The Tour Group, which I spent 3 weeks touring Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and now France, after only an overnight stay in Paris, had left. Why none of them extended beyond the one day in Paris is beyond me. So left on my own, in a hotel in the fringes of Paris, I had to use the Subway or bus system, on my own, to navigate my way around this huge city. The subway maps were about the size of a large Pizza full of different lines running hither and thither, with hundreds of dots with long strange French [View Full Entry]

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Never took advantage of the opportunity to try one of Frances most famous Haute Cuisine, while there. Perhaps the reason is, while in High School, I worked as a yard boy in one of the gardens on the mountains of Honolulu, which was rain forest country. I picked up snails the size of ping pong balls by the buckets. It was not an appetizing experience, and the stench of what dead rotting snail flesh smells like is still unforgettable, many, many years after. As our bus entered France from Switzerland, I noticed the change in scenery immediately. No longer was there, [View Full Entry]

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In Hawaii, though we speak English, we have our own colloquial which may cause the visitor to go “huh?”, when they hear us speak among ourselves. For example, if we want to describe a specific food or dish as being exceptionally delicious, we may describe it as “broke da (the) mouth”. Sometimes in cooking contests, contestants will name their specialty as “Broke da Mouth Chili”, “Broke da Mouth Ribs”, “Broke da Mouth Upside Down Cake”, yadda, yadda, yadda. Hence the title of my Post of “Broke Eye Mountains”. Instead of [View Full Entry]

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It’s that thought or something similar to that effect, that ran through my mind as I wandered about the slow sinking City of Venice soaking in the Beauty, the Paradoxes, the electricity and the extravagance of this Phantom city of my dreams. It was one of the 3 must sees of my European trip, the other 2 are Neushwanstein Castle and Paris. As we entered Italy from Austria, one thing struck me, was the industrial clutter along the route, something I avoided seeing in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. I learned that most of Italy’s most industrial cities of Milan, Torino [View Full Entry]

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Nor Vienna or Salzburg. Halfway though my European Tour, I’m starting to realize my budget tour, does not take in many major cities in many of the countries to be visited. For example, Austria will cover Innsbruck, but not Vienna or Salzburg, Italy to cover Verona and Venice, but not Rome, Florence, Milan and Pisa and Switzerland to cover Lucerne, but not Geneva and Zurich. At least Paris will be covered in France, though. Being from an island in the middle of the Pacific, I sort of assume, being in a country would automatically cover all major cities, not taking into [View Full Entry]

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In following Kennedy’s footsteps, I’m expressing my love of a City by proclaiming to be a citizen of it. Rothenburg, is a Medieval town, basically untouched by the 21st Century, and it’s Timber Building especially has enamored me. To me it is the Heart and Soul of the Volks of Germany and rates with the Neuschwanstein Castle as it’s symbol. Though there are hundreds of buildings in Germany built in Gothic and Baroque style, the Timber Buildings reflects to me, the labor and ingenuity of the Regular fellow of that land. The simple yet beautiful design of the buildi [View Full Entry]

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Well, let’s just say it was wet. This refers to the Boat Tour we took on the canals and rivers of Amsterdam. The wild part didn’t materialize, which of course refers to the other attraction this City is also well known for. When I boarded the plane in Honolulu, the guy next to me asked me where I was heading. When I told him Amsterdam, his reply was “Woo-hoo, this man is on a mission!”. Well, young man, have say, mission was not accomplished. The boat tour was very nice, passing the many old beautiful constructed residential homes with decorative facades. [View Full Entry]

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From the airport in Amsterdam we were taken by bus to our hotel in a small town in Holland, whose name I have forgotten. The landscape was flat but very green, pastoral, calming and very pleasant. Homes were rural and well kept and many dairy cows were seen. The clutter and industrial unsightliness ones sees while traveling in the States was noticeably absent in almost all of Europe. The only part of my European trip where I saw it, surprisely was in Italy, on the way to Venice. We were given the day just to rest, which was welcomed news to [View Full Entry]

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This post is going to be on a hodge podge of things about Honolulu which may help our visitors experience various aspects of Hawaii. Waikiki where 90% of the tourists usually stay at, is a town within a town have numerous shops and restrarants, where they need never leave to enjoy their stay there. However, they may want to venture out of their comfort zone and experience a little more of the real Honolulu. Perhaps a suggestion would be to hop on the #19, 20 or 42 bus for a short trip to Ala Moana Shopping Center, or further up the [View Full Entry]

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It's hills, that I'm talking about, hundreds of them. They are the inspiration for much of the waterpaintings, one see's in Chinese art and think it's an over-exeggeration. Not only that, Guilin has caves, which when lighted with colored lights, looks like a wonderland. In my opinion it's one of the most natural beautiful places in the world. Being close to the tropics, the atmosphere seems more relaxed than in the other parts of China. Walking around in the morning, I see many doing taichi, calisthenics and stretching along the waterfront. In a parklike setting, seen about 100 people [View Full Entry]

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