We've spent another week in Ireland and Scotland logging some miles through the countryside this week as opposed to spending more time in the cities last week. I've had some more time to get to know what's going on in this part of the world, both politically and socially, so you'll have to suffer through some more observations much like I've had to suffer through instant coffee and what they heretically call ‘bacon.'

Since we've spent more time in the car this week, I've had a chance to listen to the radio. Country music is huge here. I mean HUGE. They not only adore Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and all of our country music stars (who put on concerts here regularly) but they have their own country stars who are actually pretty good.

In fact they love American culture here. USA network, Spike TV, CBS Action network, and others are carried here in Ireland/Scotland. It's like watching TV at home in a lot of ways. Not to mention other series or programs that are featured through on demand programming such as Netflix. We've been asked 3-4 times a day where we're from and everyone knows New Mexico. Thanks to Breaking Bad.

Did I mention their bacon is not bacon and it sucks? It's basically grilled ham. And it sucks. Darn third world countries.

Roundabouts are not bad things, in fact they work quite well. However they would not work in the states because drivers need to have simple common courtesy and patience.

Country roads are indeed narrow and nerve racking. Speed limits on those roads are high, usually 60 mph or so. Imagine driving down Texas St at 60 mph with 2 way traffic. Now you know what it's like. Oh and with the cars parked on one side of the road.

Did you know the Irish Republican Army is still active? I did not until they stopped a plot to plant at a bomb in Dublin last week. If you don't know about the IRA, Google it.

I was prepared for a lot before we came to Ireland/Scotland, so there haven't been any big surprises. But there have been some things that I didn't really understand how prevalent or how true the stereotypes were. For example, there's no doubt pubs are popular, but you cannot fathom how many there are; every 3-4 shops in city centers are pubs.

The food isn't as bad as you've heard; but it's not good. It's bland, very bland. Maybe that's why they love haggis; which isn't as bad as you've been led to believe. It might have the most taste of anything we've eaten.

There are 9 quintillion ways to cook potatoes. The Irish use only 5 of those ways: mashed, boiled, a potato pancake, baked, French fries (chips).

Last night I had ‘bacon ribs.' Turns out they are baby back ribs and they don't season them. The sauce they put on the side is ranch dressing. How can a country survive like this?

Individually they are very nice, friendly people. But based upon their history, they are a violent lot. Lots of fighting, rebelling, killing of people they don't like; heck they even kill some people they like. Liberals think America is a violent country; they clearly don't know history.

Speaking of killing people they like; back in the 1400s or so, the British were tired of the rebellions under King Charles I. His noblemen liked the King but the constant fighting was wearing thin and they were going broke. So it was decided that he not only needed to be removed from the throne but that he had to be killed. No one in England wanted the job of detaching Charles' head, so Scotland sent a couple of enlisted men to do the job. On the appointed day lots were drawn and one of those young men found himself lopping off the King's melon. He was given a bar back in his hometown that operates to this day, The King's Head.

They hate smoking; you can't even display the cigarettes openly and the packages all have graphic pictures of lung cancer and other diseases. Yet everyone smokes. EVERYONE.

They hate the National Health System. At the major hospital in Cork, the cardiac emergency unit is only open M-F between 9-5. So don't have a heart attack outside those hours; they won't accept you as a patient. I listened to a radio program that talked about all the problems yet they can't believe that we don't have ‘free healthcare'.

You don't tip waiters or anyone else for that matter. All are paid the minimum wage or more.

The value added tax is used so when you checkout at the store, there is no tax added, you know already exactly what you are going to pay. But the prices of things are higher than they are in the states, even the locally produced items-a gallon of milk is about $5 US. But people don't realize how much of that cost is the VAT. Buying a wool sweater and shipping outside the country? There is a 20% savings and they'll ship it free anywhere in the world. Think about that.

Except for hotel rooms and rental cars; the tax can be as much as 40% in some areas.

It's green. Really green. And the cows are huge. The cows are what our bison want to be when they grow up. Not sure what happened to our Angus cattle after they got to America. Maybe it's the grass here.

There aren't any power outlets in hotel room bathrooms. None. Only for electric shavers. Usually there's only 2 outlets in the entire room; you have to unplug the TV to use the computer or hair dryer. Each electrical outlet has its own power switch.

Our hotel in Glasgow had a card slot into which you had to insert your room card in order to use the lights in the room. They only give you one card key; that way when you leave the room, the lights go off and stay off. It's because they get their power from windmills and they need to use as little as possible. The staff hated it but loves the idea of alternative energy.

We had a hot water urn in every hotel room. Those things heat up the water, about 8-10 cups, in less time it takes your wife to get mad when you don't take out the trash immediately. It's great! Why don't we have these?

They love their history and do all they can to preserve it. Every town has an old church and it's usually the biggest building in the area. Each town also has at least a plaque if not a statue commemorating their most important citizen in history. Most are honoring some king or nobleman who fought the English or supported Robert the Bruce or the Stuarts and so on. One town had a huge statue of their local hero, who was able to drink an entire cask of Guinness in one long sitting. People come from all over the country to kneel at his pedestal.

It's been a great trip, very educational and fun. If you get the chance to come here, do it. The cost of travel is not bad if you work at it; we paid $750 for our round trip ticket and don't have 30 stops; direct flight from San Francisco to Dublin. Hotel rooms can be expensive but if you watch on Hotels.com or similar sites, you can find bargains for the best hotels, inns and B&Bs. Get a car and travel outside the cities if you want to know what the country and its people are really like.