Glad to be back in the USA!
 

I made it back from trip to both Greece and Italy. This was an educational/historical tour for my two oldest children as part of the Latin class they take. Special thanks to NDD and Reaper who advised me on how to "dress for success", that is, blend in a little bit. You guys were right, the tactical desert cammo backpack would have been very wrong, especially on the overnight ferry from Greece to Italy. That was sure a "kind and gentle" looking group of fellow travelers. Lots to report on, you guys will figure it out anyway so I'll tell you upfront, this was my first trip to anywhere in Europe. With all respect to the countries I was a guest in, boy am I glad to be a citizen of the USA. Post Script, Yes we got to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome. The old boy who painted that did ok.

The one thing I always miss about the US is the service. I've been all over Europe, and every single person there has been brusque, condescending, and generally impervious to my requests. In the US, on the other hand, while people may be secretly conniving to urinate in my food, they at least APPEAR extremely pleasant and service minded.
Thank the lord I'll be back in the US in a week or so...
Hallelujah!

Solid

Welcome back Sir.

I thought I noticed a lack of "Sharp" topics recently. Welcome Back Sir.

Thanks Guys! Many interesting things over there. First, driving there is very different than home. Much of the driving I saw close up would probably be a cause for a righteous shooting here. When in Rome...so to speak, I learned where open wheeled Grand Prix auto racing came from. In Rome some boulevards had enough room for at least three lanes each direction but no painted lane lines. Everyone just shot for the opening. Cool, I could adapt. In Athens, Greece the roads stayed very crowded downtown and every time one Greek driver saw another they honked the horn. Again, that shooting thing might apply if that happened around here. (please remember I live in what some still consider the wild west, rule of road is don't piss off rednecks, it's a health issue). Boy do I have a lot to learn about other countries. Have any of you guys seen the "Smart Car"? It's made by Mercedes and not much bigger than a four wheeler with a roof. By the time I got back to the hotel at night even the warm beer was ok.

Oh yeah, I forgot, wait until we get to the part about the toilets...The Greeks have that figured out.

Welcome back, Sir. As one that has been all over Asia, I can definitely say that the USA is the best place to be! :)

Greek Toilets!
 

Thanks RR, The kids have a new appreciation for what we have here. So do I. I have to drop off and get the shop going, almost 7:00 am here on a Saturday but I have to tell this first. We did some small improvements to our small house here the last few years. In the new bathroom we put in a new toilet, the state mandated low volume flush kind that you have to flush at least twice to make everything go away like it's supposed to. I'm not a big fan of low flush. We get to Athens, check into Athens Gate Hotel and I go into the bathroom to check out the rigging. The toilet just has one single line coming out of the wall into the back of the toilet. Hows this going to flush a toilet? Oh yeah, it had a single valve with handle in the middle of the line. Here is what I learned, that single line had bigtime firehose type pressure. The valve in the line was a detonation switch. The only safe place to stand in the bathroom when flushing was to close the lid and stand on top with knees bent to take the shock when tripping the detonation switch. Building bricks couldn't plug one of those suckers. I like Greek toilets.

Re: Greek Toilets!
 

I agree Mr. Harsey. These toilets seem like a waste to me...I mean generally when you have to flush more than once aren't we utilizing about the same amount of water as a "regular" toilet? I don't get the logic!

Have you ever seen the Fox show (cartoon) "King of the Hill"? They did an entire episode on this same topic, illustrating your point. Ok now I'm busted, people know I watch that.

LOL..no I missed that episode!

It was FUNNY! The show is written smarter than it sounds.

It is I'm sure Sir. As an adult I've come to appreciate cartoons much more than when I was a child.

And....The Three Stooges still crack me up something silly!