Slan!

Spending the past two months in Ireland (and absolutely all of my money and then some) was really the best thing I possibly could have done this summer.

Here's a pic of my last guinness in Ireland, at the airport bar at 9am. No that wasn't my last drink in Ireland. I managed to get the barman to make me an irish coffee for take away which I drank as I boarded the plane.

I cried when the plane took off...I left a part of my heart in Ireland. So please be gentle with me when any of you see me next (well that, and please buy me a pint!)

Slan!

restless tonight...

My last day in Dublin. My last day in Ireland. Is it any wonder that my thoughts have wandered aimlessly for the past 2 hours or so?

I walked this morning toward Heuston rail station. It was too early for the regular coffee shops and/or pubs to be open, so I just went into the cute little place that's in the station where I had a fabulous muffin & latte before. Today I opted again for a latte but went for the ham & cheese jambon though. I took it out across the River Liffey and over to a little park in front of a hotel. There was a water fountain and a bunch of empty benches. Seriously, it was rather early. No one but tourists were seen on my walk there - ok, it wasn't THAT early. It was 10am like.

Anyway, I just people-watched for a good hour, relaxing in the silence of the city with my latte. I walked toward Phoenix Park and the Zoo but didn't go in either. After an Dubliner, thinking I was Irish, said good morning & wanted to talk about the weather -- to which I just smiled and kept walking (mainly because I didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't Irish) -- I turned back and started walking toward the rail station once again. I decided that I absolutely needed to tour the Guinness Brewery Storehouse before I left Dublin, so I headed up the street. I was stopped by an Italian woman hoping I had directions to some tourist trap: fortunately she wasn't too upset when I told her I was American & had no clue where she was going. I could hear her relaying the facts to her friends as I walked away. "No no Americana...yadda yadda yadda"

While on the tour, I honestly didn't read the displays carefully or take my time learning. I went there for the view and the free pint at the top of the tower. The view (and of course "free" pint) were well worth the 9 euro entrance fee. The surprising thing was running into my friend (from my program in Galway), Cricket, and her wife. They have been traveling through Ireland and weren't too impressed with Dublin yet. I didn't hang around them too much, but I did break down and buy a t-shirt in the gift shop -- come on, it was on the sales rack and it will be perfect for st. patrick's day next year!

After that I just continued walking without a cause through the city. I went on streets I had never gone before. Eventually I ended up at a pub for fish & chips and another pint of the good stuff. Then I headed home. My intention was to start my laundry, schedule my taxi for the morning, and go to Dundrum again for a delicious dessert or dinner. I ended up doing the first two but ditched the idea of Dundrum. Instead, I walked back into city center, went into the Down Under pub and got a heineken and a giant piece of chocolate cake to celebrate the birthday of a certain someone who has a weakness for desserts and a bit of an Aussie tweek to his british accent. I mean, hey, if he's celebrating his birthday tonight why shouldn't I also? Ok, so really it was an excuse to order a ridiculously big piece of cake and sit outside in a beer garden with a pint. I was a trend starter though - 3 women, each at different tables, all ordered the cake after they drooled at the sight of mine!

I decided to walk back through Trinity College Dublin campus again, since I have no pictures of it from the few days I was here in the beginning of June. I took a whopping two photos! Anyway, I quickly realized that a heineken could not be the last beer I enjoyed in Ireland (for obvious reasons) and headed to another pub. The only bad thing was that the Porterhouse was in my way - I stopped there first to try another of their microbrews. This time I went for their 4X Stout. The barmaid wasn't too keen on giving me a pint before I tried it, so she gave me a tasting first. Boy am I glad she did: it was a bit too bitter for me. I laughed and thanked her for being so wise and changed my order to a pint of the Plain Porter which I knew I liked.

I took another walk through St. Stephen's Green and another cheap ride home on the LUAS. My last drink in Ireland was a guinness poured by myself back at the flat in Milltown. I sat outside, watching the sun set and thinking about all of the wonderful people I've met and things I've done here. Yes I admit it: as I sat outside with that last pint, all alone on this last night, I did do a bit of crying. Not sobbing mind you, but just tears flowing gently and slowly down my cheeks.

Ireland. Good craic. I will miss thee terribly-like.

Plotting...

It's 7:24am on my last day in Ireland. I'm thinking about making a pro-war, pro-Bush tshirt and walking into town center to start a riot. Then I'll get arrested and my friend Oasin at the equivalent of the FBI can get the charges dropped and I'll have more days in the good ole Republic.

Or I could go over to the Jameson Distillery, take the tour on an empty stomach and get loaded to the point of obnoxiousness until I forget who/where I am and miss my flight wandering about the streets of Dublin...the bit of temporary memory loss should be enough to get me out of trouble for overstaying my trip a few days or so...

Or I suppose I could fly over to Huddersfield, get that British bloke drunk for his birthday, and then force him to marry me so I could stay over here as long as I want...hmmm, with Ryan Air providing flights for less than 30 Euro that might not be a bad option...I mean, come on, the chap has his own house and a steady job, and the boy can cook!

<> Excellent. Excellent.

Another informative warning sign

This one is posted at Croke Park where the Royal Canal runs up along the South side...apparently there are rats in the canal and apparently people have wanted to swim there? I have to say that the view of the water was, um, less than appealing to me.

A fine irish summer day for sport

I bought tickets on ticketmaster the other day to watch hurling today at Croke Park. Hurling is one of two purely irish sports, the other being gaelic football which is a bit of a cross between american football and soccer. I have to say that hurling is one of the most ridiculous - and by ridiculous I mean dangerous - sports I've ever watched.

Just to give you some background on hurling, you can click here and read all about the sport. http://www.gaa.ie/page/all_about_hurling.html Basically, hurling is like hockey. You want to score a goal or a point. A goal is obtained by hitting the ball through what looks like a traditional soccer net. A point is obtained by hitting the ball through the uprights like a football field goal. A goal is worth 3 points. You can kick the ball, you can catch the ball, you can run with the ball, AND - and this is what makes the sport crazy (cool) in my opinion - you can swing that freakin' stick as high and as hard as you want regardless of how close by another player is! You end up with a bunch of men built like soccer players or rugby players (since you can basically tackle people) jumping up in the air and swinging wooden clubs at each other! The game is very quick and only lasts two 30 minute halves plus injury time.

My ticket was 40 Euro, which I have to admit I thought was a bit pricey. I took the LUAS to St. Stephen's Green and walked up Grafton Street, onto Westmoreland and O'Connell before turning right onto Parnell. It was at about this time when I started getting lost in the red sea - a sea of Cork fans that is. I was going to the semi-final match between Cork and Waterford and I was definitely cheering for Waterford - not because I even know where that is, but because in hindsight Cork was one of my least favorite places in Ireland. Anyway, I kept walking because I knew I had to find the box office to pick up my ticket and the box office is only open for a limited amount of time. When I got there, there was a big mix up with ticketmaster apparently, so anyone who bought tickets online had to wait because our tickets weren't there! After the crowd of fans wearing blue, red, or yellow had long since gotten through the line and had their tickets, the rest of us stood in the rain with looks of disgust. About an hour later, our tickets finally arrived. I swear, I pitied that employee who pulled up in the van with "ticketmaster" plastered on the side! He barely opened the door before he was pounced on by the anxious fans.

Once inside, I felt like I was at a PSU football game. The stadium was big, the fans excited. Attendance was reported at just over 61,000 people but it definitely was as loud as all of the PSU football games I've attended (to give you a frame of reference, Beaver Stadium seats nearly 110,000 people).

Anyway, for the entire first game the stands were quite empty and I was disappointed. Granted, it was pouring all morning long and within moments of sitting down my shorts were sticking to my wet ass. But come on. This was the semi-finals! Right...well it wasn't the semi-finals yet apparently...Well, I realized upon opening my 4.50 Euro program that I wasn't just watching Corcaigh (Cork) v. PortLairge (Waterford) in the Guinness 2006 Hurling Championship semi-finals, I was also getting to see the ESB All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship between Corcaigh (Cork) and Gaillimh (Galway) and the Christy Ring Cup Final between Aontriom (Antrim) and Ceatharlach (Carlow). Those two games were played before the semi-final game between Cork and Waterford...which explains the empty stands until right before that game started at 4pm. Anyway, I was cheering for Galway for obvious reasons, and I already mentioned that I was cheering for Waterford (partly because I dislike Cork and partly because I always favor the good old blue & white). I decided to cheer for Antrim because Carlow's uniforms looked waaaaaay too flashy. I was happy to see within minutes of that game's start that I had picked the team with superior talent as well as style.

And the results:
Galway 2-12 (18) v. Cork 0-16 (16)
Antrim 5-13 (28) v. Carlow 1-7 (10)
Cork 1-16 (19) v. Waterford 1-15 (18).

The day was great. One jumbo hot dog, two cups of tea, and three great hurling games.

Since I ended up not getting home until after 6pm, I didn't feel like going out to pubs or clubbing. So, I went to the SPAR for a 6-pack, made some pasta with fresh pesto, and watched some tv while I warmed up from being in the cold rain all day long. Good times. Damn I don't want to leave the Republic! It's already setting in that I've only got one more day left here...