Irish Target?

I've had more than one conversation with people who have experienced life on both sides of the Atlantic and one of the prevailing topics is the options people have in America. I'm not talking about life choices here, I'm talking about what you can buy and where you can go.

In the land of Super Target (a personal fave of mine), WalMart, Meijer, etc., seeking out just what you're looking for at a decent price isn't a difficult task in the States. Over here, the options are just fewer, though not necessarily worse. In America, we have grocery stores that rival the size of entire small towns. In Ireland, we have the corner shop. In America, we have an entire aisle in said grocery store dedicated to bread and bread alone. In Ireland we have a shelf or two and it consists of about 3 different kinds.

More recently, this American style of more, more, more! has made it's way over here. The closest comparison to Super Target here is the Irish Dunnes Stores. Dunnes has a grocery store, clothing department and small housewares section. More and more Dunnes are popping up in bigger and more dramatic fashion around the country. And more and more of them are 24 hour establishments - bucking the whole 9am-6pm business hours tradition. I was actually excited to walk into Limerick's newest Dunnes - boasted as the biggest Dunnes outside of Dublin! I was hoping to find a little more to choose from as I still crave certain creature comforts from the homeland. At first glance, the new Dunnes is certainly the size and shape of a Super Target. It could swallow a small Irish village whole. When I approached the aisles, ready to feast my eyes on the myriad of options, I found loads and loads of the same 3 kinds of bread. No, there aren't more options, just more of it!

From reading this, you may think I'm complaining about the reduction in options I encountered with my move, and truly I'm not. There's something comforting about having one or two types of bread that you know you like and you know will always be there. Now if they could just expand the pasta sauce options....