. That was alright though it was a bit light.
 
will1066 said:
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Czech Mole with Rangers toque
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One of my dad's favorite Christmas gifts from a couple years back was a set of Rangers nesting dolls I bought from one of those whack ripoff tourist shops in the center of Prague. All the players had the same weird face, which is to say they looked nothing like any real human, and they all had the same face as every other nesting doll in every store that sells the things. The biggest one was Zuccarello, I have to assume because it was the only way to fit his name on it. The smallest was Rick Nash.
 
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Grumpy Humphrey said:
One of my dad's favorite Christmas gifts from a couple years back was a set of Rangers nesting dolls I bought from one of those whack ripoff tourist shops in the center of Prague. All the players had the same weird face, which is to say they looked nothing like any real human, and they all had the same face as every other nesting doll in every store that sells the things. The biggest one was Zuccarello, I have to assume because it was the only way to fit his name on it. The smallest was Rick Nash.
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I actually custom ordered a set of names for my girlfriend. Picking it up next week in Prague and giving it to her for her birthday in NY next month

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OhYeahAndVesey said:
Yeah, the only negative thing I have to say about Prague (or the Czech Republic in general) is that vegetables are definitely an afterthought.
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my dad is Slovak(used to be one country) and the only vegetables he ate on an average week were pickles.

Vegetables are the last thing they eat for sure. I am sure the younger healthier generation eats more veggies but the old school mindset is still popular nevertheless.
 
Grumpy Humphrey said:
One of my dad's favorite Christmas gifts from a couple years back was a set of Rangers nesting dolls I bought from one of those whack ripoff tourist shops in the center of Prague. All the players had the same weird face, which is to say they looked nothing like any real human, and they all had the same face as every other nesting doll in every store that sells the things. The biggest one was Zuccarello, I have to assume because it was the only way to fit his name on it. The smallest was Rick Nash.
Click to expand...

I saw these. There was maybe one out of three available Rangers dolls that had a decent-looking Mika. Others did not look like any of the real players. The doll was Mika --> Kreider --> Buch --> Strome --> Panarin, if I recall correctly.
 
will1066 said:
I saw these. There was maybe one out of three available Rangers dolls that had a decent-looking Mika. Others did not look like any of the real players. The doll was Mika --> Kreider --> Buch --> Strome --> Panarin, if I recall correctly.
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The custom set I will pick up has Mika - Lias - Kakko - Panarin - Skjei
 
eco's bones said:
A comment on Hawaii. It was hot and very humid particularly in Honolulu. I ran into a lady on the big island--a native Hawaiian who complained to me that this has been the worst year ever for humidity. That made me feel better in the respect that it might have been just an outlier of a year that we decided to make this trip because there is no way I could stand living in this kind of climate for any significant length of time if that's the way it was all the time. I found it greener than Ireland though and it is very beautiful there and I'd particularly point out the beaches. I decided I liked the Big Island and Maui better than Oahu/Honolulu. Everything tends to be more if not very expensive there but most all manufactured commodities have to be shipped in so that's not really a surprise. Personally I didn't really buy much to bring back with me--we didn't take a lot of luggage and there wasn't a lot of room. One of the things that caught my eye were luthier built electric guitars made out of Koa wood that were very very beautiful but starting around $3500 and we didn't have room for them. I love guitars but I always gravitate back to the same one which is one of my cheaper ones. I settled for some guitar picks instead. As for beer---Maui brewing company is very very good. Made a great IPA. Other than that the other Hawaiian craft brands were kind of so-so IMO.
Click to expand...

Honolulu to me always felt like Woodbridge NJ with palm trees.
 
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