Europe 2026

Here are 15 random observations from our 15 days abroad.

1. We never had to pay to use the bathroom, which was a pleasant surprise as we’ve had to pay in Europe in the past.

2. We also never had to pay for a glass of water, which was another unexpected blessing.

3. Growing up I remember eating a lot of complimentary meals on airline flights. Our kids have not had that experience, but Aer Lingus does still serve free meals on transatlantic flights. One the way home we were served a beverage with Penn State pretzels followed by a main meal. We had two choices for the main dish (chicken or pasta) and everyone received a chickpea salad, piece of wheaten bread, water, and a small serving of passion fruit mousse. Coffee and tea were offered with the meal. Several hours later we were served a very small cheese sandwich and a small brownie with coffee or tea.

4. Back in 2001 I remember hearing the phrase "mind the gap" many times. We heard it again on this trip. On this trip I noticed in Scotland and Ireland that they often used the phrase "wee bit." 

5. Wales is a VERY dog friendly place to visit. We saw dogs in most shops, restaurants, etc. In one restaurant I noticed they had free dog treats and also toys available for the dogs. As long as they were "on a lead" they were permitted in most places. 

6. Stop signs are almost nonexistent. There are some stop lights, but much less than we have here in the US. Instead, they have what felt like about five million roundabouts. I'm very grateful Paul was the one driving as I'm not a fan of roundabouts. 

7. Except for the night we stayed at the Cowshed Bunkhouse (boutique hostel), we had complimentary coffee and tea available at every place we stayed. Many times, there was an electric kettle in the bedroom. That kettle came in handy the morning I wanted to make instant oatmeal that I had brought from home. On the other hand, we never saw an ice machine or had a microwave or refrigerator in our room unless we were staying in an apartment that had a kitchen.

8. Gas is ridiculously expensive. I'm sure the war in Iran made that worse, but wow it costs an arm and a leg to fill up the tank of a SUV. They also don't have pay at the pump at gas stations. Everyone has to go in to pay, and most people do some shopping while they're in there so if you're waiting for a gas pump to become available, you might be waiting awhile as people buy groceries or just an ice cream or whatever in conjunction with paying for their gas.

9. Parking spaces and parking garages were not made with SUVs in mind. We were SO grateful for the amazing cameras that the vehicles we rented had but still parking and navigating a parking garage were not for the faint of heart. My hat is off to Paul. I would have had to have a smaller vehicle if I was driving. 

10. I enjoyed seeing the statues inside the Wallace Memorial as they honored a variety of Scottish people including Robert Burns, Mary Slessor, Adam Smith, David Livingstone, and John Knox.

11. During the majority of our trip the temperatures were lower than normal for May. The good news is that it hardly rained when we were walking around, and that was a blessing as usually it rains more than that. May 23-26 the weather was unseasonably warm. In fact, they had record breaking high temperatures in the UK on May 24. We actually got some sunburn that day! We definitely didn't need any umbrellas any of those days it was very hot and sunny. 

12. Slices of bacon are SO big in the UK and Ireland. The first time I saw a piece I thought it was a slice of ham due to the size. 

13. We had many delicious breads in Paris, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. For example, I really liked the soda bread we had with our breakfast at the Guest House on May 25 in Northern Ireland.

14. Some foods that they serve with breakfast are not ones we typically have at breakfast in the US. We ordered breakfast sandwiches in Dublin our last morning (by that time we knew what baps were), and on each plate there was a small salad. You also never get to pick a salad dressing in the UK. Breakfasts also usually included baked beans (which I didn't mind although I don't plan on eating them for breakfast at home), stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, and bacon. 

15. We were able to use a credit card to pay for almost everything. I had gotten some pounds and Euros through AAA before we left because I knew that we had to pay cash for our dinner at the guest house, and I figured we'd need some cash for bathrooms and such. We did need cash a few times such as at the Cardiff Market and the machines in some parking lots only accepted cash, but the vast majority of the time credit cards were accepted. If I had to do it over again, I would have just used our debit card to get some cash at an ATM over there, and I wouldn't have exchanged as much as we did. We made sure at the end to use cash instead of cards so that we would come home with as little of those currencies as possible.