Happy Independence Day! We sure do love America and we are always even more grateful for this wonderful country after we have been on a vacation somewhere else in the world.

Last year, we wrote a post with things we love about America. This year, we are adding a few more things to our list.

Trash Cans

Our European experience this year was so different from our trip last year. We were traveling in much more developed countries that had a lot more of a Western and modern vibe to them. But, we really missed finding trash cans! In American you don’t have to walk far before finding a trash can to dump your garbage. But in London especially, if you weren’t in a park, good luck finding a trash can.

Flavorful Food

We LOVE how America has fairly easy access to almost any kind of food you could want! Even typical “American” food actually tastes good! The United Kingdom was not high on our list for favorite countries to eat in. (Although we did enjoy the Cornish Pasties quite a bit.)

Standard Coin Sizes

I had SUCH a hard time knowing what coins were worth while we were using the English Pound system. All of their coins have the Queen on them and coins that have the same value often look different depdning on when they were minted! I love how even though American coins can be old (and you can definitely tell when a coin is old) quarters always are the same size as quarters, dimes are always dimes, pennies and nickels are always pennies and nickels.

Air Conditioning

It was reaffirmed this summer that Europeans do not believe in air conditioning. And if you are lucky enough to be in a place with air conditioning, they don’t like to make you freeze like they do in the good old U.S. of A. Now, maybe it’s because I’m pregnant this summer, but I was SO. HOT. for so many days of our vacation. I really, really missed walking into a building and feeling like you were walking into a freezer.