Pros and Cons of Ireland as I've Experienced It

When traveling through foreign countries, at first, you experience exhilaration of the new, the unknown, and your curiosity about everything takes priority.  You roll with the punches and laugh off any inconveniences. You savor the differences.

After a while, little things start to bug you.  You have bouts of homesickness, short-lived but very real.  You may even throw a hissy fit over some little annoyance which wouldn't exist back home.

Then you adjust and are able to weigh the experience in its entirety.  And though I always love the experience, I also always love coming back to live my American lifestyle.

By the time Friday rolls around and I am America-bound, I will be eager to get home, sleep in my own bed with my own feather pillows, see friends and family, eat tons of vegetables, and drive.

God, I miss driving.

So here is my Pros and Cons List (under construction...)


Pros

The Irish people!
Cute shops with flower boxes
Quaint architecture
Pubs with comfortable seating
Promenade and Galway Bay
Wicklow Mountains
Countryside with sheep and cows and stone walls
Bunratty Castle and Folk Village
Green, green, green
Cute, quirky phraseology
Tipping not expected, and then only up to 10%
Chicken Supreme


Cons
Weather (much of the time)
Driving on the opposite side of the road
Pubs with uncomfortable stools only
Irish TV
Taxis that won't take credit cards
Some accents so thick you can't understand a word
Disgusting bacon (called back bacon)
Lack of vegetables in restaurants
No refills on Americano coffee
Salads with barely any lettuce