Kansas Crimson

Gutter wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:52 pm

jeepinjayhawk wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:19 pm Big difference between local and federal.

Nice try though.

Does racism count as "personal bias" and how do you differentiate between work bias and personal bias?
There is profiling at the Federal level. There has to be to to an extent.
Is there any "bias" at play when it comes to profiling?

Not trying to be confrontational nor am I trying to imply that I was disagreeing with you. Just wanting to hear your take on my questions.

jeepinjayhawk wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:44 pm

kubandalum wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:40 pm Watch where you step on the sidewalks. Hepatitis is not nice. Don’t leave ANYTHING visible in your car. I’ve read reports that smash-and-grabs are so common there that cops won’t even come out to take a report.

I found out several years ago that stolen cars in KC dont even warrant a police visit.

I assume the police have brown people to harrass

I couldn’t find KC statistics for car burglaries, but burglaries of ALL types in KC in 2016 = 4,764. San Francisco car burglaries alone in 2017= 28,794. That’s about 80 per day in a city with a lot less land area. Inside Edition tv show baited a parked car with a speaker and a purse inside in Alamo Square in SF, and they filmed it with hidden cameras. Of course it was broken into, but they didn’t watch their own van, and it was broken into also, and cameras stolen.

But people in SF can feel safer now that they won’t be attacked by plastic straws. The city does have priorities.

Is Portugal worth visiting?

If I have time for either northern Spain or Portugal, but not both, and we've already done Madrid, which should I do?

IllinoisJayhawk wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:13 pm That doesn't sound biased at all. LOL

Maybe you should look into the hiring processes and training for each and make your own conclusion.

Mjl - I have been to both Barcelona and Lisbon. I enjoyed both but given the choice between the two, I'd go to Barcelona.

We traveled to Barcelona during the Christmas holiday one year so it was very festive. While there we visited Gaudi's The Sagrada Familia; Parc Guell; traveled around the different neighborhoods including the Gothic Quarter, Montjuic (take the funicular up from the metro) and Las Ramblas (great energy, street performers, etc.); the Barcelona Cathedral; Picasso Museum (his earlier works), Joan Miro Museum (we were not into this kind of art but it was something to do in Barcelona); Barcelona History Museum and some other places. If you enjoy food markets (fruit, nuts, spices, meats, cafes, etc.), La Boqueria is not to be missed.

If you decide on LIsbon, here are some places we visited: The Belem Tower; St. Georges Castle; the Monastery of Jeronimos (a UNESCO World Heritage site - we enjoyed this); Oceanario de Lisboa (aquarium); historic monument "Padrao dos Descobrimentos"; Lisbon's famous market "The Ribeira Market}; etc. Be sure to travel on the historic trams in and around Lisbon. We did a day trip to Sintra which was fun - we roamed around the different palaces and castles. We also did a day trip to Fatima.

Both places had great food and choices of restaurants.

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks!!

We've done Barcelona - I agree it's awesome. Haven't done Portugal yet. Going to a wedding in Santiago de Compostela (northwest tip of Spain) in June. Was thinking of doing either Portugal or Basque Country after that. I really appreciate the tips for Lisbon!

My next non-work trip abroad will be heavily architecture-focused. I'm wide open to suggestions. I really like the Baroque stuff. I would enjoy seeing Gaudi as well.

jfish26 - Barcelona has beautiful architecture. Gaudi's buildings are very unique. I have not seen anything like it. The Gothic Quarter is like a small medieval city. The streets are like winding passageways where interesting building reveal themselves. I enjoyed photographing the different door styles. The churches and cathedrals were built from the twelfth century through the late 1500's I think. Cross between Gothic and Rennaissance. Across Europe, you'll find Baroque - Italy, France, Austria....

Mjl - Lisbon I felt, had a more industrial feel to it. It could be because of the port had container ships, cranes and of course the cruise ships. Some areas just looked like a regular city - office buildings.

If you are comfortable driving, you could choose to drive south, along the coast to Portugal. The border would not be far from Santiago de Compostela. I am sure there would be quaint towns to stop at along the way. Basque Country would also be a great alternative. Post what you decide upon. It is always great to have feedback for a future trip.

I forgot to add, if you go to Lisbon, make a point to stop at the bakery Pastes de Belem. If I recall correctly, it is near the monastery. They are well known for pastries (pasteis de Belem) that are very yummy. They are served with cinnamon and sugar. We ordered a few of them, then went to a nearby park and enjoyed all of them. We did not save any for later on. Good seafood in the restaurants if you like seafood. Lisbon is also not as expensive as some other European cities, which is a plus.

We are heading to London in just under two months. I have not been there before. We'll only be there for one week so it will be a matter of choosing from a great list of things to see.

Looking for people willing to watch the kids here to make sure we can even go first , will let you know when we figure out what we're doing if we do indeed go.

London - fantastic! I lived/worked there for about five months. You kinda have to go see the typical touristy things - British Museum, changing of the guard, Tower of London, ride on the London Eye, etc. A show at the Shakespeare Globe theatre. Stonehenge? Meh. It's just a pain because it takes so long to get there you basically lose a day, and it's like, "yep, that's what it looks like in the pictures. except for all the sheep". If you want to see something just to say you've seen it, just go to Greenwich and stand on the Prime Meridian - much much closer and just as cool IMO. The Greenwich Maritime museum I thought was interesting as well; wife found it boring.

I did maybe 7 or 8 walking tours through this company and would recommend them: http://www.walks.com/. Better than Sandeman's IMO.

The Tube is fantastic, just avoid rush hour.

We went here probably about once a month, it's interesting enough to check out: https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/. Although I think I might have liked the Borough market better: http://boroughmarket.org.uk/

Have Indian food on Brick Lane. I forgot the place we would go. Can't go wrong though.

My favorite thing about London was the pub culture (instead of going out for Friday lunch - you just go to the pub and drink for Friday lunch! And then more after work around Leadenhall market! https://www.leadenhallmarket.co.uk/

Have you had cask ale? It's not for everyone. It became my favorite thing in the world. If you haven't had it, try it. It's ubiquitous there.

Best pubs IMO by far are the Wetherspoon pubs (https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs). Very very cheap prices, but they're nice places, and always at least a solid collection of cask ales. My regular place was a huge pub with at least 20 cask ales on tap at any time called The Crosse Keys. Really big, really nice, really cheap ales, pretty decent Indian food for half off on Thursdays IIRC. It'll be packed any weekday just after people get out of work.

I strongly prefer the Wetherspoon pubs over the Nicholson pubs (you'll see those all over with the signs with black backgrounds and gold letters, pretty meh IMO).

Is there anything you're not sure about whether or not it's worth it to do?

My husband worked in London - back and forth between there and here a while ago so he has seen most of the touristy spots. It will be a balance between repeats for him but all new for me. I am not sure if he has been to the Greenwich Maritime Museum. I'll need to ask but it sounds great. We sail and plan on sailing to far away places in about two years time. If I suggest the Maritime Museum, he will be all in. As for Stonehenge, you are probably right. I think we'll wait on Stonehenge until we travel around England. Last summer we traveled a decent bit around Scotland (Edinburgh, up through the Trossachs and Stirling, to Fort William, to the Isle of Skye, back down along the coast to Glasgow, Ayr and then back to Edinburgh). While in Scotland we visited some standing stones - not as big as Stonehenge - but same stuff. The Culloden Battlefield was like Stonehenge. It was a grassy field. One of those things that you can say you have been there but one grassy field looks much like all the grassy fields you have seen. At least there were sheep in Stonehenge.

The tube won't bother me at all. I have traveled on trains in rush hour most of my life. In cities, trains are the quickest way to get from point A to point B. Very convenient.

I will keep the pub and ale information handy. I followed your links to the two markets. Borough market looks more like a place we would visit to find some fresh bread, cheese, fruit, nuts and sausages. If we have time, we will try to visit both.

Thank you for all the suggestions. Greatly appreciate them.

For domestic travel I’d suggest the San Juan Islands north of Seattle first. The Friday night seafood buffet at Rosario’s Resort on Orcas Island is great. (Antiques Roadshow once filmed an episode there.) Fantastic scenery, whale watching, moped rentals, hiking, biking, and some interesting history to go with it in the islands. They’re also close to Victoria, BC, and its Butchart Gardens.

Flagstaff, Arizona, has bike rentals and bike trails, the observatory where Pluto was discovered, nice scenery, and a very nice downtown. It’s less than 2 hours drive from both Meteor Crater and the Grand Canyon. The drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff is like an Introduction to Geology textbook

For a different take on beaches try the Redneck Riviera from Gulf Shores, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida. White sand, clear water, and a great place for fresh flounder.

If you do San Juan Island we usually skipped Rosario,( pricey, touristy and yes delicious) and instead opted for a packed lunch at Lime Kiln park. Great view and often seals and whale viewing. I watched Orcas breach and play not 20 yards from the shore. Great place. Lopez island is nice too. Smaller and more isolated. Orcas island is fun but very touristy. Lots of good spots in the islands to relax and enjoy the view.

kubandalum wrote: ↑Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:32 am For domestic travel I’d suggest the San Juan Islands north of Seattle first. The Friday night seafood buffet at Rosario’s Resort on Orcas Island is great. (Antiques Roadshow once filmed an episode there.) Fantastic scenery, whale watching, moped rentals, hiking, biking, and some interesting history to go with it in the islands. They’re also close to Victoria, BC, and its Butchart Gardens.

Flagstaff, Arizona, has bike rentals and bike trails, the observatory where Pluto was discovered, nice scenery, and a very nice downtown. It’s less than 2 hours drive from both Meteor Crater and the Grand Canyon. The drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff is like an Introduction to Geology textbook

For a different take on beaches try the Redneck Riviera from Gulf Shores, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida. White sand, clear water, and a great place for fresh flounder.

We had a great vacation to Marco Island last year. The beach was as good as any I've ever been to, the food near the resorts was excellent, and there was a lot to do in the general area (like shelling, and Everglades tours). I don't know if we'll go back with the kids - all-inclusives are a big draw when you start factoring in how many goddamn slushies a kid wants to half-finish in any given day - but we'll be back for a couples trip for sure.

Slovenia. We spent about 5 days there a couple of months ago. Easy to get to from Northern Italy (was there for work). People are very friendly, lots to see and do. Just about everyone speaks English. It’s not crowded and relatively inexpensive. It’s a good combination of Austria, Italy and the Eastern Bloc. We did a day trip to Zagreb, Croatia and we definitely want to go back.

Croatia is at the VERY top of my adults-only-trip bucket list. I grew up with a bunch of Croatians so I feel some connection to the culture, and it looks incredibly beautiful and historic.

jfish26 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 27, 2018 10:34 am Croatia is at the VERY top of my adults-only-trip bucket list. I grew up with a bunch of Croatians so I feel some connection to the culture, and it looks incredibly beautiful and historic.

Sister's boyfriend is from Croatia. He says it's absolutely incredible. Great place to visit as long as you stay away from bad areas of Zagreb and other larger cities.

The Adriatic coast of Croatia gets all the press (Dubrovnik, Split and Istria). Inland areas are very rich in sights and cultural destinations. We only spent a few hours in Zagreb so I don’t know if it has unsavory areas. We never felt unsafe in any part of Slovenia, or Northern Italy for that matter (spent a lot of time in the Milan area). In fact Ljubljana feels very safe and everyone we met, no matter where we went, were extremely friendly.

anyone been to the olympic peninsula?

ousdahl wrote: ↑Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:14 am anyone been to the olympic peninsula?

Yes. Peaceful place. Love it there. Much better than Seattle. Also like taking the ferries to get there.

A little trivia: John Wayne donated the building of the Marina at Sequim there, and for several years Johnny Carson would spend vacation days on his yacht at anchor in Port Ludlow, and eat at the marina restaurant there.

I was there about 10 years ago. My buddy and I hiked in the Ho Rain Forest. Amazing place. We were there in November and it surprisingly wasn't raining. No one else in the park that we could see. More shades of green than I knew existed.