We’ve been in France for over 4 weeks now and the only Americans we’ve encountered were our fellow CycleBlazers in Pont-en-Royans. All English speakers we have heard have had UK or Irish accents. It might be different when we get to the Mediterranean coast in a few days.

Those lads behind the bar don’t seem old enough to drink ( legally)…
What is the age in Ireland anyway?

A Heineken beer mirror in an Irish pub? 😬

Maybe the leprechaun and rainbow will bring you better luck! 🍀

I had the same problem in the Netherlands, Jill. The finger tipped gloves never function when you want them to, and taking a photo is next to impossible. I have OR rain gloves which are a “two-fer” ; a heavier glove on the hand itself with a “rain jacket’ cover which protects the gloved hand from getting soaked.
With regards to your helmet and hood on your rain jacket, I wear a Smart Wool headband to keep my ears warm, then don the rain jacket hood (Patagonia) and then the helmet. I never had a wet head in all of those days with rain AND headwinds. For my feet, I wear socks, then a plastic sandwich bag, and then my Keen sandals. Rarely do my feet get wet, either. I hope some of these adaptations help for the future!

Carrot and coriander soup sounds delicious..

What a cutie!

I carry a charging hub. It has 6 USB outlets and needs only one wall plug and adapter. My second adapter is for my camera battery charger, which doesn’t use USB.

I was going to say what Steve said. Hood under helmet! My Showers Pass jacket has an attachable hood which I never bother with anymore as it just doesn’t fit me. I go with a light wool toque under my helmet and carry a rain hat to wear with my jacket for off the bike.

Now that’s decadent!

Oh the ‘closed Monday’ … or whatever day you happen to be there …. stories! We’ve all had them, but they’re far funnier when you’re reading someone else’s. Looks like you’ve got good wet weather gear, essential for Ireland.

Mirrors - I have not seen a spectacles mounted mirror for many years.
My mirror is glued to the side of my helmet but it would cause problems when you moved from riding on the right ofthe road to the British/Irish left of the road.

Two things. We put our hoods under our helmets. It works just fine if we loosen the adjustment of the helmet and the helmet keeps the hood snug to our head which is warmer and drier than being held out to the sides. Thing two-why not invest in bar end mirrors instead of clip on to glasses ones? Don't think the clip ons would work for either of us either. Mirrycle from the US makes a really good bar end mirror. It is easy to install on either side so could be positioned for EU or British riding.

I adore Ann’s sweater! It sure looks like she bought it in Ireland!

This is a very satisfying result for the toilet dunk! Glad Dave can hear the cars coming again ( for you, when windy, Jill) ! I, personally was pleased to read about the hearing aid brand, as I will be getting them myself when I return home, later in June.