So, after years of talking about it, this past month, my wife and I finally made our first international trip to beautiful Ireland.  Taking a group tour (with a surprisingly limited number of assholes), we saw Dubin and other great towns like Galway, Ennis and Waterford.  Even took the drive along the Ring of Kerry. I found myself fighting the urge to jealously despise the Irish.

Over seven days there, I made a few observations:

• Ireland is so damn green.
• It’s about the size of Indiana with a population smaller than Indiana. In the country, there is basically Dublin (about the size of Indianapolis, but with better bars), Cork (about the size of Ft. Wayne, but with better bars) and then some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, but with better bars.
• I love Irish food. I could eat boiled bacon and cabbage every day of my life.  Oddly enough, I also had a really great cheeseburger there.
• After getting instruction on how to make Irish coffee, I was surprised to find that they use instant coffee. Apparently, you don’t drink Irish coffee for the coffee.
• The Irish like their sweaters. So many sweater stores.
• I love Irish sports.  All of them. Ironically, I understand none of  them.
• Guinness is everywhere. Strangely, I found Coors and Bud at a lot of places.  Why?
• Speaking of Guinness, it’s not even close to the best beer I had there. Love me some Roundstone.
• I was disappointed by the number of American accents. Much less sexy. Us bastards are everywhere.
• If an Irish woman were to say to me “Larry, you’re a feckin’ loser.” My only response would be “Would you please say my name again?” There is nothing sexier than an Irish woman saying your name.

Overall, the number one thing I came away from Ireland thinking is that I’ll never understand why people say America is the best country on Earth.  I mean, it’s a great country.  We’ve had some good years in the past, but the best?   I love my Detroit Tigers.  They’ve had some great years in the past, but these days they are, at best, mediocre.  But I’ll still call them my team.  Sometimes reluctantly.

Actually, I change my mind.  This is the number one thing I came away with from my trip to Ireland:  If you are physically able to, start travelling. Now. Go into debt. Take the vacation time.  You’ll have no regrets.