Fun Facts about Ireland, London, and Italy

It has been half a year since my experience in Europe and I miss it every day. I think about how much I want to go back and peruse the fields of Ireland, streets of London, and waterways of Venice. In my experience I wrote down a list of things that I wanted to educate or just entertain people with. In this post I will include fun phrases, facts, and traveling tips that will be helpful in general but most importantly informative for those that may come across these countries.

-Pack a sewing kit for your travel. You will need to use the scissors for cutting off tags after you've been shopping, opposed to trying to tear them apart with your teeth.
-Soda does not mean pop in Ireland. We are all familiar with ordering sodas with our dinner, but when you are dining in Ireland you will get a slice of bread opposed to a fizzy drink. Soda bread is popular in Ireland, it is quite tasteless to some but good with butter!
-Italians eat first course, pasta, and then the meat during a dinner.
-If you are in Italy, be familiar with the following phrases: Bonjourno (Hello), Miscuzi (Excuse me), Prego (What would you like)
-Gelato is a delectable dessert or snack to have in Italy. It is made with eggs.
-In Ireland and England, chips are called "crisps"
-In Ireland and England, fries are called "chips"
-Bullocks in England means "nonsense"
- In Ireland we learned that "Have some crack" meant to have fun.
-Another phrase that is used to say have fun is, "Have class".
-In England you will hear "Cheers" used a lot. It isn't a drinking phrase, but their way of saying thanks.
-When you are in Europe order tap water or they will bring out bottles of water instead, and that is more expensive.
-Bring ID out all times
-Carry around address just in case you get lost or need to tell your taxi driver where you are headed
-When buying tickets for shows in London buy them online or go to box office early
-All theaters in London are good seating. Even if you are sitting in the back, you will have a good seat. All the theaters are quite small so you will be a short enough range from the stage to see everything.
-People in streets of England do not say excuse me
-Be Careful in Dublin- there are kids called "happy slappers" that will assault a stranger and their friends record it on their phones or cameras.
-Wear an over the shoulder bag. This makes it more difficult for someone to snatch your purse. If you have a shoulder bag you can also hold it in the front to avoid pick-pocketers.
-Pack solids for your trip. If it is cold you want to be able to layer your clothing whilst matching. If you carry a ton of patterns with you then it will make it harder to make multiple outfits.
-Bring foot deodorizer and Dr. Scholls. After a long day of walking and sight-seeing your feet will smell awful. Buy some foot deodorizer to minimize the stench. Also, if you are wearing heels you will want to carry Dr. Scholl's pads to accompany your pumps. Especially if you are going out in London you will be walking all over the place.
-See countryside in Ireland. Dublin is nice and metropolitan but you have not experienced Ireland until you see their vast hills and pastures of emerald green. The simplicity of the country is what I found the most beautiful.
-Go to Temple Bar Dublin, the prison is also a good tourist spot, and Phoenix Park.
London
-Supermacs is comparable to McDonald's in Dublin/Ireland. If you buy their garlic fries, don't expect garlic salt. They douse the chips in a creamy garlic sauce.
-Big easy in London was a restaurant I did not get to try. Being American, my cab driver told me that I should try it out because it had outstanding classic American food.
-Dutch Pancake House in London sells humongous sized pancakes. They are thin like crepes and you can top it with a number of different toppings that you would not expect to be good. One time I got sauteed apples with smoked bacon. It was delicious!
-Don’t act American. When I say that I mean, don't be loud and obnoxious. Try to keep to yourself and blend in.
-If you want top dollar clothing at very reasonable prices go to Penney’s in Ireland and Primark in London. They are the same shop with different names. They have very affordable trendy clothing
-Top shop is very expensive, but a popular shopping place.
-There is a lot of butter in Ireland and England, but no butter in Italy.
-Pack flats and boots. And remember your Band-Aids. Pad your heels or any blisters on your feet with the bandages so that it makes walking more comfortable.
-Bring a hard drive to save your pictures on. If you have a laptop that you are bringing, save all of your pictures on both. Just in case you have a hard drive crash!
-"Slainte", pronounced "Slawn-chuh". This phrase is used when cheers-ing drinks.
-If you visit Venice, Italy make sure to climb the clock tower. It's views are amazing and you get a 360 degree view of the city. Murano was also very nice, it had cute cafes, a ton of glass blown souvenir shops, and a great view of the water.
-When in London, climb St. Paul's to get a spectacular view of the city.

I hope my tips helped for future travels!

Pip Pip,
Leah