So what else is on my list? Well, trying to find a list of European countries isn't actually that simple - in fact I found it impossible. At the time I found that frustrating but in retrospect it’s the best thing that could have happened. After all it’s the question I most often get asked "What counts as Europe?" If the answer was perfectly clear then it would be the end of the conversation. As it is, it normally leads to a long and interesting debate.
My version of Europe was going to be essentially geographical Europe, not the now twenty-five countries in the European Union. So where does Europe stop and Asia and the Middle East begin. Most agree that geographically Europe extends as far as the Ural Mountains, down to the Caspian Sea and then proceeds through the Bosporus which means that from a geographical point of view, only 3% of Turkey is actually in Europe. Istanbul would therefore be where I would go in Turkey. What about Cyprus - a question many people ask but not normally in the context of going there for a pint of Guinness. Its not actually geographically in Europe but it is in accession talks with the European Union - therefore its in - the real reason of course being it sounds a good place to go!
Staying in the East of Europe I had to decide on Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. These get missed off most people's list of European countries but actually from a geographical point of view they are indeed in Europe. This is confirmed by the fact that they play in football's European Cup. I've actually visited these three counties before, about 20 years ago in the days when they were part of the USSR. From that point of view it will be interesting to go back. So they're in! We'll worry about how safe they are to visit when they get picked out of the hat.
Then there's the small counties! Luxembourg - in of course. Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco - I suppose if ones in then they all should be! Then there's the Vatican City! Well, it's not part of Italy that's for sure, then again the Pope's eleven don't play in the European Cup. In the end I decided to put them in - more for the fun of trying to get a pint of Guinness in the Vatican. There's probably enough Irish priests there I should be in with a shout.
Gibraltar is a toughie. In the end I left it out - don't want to upset the Spanish too much.
In the United Kingdom there was little doubt that I would include London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh. Cardiff is my hometown and I have to go there - and therefore all the others should be in too, and all countries play in the European cup! Talking of the European Cup, when I was looking at who plays in it there was one team I hadn't yet included - The Faroe Islands. After looking up in an Atlas where they were I thought they had to go in just for the novelty value. It could be argued that they are part of Denmark but they are sort of semi-autonomous and when else would you have a reason to go there!
Here's my final list!
