As we went along our travels, we decided it would be a good idea to keep track of the little things we noticed in each city. These are things that we may or may not have written about in the blog, but they were interesting things we picked up on or learned and wanted to remember. Just in case you were wondering...here's our collection of random tidbits

Ireland

The pedestrian walk signs are lit up people that makes a sound like a space ship when it's okay to walk

Ambulances are bright yellow

In downtown areas it's writeen on the street which way to look before crossing (i.e. "look left") because they drive on the left side

Lots of old buildings mixed with modern ones

Irish people say "Tanks a million" instead of "Thanks a lot"

Shops that are closed pull down a garage-type door

Irish people say "half six" for 6:30

Dogs are hardly ever on leashes

Although Irish language is in danger of becoming a dead language, all the signs are in Irish and English

Everyone learns basic Irish in school, but only few left that speak fluently, and are mostly in the Galway area

Street signs are on the sides of buildings making them impossible to see

Advertise Guinness everywhere but not Jameson

Lots of guys walking around in Kilts (probably because they were playing the Scottish in Futbol)

Clean streets and sidewalks, car sweepers early each morning

Instead of garbage cans, people hang their garbage bags on posts of fences outside their homes

Almost everything has wrought iron fences outside

No Pepsi products, but advertise Coke everywhere (only ads we saw)

McDonald's and Burger Kings everywhere

Weather can literally change in 5 minutes, people stand under buildings or trees to wait out the passing rain

When there is no place to park, cars park halfway or all the way on the sidewalks

Taxis are all regular looking cars with simple signs on top

No yellow curbs, just double lines next to curb to signal no parking areas

Irish people love to clap and sing along to music, very jovial

Many people, young and old, out at pubs every night and walk in the middle of the streets

No shortage of live bands

Dublin seems to cater to tourism a lot, tons of buses everywhere

No tall buildings or skyscrapers

Very eco/recycle friendly

The sun was out until at least 10pm every day

Up until the 70s, the biggest industry was farming and now it's tourism

Almost all brick buildings, no siding, etc.

Most houses look the exact same, which is why they are known for their doors all being different colors

In the country, rock walls everywhere to clear rocks from the field and to divide the land

During the Potato Famine, used to give people useless work of building walls up mountains just to get their mind off things

There's an island off of Dublin that has bunnies the size of pigs

The f bomb is used prevalently but isn't looked as a swear word

They love Obama

Bad terms between the north and the south. YOu can't even take a bus to the north because they will use it as road blocks to destroy. You can only take a cab

Most food is fried, and fries are served with salt and vinegar

Many movies are filmed in Ireland due to low taxes regulations, instead of Scottland

Irish people say "What's the crack?" instead of "What's going on?"

Erie is the actual name of Ireland

France

Sand in parks instead of cement

Scenic, no billboards

Instead of trash cans along the street, there are bags hanging

Tiny glasses of wine

Coca Cola, no pepsi

McDonald's are classier, nicer food options as well

Mercedes taxis

Doesn't get dark until well after 10:30 pm

Proud of their culture and language (for every English word, there is a French word created for its equal)

Can't walk on most grassy areas

French hot dogs are very long and skinny usually made with cheese

Baguettes!

Expensive

Everyone wears scarves. Everyone. Even men, and even in the summer

Phone lines are underground and their stop lights are on the side of the road not over the streets, therefore the city is very pretty

Starbucks tastes different

A lot of wrought iron gates, even on balconies, with flowers

Very clean city

McDonald's easy order machines (kiosks that asks which language you want to order in, place order and pay for there, and then pick up at the counter)

Pay for toilets

Schools take a lot of field trips (we saw a large group of kids from France in Ireland)

Some movies that came out in U.S. A long time ago were just coming out in France

Not many fast food places at all except Subway and McDonald's

Very "green," save water, must bring bags for groceries

Lots of PDA

Lots of suit stores for men

Men wear capris a lot (in Europe in general)

People generally more attractive here than in Ireland

Lots of trees and greenery everywhere (even in town)

Men more direct with stares and compliments

No drinking fountains anywhere

Very few obese people

Flags everywhere

French don't like people from Quebec

Very proud culture: make french words for english terms (ie email) and movie titles

Don't like people sitting on grass

Ambulence sounds super soft

Madrid

Colorful buildings, clothing

Laid back people and lifestyles

Stores close for siestas

People drink a lot of hard alcohol, no beer (we went to a bar where they only had one type of beer in the entire bar)

Partying doesn't start until after 1am and goes until 6 or 7am

Lots of winding, small streets

Can't tell the difference between small streets or large walking sidewalks sometimes

Cobblestone/uneven streets

Partying culture

Bacon is basically like ham

Never wear shorts, even though 80 degrees outside (mostly dresses or pants)

More people speak basic English

People more outwardly gay here

Old street signs have pictures on them

Names of streets/quotes written in gold on street

Certain areas known for bad pick-pocketing

Lots of street performers

Sunday is a big family outing day

Flea market was crazy

People at the seven story club were mostly stuck up

Dinners were late at night, some people still eating at 10:30pm

No skyscrapers

Spanish tile roof, no shingles

No dogs on leashes

Tiny parking spaces and cars

No Reeses/peanut butter

Elderly are respected (young people immediately gave their seat on train to elderly)

Illegal to hang clothing over balconies

Cars turn halfway around the corner and THEN stop for pedestrians

Barcelona

Port city

Busier

Men selling buzzers blown through their mouths...very annoying

People wait out the rain under cover

Spaniards hate the rain, everything was dead

Women wear heels a lot

Bread was mostly crust/hard

Tapas= appetizers

Seafood very popular

Big lunches around 2pm, small dinners around 8 or 9pm

Out until 7am

Clubs are all right next to each other

All the clubs are underground, with just the entrances above ground

Expensive drinks (12-17 euros)

Buildings wider/farther apart at the bottom in order to let carriages to get through

Lots of plazas (open areas surrounded by buildings)

Two different government systems (Spain and Catalonya)

Lots of protests every single day on square between Catalan and Spanish government buildings, though they have sound proof windows

Picasso studied here

Legal to grow two marijuana plants, legal to smoke marijuana in home or on balcony, but illegal to smoke in the streets/in public

Bad pick-pocketing, even locals are robbed

Government brought in sand to create a beach

Men are more forward with their cat-calling

Listen to a lot of American music

Plants on balconies are people's only backyard

Store owners of small stores often stand outside in doorway when store is empty

Everyone smokes. Everyone

Couldn't drink the water, 50% from bad well

Laid back, never any honking

People selling stuff on beach started to sound like broken records

Catalan Policemen here are scary

Lots of dreadlocks

Bullfights are now outlawed

Turned bullfighting arenas into malls and give % to orphanages

Colorful clothes

Nude beaches

Wash streets 4 times a day so it doesn't smell like pee and garbage

Rome

SO many mopeds and smart cars

All streets are black brick, hardly any pavement

No lines in streets

Park however/where ever they want

Bushes/ flowers in between highways

Busier city, people in a hurry (much like New York)

Old/dirty metro (but only costs 1 euro!)

Larger street lights but till not over the streets

Very fancy McDonald's

Gelato is ridiculously good

Dress very stylish, women always in heels

Buildings are mostly tan, yellow, peach colored

Some places smelled like pee

Everyone smokes

Tiny roads

Body odor

Shutters on all the windows

Mannequins are styled and wear wigs

Terrible sidewalks (cracked/uneven)

Limited Mcdonald's menus

957 churches

Signs are in both Italian and English

People harass you outside the restaurants to get you to come in

Not good service in restaurants, but they do clear the plates as soon as you're finished

Have to actually ask for the check after eating, otherwise you will never get it (all of Europe)

Few random palm trees throughout the city

No tap water at restaurants (only expensive bottled), but running cold water from street fountains

Roma= Amor (backwards)

People selling roses, splattering pigs, and the usual purses, sunglasses, etc.

Pubcrawl/tours in general sales people harass you everywhere

Not many bars/pubs/clubs

Gelato bars are open late

People very interested in fashion, Armani ads everywhere

People have the right of way when crossing the streets (no walk light, just have to step out in front of traffic and hope they stop)

No screens in any windows

Few bugs

Obelisks/Egyptian things everywhere because took over Egypt

People usually order several courses for their meals (unless they are poor like us)

Gay pride parade

Proud of culture, flags everywhere

Dirt soccer fields

Speedos are prevalent, only bikinis

Dirty, lots of trash everywhere

Venice

Say "Ciao" a lot of times before hanging up the phone

"Ciao" is used for hello and goodbye

Gondolas are expensive! Approx. 80 euros, and they don't even sing like they do in the movies

Mardi Gras masks everywhere (which you can't take pictures with unless you buy them)

Mushrooms on everything

No turkey

Pepperoni is more spicy here

One worker said they could tell we were American by the way we lined up and each ordered one at a time at the counter

Boats for cars (even had bumpin' speakers)

Lots of English

Everything shuts down between 8-11pm

One designated plaza for bars, sit on the ground outside the bars and drink

Laundry hanging out

Pisa and Venice have their own flags

Open plazas with literally nothing in them

Murano doors covered with curtains

Lots of really tiny stores in alleyways

Shifted buildings

Lots of dogs everywhere

Waiters say American girls are pretty

People try to coax you into restaurants

Lido was the only place in Venice that had cars

Nicest beach

No Starbucks

Only one McDonald's (as advertised)

118 small islands make up Venice (also the sinking city)

No billboards, but some huge ads on buildings

Flowers everywhere

Lots of fruit stands

More bugs here than anywhere else

Still topless/nude beaches here (little girls hardly ever wore bathing suit tops as well)

Everyone here still smokes

No wheel chairs

Bridges didn't have any other way but stairs and less steep stairs

More gelato places

No breakfast menus

Frappe= milkshake

Same sandwiches, pizza, calzones, everywhere

Worker on the water bus/taxi assisted people off the ship when it was rocking

Many facial piercings

People were generally calmer and laid back

A LOT cleaner than Rome

No grocery bags (had to pay for them)

Water fountains everywhere

Some Pepsi products found in super markets

No public bathrooms

Vienna

Bike paths always right next to pedestrian paths

Signs/pictures on sidewalks saying which one was which path

Metro doors opened one at a time

Some words were said differently in German

Bigger cars here

Clocks that look like rulers

Lots of dogs with muzzles

High heels...even in amusement parks

Less street performers

Blonde hair and blue eyes everywhere

No one pays for the metro (1.80), because there are no turnstiles

Flea market every Saturday, which was more like a garage sale

Turkish influence

Lots of punk looks

Super markets and post offices closed on Sundays

Heavier foods like pork and potatoes

No signs in English, but they could speak it okay

Garbage cans on street are smaller and on poles

Cars back up and drive backwards sometimes

Not as many tourists

Hot dog=brat

Street light blinks on green before turning yellow

No salesmen except opera house

Lots of McDonald's( which served beer), Starbucks, not many other fast foods though

Like music of all kinds i.e. mozart, beatles, etc.

Known for Melange (a coffee drink)

Salsburg

Wires/cables everywhere for trams and buses

Lots of churches per square mile

Lots of construction

Bland colors except new starburst looking building next to train

River is greenish color from the minerals being washed down

Quaint town

Really like Mozart (music, buildings, chocolates etc.)

Changed from left side to right side driving in the 30s

Munich

Recycle a lot

Never late

Beer

People not as attractive

Guys are big/tall

Heavy foods

Red stop light bigger than green and yellow

BMWs started here during WW2

Buildings=no themes

Plainer clothes

6 breweries, most popular is Augustines

80% of city ruined in WWII, rebuilt using old bricks and materials

Maypole in every city

Tradition to steal another city's Maypole, and then only return it if that city throws the thieves' city a party

Maypoles show the city's main produce i.e. Munich=beer

Dog allowed everywhere...even inside a McDonald's

Wedding of Theresa and Max celebrated every year in 1800s in October which became Oktoberfest

Bavarian government= blue and white

Munich government= black and yellow

1.6 million people, 6 million people during Oktoberfest

All Bavarian kids required to go to two concentration camps before graduating high school

Start learning about Holocaust at 8 years old

Beer revolution happened when raised tax on beer from 6 to 7 cents (burned all 50 beerhalls down)

2nd beer revolution happened because tried to change closing time of beerhalls to 10pm

2/3 of country anti nazi, but because they have a multi-party government, 1/3 was enough for Hitler to win

Beer halls packed by 7pm on weekdays mostly with men

Used to have a puke room for men only, because you were fined if you threw up on the floor

Measure beer by liters

Drink beer not by gripping handle but by gripping whole glass through the handle (Austrians hold handle closest to chest)

Bread basket on tables were pretzels

If you visit the Hoffbrau haus (most famous) 3 times a week for 15 years, you can become a member and choose a table

First beer brigade started when the Opera house caught on fire. Didn't work because people drank it

Saw people drinking beer at 10am

Amsterdam

Bikes EVERYWHERE (scooters too), no sports bikes

"Amsterdam Lean"- buildings lean because built on old swamp land and it's too expensive to fix the foundations. Just level the windows

Narrow buildings because used to tax by width

Buildings leaned outward to pulley big items up through windows

Drain all canal water every 3 days

Find thousands of bikes in water every year

Pay for bathrooms even if you purchase something at the restaurants

Urinals and places outside for men to pee, but not for women

Pee deflectors in building corners to discourage peeing on buildings

Accepting country, don't judge or discriminate against religion, sexuality, etc.

Coffee shops=places to smoke weed

Lots of techno and Mexican music

Tulips everywhere

Sidewalks, roads, bikepaths, tram tracks are all in the same area and all look the same, so you never really know where to walk

Only 5% of people there smoke weed regularly (New Zealanders smoke the most at 27%)

Government trying to make a law outlawing tourists in "coffee shops," making them membership only places

Men are tall! Avg heigh is 5'11''

Men aren't as well mannered here

Only place we saw a Dominoes Pizza place

Allowed to smoke cigarettes in bars

Heineken everywhere because brewed here

Herring fish= traditional Dutch food

The church in the red light district in 1400s- sailors came in to prepay for their confession and sins they might commit, called indulgences

1st place that has breakfast foods available

Prostitution=legitimate job, pay taxes, must pay approx 100 euros for their window per night

Not allowed to take pictures of prostitutes or they may throw a cup of urine on you

2 million males applied for 4 male prostitute positions, which lasted only 30 minutes because the city stopped it due to female prostitutes being angered by cameras

"Coffee shops" use plausible deniability in order to stay legal

Bikes have bells so you know when they're coming

Floating flower market

Not many taxis

Everyone speaks Dutch and English

Street names next to each other are almost the same word- confusing!

Leather jackets and urban looks were popular

A lot of antique places and cafes

Lots of steakhouses

Lots of construction

Prostitutes usually charge 50 euros for 15 minutes

Child seats were located on the front of the bike

Flea market mostly just had a lot of hippie things and practical things like bike chains

Jewish quarters town apart by people trying to keep warm in the last year of WWII because there was no coal, 1960s architecture students redesigned the area which is not well liked

Used to have 10,000 junkies in the 1970s, but when weed was decriminalized in 2000, number of junkies dropped to 200

Lots of British people

Approx 300 prostitutes in district, 1300 in the area

Blue and black glad with red heart= S&M flag ("When love hurts")

Condom shop with various shapes, colors, sizes (over 50 sizes)

Minimum age for prostitution is 18, minimum for customers is 16

Window boxes for prostitutes cost varies depending on location, time, girl, etc. (rented in 8 hour blocks of time)

Prostitutes can turn down people and set the price however they want

Use red lights because minimize flaws

Blue lights represent transvestites

Some girls with lots of clothes on, charge per item they take off (called teasers)

Red light district started because sailors came on boats in the day and age when it was said that men can't control their urges, so women needed for prostitution in order for other women to stay pure

Prostitution officially legal in 2000

Used to have mandatory medical checks, received red card for good, white card for bad

Always use condoms, sometimes they refuse skin to skin contact

Rent boxes from security companies in order to eliminate pimps

Weed technically is illegal, but police turn a blind eye (can technically get fined for it)

5th safest country in Europe (behind 4 cities in Sweden)

Oldest prostitute is 82 years old and has a 2 week waiting list

Lots of gay bars

Radical gay bars have no windows

No one takes credit cards

Wear leggings underneath everything for no reason

Brussels

Chocolate shops, waffle shops everywhere

Known for statue of peeing boy, girl and dog

Cobblestone streets in center city, pavement outside center

Large Muslim population

Not much fast food at all

Waffles were dense and cake-like

Modern city, but few old buildings mixed in

People had darker features

Spoke French (most prevalent), Dutch and English

Signs, ads, and menus all in French and Dutch (i.e. train station stops)

Music in the underground while you wait

Home to the European Union and NATO

Cat-calling was worse here

London

Written on road which way to look while crossing

Said "Mind the gap/doors/etc." instead of "Watch your step"

Street names were written on sign posts on ground level

More motorcycles here

Metro/subway called "the underground" or "the tube"

Lots of suits, business people

Walk down the center of the sidewalk (we really didn't ever know which side to walk on)

Some areas had horse crossing lights

Lots of taxis

Stop lights go from red to yellow and then green

All city workers wear neon yellow

Largest city in Europe

British flag on top of royal buildings means they are not home, union flag means they are

Buckingham palaces has been broken into several times

The guards break form sometimes

Royal guards are composed of all the branches of the military

November 5th= bonfire day, celebrate the failed attempt to burn down Parliament

Big Ben nicknamed for the man in charge of building it and how he resembled the bell

Big Ben is the largest four faced clock tower

Lots of construction

Spicy food is not actual spicy, bad Mexican food

American dollar is basically worthless

So many CCTV cameras that the average Londoner is caught on tape about 300 times per day

Men wear skinny jeans

Had Budweiser but no Bud Light

St. James Park known for its pigeon-eating pelicans

Jack the Ripper murderer never caught

London had 2 outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague

Modern skyscrapers right next to buildings from the 1200s

Most men were polite, but there was a lot of cat-calling

East side was the poorer side of town because the wind blows the bad smells from west to east

Policemen guard the royal guards

More pepsi products here

Lots of book advertisements

Not too much smoking here (none indoors)

Ice cream counter in the movie theater

Movie theaters called cinemas

More commercials before previews

City that most resembles American cities

Actual chunnel (between Brussels and London) was only about 25 minutes under water

Piccadilly Circus St. had lots of theater tickets available at stands, tourists, M&M world, Ripley's Believe It or Not, etc.

The queen was home when we visited, which is not very common

Queen was having a garden party while we were there, guests wearing sundresses and large hats and tuxes with tails

Illegal to die in the Parliament building because if you do, required to have a royal funeral

Queen has 2 birthdays, her real one in April, and her official one in June because she likes the weather better

Private schools are called public, while public schools are called state schools

Average price for Private school is 13,000 pounds

Harry Potter 3 film- Leaky Cauldron location added a fake wall to make the door smaller, the dark paint never came off the wall

JK Rowling asked 8 different pulishers before her books were accepted, only because one of the workers' daughter begged him to after reading it

Millennium bridge finished in 2000, charity walk across it, found it was wobbly in the middle, so it was closed until 2002 for repairs

Ghosts have been spotted all over the Tower of London, including Queen Anne Boelyn's

Can volunteer to be a metro police officer (which is different than the city of London police)

The toilets were quite confusing to flush

Most taxis back seats faced each other

Order food at bars and pubs at the bar with your table number

After 6 people at pubs in work attire

Say "as well" instead of "too" or "also"

Amazing diction

Measure weight in stones

Must be 18 to get into bars, quite strict on that

HUGE bouncers outside bars

Go through turnstiles to get both in and out of the underground

Doors open on the left and not the right

General

Many counters and all waters have coin purses

Waiters wait for money after they give you the check

Couples tend to sit next to each other instead of across

Need to pay for ketchup and mustard

Fries are typically served with mayo

Pop is sweeter

Free water is hard to come by

You have to pay for toilets

Ice is not served in drinks

Bathrooms are called water closets or toilets

Lots of man capris and sachels

Everyone knows multiple languages

Music videos are played in most bars

Typical music is either techno, American pop, or spanish

Big movies and sequels premiere at the same time as America, but others are released to theatres a few months after US

US is the only country that teaches Stop, drop, and roll

Eat pizza with cutlery

So many Canadians, Aussies, and Americans traveling

So many solo travellors, people who don't have plans, finding a place to move, etc

Showers in hostels are push buttons and run for 10 sec

The STOP sign is universal

Turkey is not a common lunch meat, only ham

Crutches brace at the elbows, not held at armpits

Canadian travelers have Canadian flag patches on their bags so others know they're not Americans, which typically are viewed as arrogant

Austrialians

Call McDonalds Mackers or Mickey Ds

Like American girls because they drink beer and can play BP

Has little number of kids who go to college because the government pays you if you're merely looking for a job

If they do go, it's to a local "Uni" and don't typically have dorms

If one says "Where are you from?" you must finish your drink and state your origins

"Too easy" = "You're welcome"

"Skull" or "Neck" = "Chug"

"Dodgy" = "Shady"

One didn't even know what the Holocaust was (maybe because they weren't involved with WW2)

Don't like New Zealanders

Call British "Poms"

Call Americans septers for septics tanks because we're full of crap

New Zealanders hate how Aussies talk

Rugby is the only popular sport in New Zealand