
Europe
Years ago a friend’s dad was in the drive through at KFC and made a detailed request to change his order from the standard options on the menu. Then the dad said, “You’re going to get that right aren’t you?” Without delay the voice through the speaker said, “If I could, do you think I’d be working at Kentucky Fried Chicken?”
In the States the Mother of Giants finds that it is not likely that the McDonalds staff will be able to make two changes to an order. She does not like pickles or onions on her Bigmacs. What does she do? She orders them without onions and removes the pickles herself – usually offering them to her husband that politely declines them.
A McDonalds in Dublin passed the pickle and onion test removing safely both items without adding something else (often the items are removed and the employee then adds something as compensation or out of spite – you didn’t get this so I’ll give you mustard…)
And the double win was when after a dumbfounded staff member couldn’t understand the request for a drink refill a fan of Texas jumped in and gave the Giants a soda refill. European restaurants normally doesn’t do refills. He recognized the Houston namesake hat and showing kinship provided extra soda!
No Giants rating given since not all Goodmans were there. Some were finishing laundry.
The Epic Camp Goodman travelers have planned out their adventures to when and where to wash clothes. In Ireland machines in the hotels couldn’t be found for the stay. For those living in Dublin that don’t have home machines they use road and store side units installed by Revolution Launderette.
The Dublin, Ireland Billy Joel concert was a hit with the 69 year old star concluding with The Piano Man. The Giant kids are most familiar with this tune and We Didn’t Start the Fire. Giants come prepared to get their songs played:
So when Billy had said his goodbyes to Dublin we pulled out our signs and begged for an encore:
He came back onstage and rocked it honoring our request first!
Anticipation and buildup with excitement for the show got the best of some Giants making it so the event couldn’t possibly live up to the hype. For others it was awesome, amazing, wonderful, great, and many other high words of excitement. The Giants together rate the Billy Joel concert:
Ever hear of dynamic currency conversion?
500 Euros and you think, “How much is that in US dollars? Quick math to calculate this isn’t easy for everyone. So foreign merchants will often offer to perform a dynamic currency conversion, even calling it DCC. This service immediately converts the foreign amount to dollars, giving you a better idea of how much you’re about to spend. Sounds great, right? There’s a catch. Merchants aren’t offering this out of kindness—they charge a significant fee for DCC, as much as 7% of the purchase price.
We knew there was a reason this is offered, not until researching did we know the high price of convenient conversion.
The Goodman Giants will visit Ireland (not to be confused with Northern Ireland of the United Kingdom) this summer as part of EPIC Camp Goodman! If you are looking for some distinct insight from a real family about travel then please check back and see how we blog about activities, chocolate, friendliness to tourists, transportation, food, and the quality of the water.
Houston
We Didn’t Start the Fire, yet the Goodman Giants are excited about going to see the guy who did perform in Dublin! Our Activities expert has memorized most of the songs we will hear that night.