Countries Visited ... So Far ... 41 And Counting!

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 List (Alphabetical)

 Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain

 Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium

 Bosnia and Herzegovina

 Bulgaria – Republic of Bulgaria

 Canada

 Croatia – Republic of Croatia

 Czech Republic

 Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat/Grønland)

 France – French Republic

 Germany – Federal Republic of Germany

 Greece – Hellenic Republic
 Holy See

 Hungary

 India – Republic of India

 Ireland
 Israel

 Italy – Italian Republic

 Jamaica

 Japan

 Korea, South – Republic of Korea

 Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

 Macedonia – Republic of Macedonia

 Malta – Republic of Malta

 Mexico – United Mexican States

 Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia

 Monaco – Principality of Monaco

 Montenegro

 Netherlands

 Palau – Republic of Palau

 Palestine - State of Palestine
 Portugal – Portuguese Republic

 San Marino – Republic of San Marino

 Saudi Arabia – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

 Slovenia – Republic of Slovenia

 Spain – Kingdom of Spain

 Switzerland – Swiss Confederation

 Tunisia – Republic of Tunisia

 Turkey – Republic of Turkey

 United Arab Emirates

 United Kingdom – United Kingdom of Great Britain    and Northern Ireland

 United States – United States of America

 - Guam

 - Puerto Rico

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Title: Countries Visited ... So Far ... 41 And Counting!

Key Words: countries, country, nation, capitol, Google Maps, Google, map, maps, city, state, world, earth, visit, visited, traveler, 44, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, Yelp

Why Should You Read My Reviews And Subscribe To TravelValue?

I served my country in the United States Air Force for over 20 years and have visited 44 countries over the last 35 years, all without spending over $75 per night for a nice hotel room and dining in excellent restaurants for well under $25 per person. How do I do it? Through diligent research, exploration, trial and error, and tapping local knowledge.

Would you like to stay in a central, 3-star hotel in a major city for under $20 per night? How about a room with a balcony and view of the Himalayas while attending teachings with the Dalai Lama for just $5 per night? Or a beachfront hotel for $13 per night? Maybe a meal prepared by a 5-star chef for less than $20? Well, you have come to the right place ...

 CombatCritic's "TravelValue" 

Having several popular travel blogs CombatCritic.com and received numerous accolades from several of the top travel and restaurant websites/apps (Yelp, TripAvisor, Zomato, Tabelog, Booking.com), you can trust my opinions. 

Unlike many reviewers who are either afraid to tell the truth or have personal relationship with businesses and biased views, I reserve 5-stars (10 Bombs on my blog) for only the most flawless restaurants, accommodations, businesses, attractions and destinations, those where you absolutely and without a doubt get the most “bang-for-the-buck”. 

CombatCritic.com

I try to remain as objective as possible in all of my reviews, providing the pros and cons as I see them and a rating based on the overall “value” as compared to similar entities in similar locations. I accept no "freebies" and only identify myself as a critic after having been a customer and paid the bill, so you can trust my reviews.

Here is a breakdown of my ratings both on my blogs (where I use a ten point scale) and on travel and dining websites (that all use 5 point Likert-type scales) ...

If I hate a place, they get 1-2 Bombs (1-star)

If so-so with numerous”issues", they get 3-4 Bombs (2-stars)

If average (the vast majority of businesses fall into this category if you look at the distribution of my ratings), they get 5-6 Bombs (3-stars)

If above average, they get 7-8 Bombs (4-stars)

If they are one of the very rare “best of the best” values in my experience, they get 9-10 Bombs (5-stars – I always round up from bombs to stars because I use a 10 point Likert-type scale in order to be more discernible). 

Now that you understand my philosophy and ratings, on to my reviews …

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Key Words: combatcritic, travelvalue, travel, value, combat, critic, review, reviews, objective, restaurant, hotel, attraction, destination, Italy, USA, India, Asia, Europe

Bilbao, Spain: NAP? ... EVO? ... VPN? ... That's A Negative Colonel!

NAP Pizzeria

Ramón Basterra Kalea, 1

48011 Bilbo, Bizkaia, Spain

+34946614362

NAP.com

Prices: €€€€

They (NAP) call it 'verace pizza napoletana' (VPN - true Neapolitan pizza), but this place would never make it in Naples, Italy. I lived in Naples for three years while assigned to NATO's Southern region Headquarters and where I met my wife, so we visit Napoli often. My dad's side of the family is from a small mountain town about 100 clicks in the mountains east of Napoli and where they also know how to make a great pizza. I also received my certification in a veraci pizza napoletana pizzeria in Napoli on my birthday in 2017 so I know my shit Bozo.

My pizza Salsiccia e Friarielli (€11.90 - sausage, broccoli rabe, mozzarella, and EVO) was a rare find, something you usually only find in Naples and my very favorite pizza. 

It came very quickly like a true neapolitan pizza should, 90 seconds at 600 degrees Celsius, and was about the right size (35cm). The dough (pasta) was about the right thickness as well, but, unfortunately, had far too much olive oil and it did not look like the advertised EVO, much lighter in color. Therefore, the extremely thin dough was soggy instead of being just thick enough and cooked well enough to be able to fold and pick up in your hand, as a true neapolitan pizza is customarily eaten. 

They had olio piccante on-hand, a bottle of EVO containing hot peppers, Calabrian chiles to be exact and considered the classic Italian pepper, so I was somewhat impressed. However, I could barely taste it because there were not enough chilis inside and the watery 'EVO' drowned out any flavor there might have been. Bummer.

I had two glasses of their house red wine (€4 each), so I satiated myself before the James Taylor concert for just under €20 plus tip.

It was a decent attempt, but flawfully executed, much to my dismay. No HOOAH here comrades.

CombatCritic Gives NAP 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

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• Over 1.4 Million Views A Year

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Title: Bilbao, Spain: NAP? ... EVO? ... VPN? ... That's A Negative Colonel!

Key Words: CombatCritic, TravelValue, Bilbao, Spain, NAP, EVO, VPN, colonel, pizza, pizzeria, Napoli, Naples, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Bilbao, Spain: I Got Guggenheimed And Was Not A Happy Camper

Guggenheim

Abandoibarra Etorb., 2

48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain

Phone: +34944359080

Website: Guggenheim-Bilbao

Prices: €€€€

A massive, beautiful building next to the river with hardly any art, very disappointing!

A gargantuan hall on the ground floor is dedicated to just a few massive cement 'art' structures that lead you on a long maze-like walk inside only to find nothing at the end. What a waste of space.

Half of the museum was closed and the other half had very few objects of art on the walls, unless the white walls are considered art of course. The sole highlight was a huge Andy Warhol with dozens of Warhol's iconic Marilyn Monroe image, each with various colorings integrated into a continuous whole across the entire piece.

Otherwise, it was a lot of walking and big letdown, do not waste your money.

CombatCritic Gives Museo Guggenheim Bilbao 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

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Title: Bilbao, Spain: I Got Guggenheimed And Was Not A Happy Camper

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Bilbao, Spain: A Dearth Of Bellas Artes Or Artists ... Mehhhhhh!

Museum of Fine Arts of Bilbao

Museo Plaza, 2

48009 Bilbao Spain

Phone: +34944396060

Website: 

Prices: €€€€

A bit better than my Guggenheim experience, I was also disappointed here.

A dearth of well known art or artists, some El Greco, a few Degas and Gauguin pieces, and a very nice Mary Cassatt, but not a single Renoir, Monet, Lautrec, Van Gogh, or Manet in sight. I love the impressionists and neo-impressionists as well as Rembrandt and a few others, so I was quite bored.

The map they gave me had little information and was totally useless, so I had to explore on my own and it is possible that I missed some rooms or artworks. I hope so.

Not a big museum, it will take an hour or two at most, even if you like the collection they have on-hand.

CombatCritic Gives Museo Bellas Artes de Bilbao 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Five Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Continue Mission"

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Title: Bilbao, Spain: A Dearth Of Bellas Artes Or Artists ... Mehhhhhh!

Key Words: Bilbao, Spain, Museo Bellas Artes de Bilbao, museum, fine, arts, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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Quatrim do Norte (Olhão): If You Are Hunting For Good Fish And Steak, The Operative Word Is 'Caca' at Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense

Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense

Quatrim do Norte, 8700

Moncarapacho, Portugal

Phone number: 927 419 607

Prices: €€€€

I had heard about this place from friends, located on a secluded little road off of the N-125 at Quatrim do Norte between Olhão and Fuseta, it really does not look like much from the road once you find it.

I was told it is a Brazilian restaurant with live music on Sunday's at lunch time, but the only thing Brazilian that I noticed were the servers because the menu is made-up of standard Portuguese offerings.

The food is adequate with smaller portions and higher prices than you can find elsewhere and the service is very slow. 

After 20 minutes of sitting on the patio with nary a 'boa tarde' from the female servers, I went inside to order our drinks from the bar. When they arrived 10 minutes later, there were no wine or water glasses and they finally arrived another 10 minutes later.

We ordered two Picanha Grelhada (grilled skirt steak - €11 each), but only one side order of fries, salad, rice and beans were received. The amount of steak on the plate was probably half of what you would receive at most local restaurants and almost half of that was fat.

My wife's Bitoque de Porco (pork steaks with a fried egg on top - €10) was nicely presented and she was quite happy with it, coming with fries, rice and salad.

The meals did come with coffee and dessert, but the cheesecake was obviously straight out of a box, the mass produced variety that has neither cheese nor cake.

The highlight of the day was the wonderful Algarve sunshine and blue sky, along with the live music, a single musician and decent mix of modern pop, popular hits, Italian classics, and Portuguese/Brazilian favorites.

If you like live music while eating on a shaded terrace under the wonderful Olhão sunshine, then you will enjoy this place, but the food is mediocre at best, the service slow, even by Portuguese standards, and the prices higher than average, so ...

CombatCritic Gives Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombas Are Melhor!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

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Google Maps - "Top Photographer" With Over 3 Million Views!

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Title: Quatrim do Norte (Olhão): If You Are Hunting For Good Fish And Steak, The Operative Word Is 'Caca' at Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense

Key Words: Quatrim do Norte, Moncarpacho, Olhão, fish, steak, Clube Caça e Pesca Cavaquense, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, music, review, Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook

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