Sandy, you said:
>....skipped... I'd love to go to Ireland when the
>kids are out of college but really hesitate to plan much as I imagine eating
>raw there would be nearly impossible.

My son Eric was in Ireland last summer, ran up over 10,000 miles on his
motorcycle all over Europe, and had no trouble at all getting good fresh
grub.  We were over there together a few years earlier, and had a ball with
excellent fresh food supplies everywhere we went. Some of their "old
fashioned" produce was far tastier than much of our own "organic" stuff
right here in California!  The fruit in Spain and, especially, Italy, was
indescribably delicious, far superior to most of what we get here in flavor.

Remember, the Farmer's Markets are everywhere over there...a European
invention, so you should have absolutely no problem.

Even when we stayed in places without their own private johns (most of the
time), we would always have a sink in the room...so we'd grate some fresh
veggies, chop up the rest, and build great and tasty salads.  Only problem
was having to buy food so frequently, since we tend to travel constantly,
and some doesn't keep too well in the car or on the bikes.  Otherwise,
you'll have no problems at all. In lots of the continent's outlets and
farmer's markets you'll also find biodynamic (organic) veggies for sale, too.

All over Holland the deli's have these big grating machines, where they
busily grate fresh root veggies all day, so you can go thru their displays
and point out whatever you'd like for the building of huge salads.

Happy touring.

Ric