You will travel far and wide for business and pleasure (in bed)
Feckin' 'ell, C'mon Dub-lhin
This was all that was yelled for the entire 70 minutes of the Hurling match, but more on that in a bit. . .
Happy Chinese New Year – we all got fortune cookies with lunch today and that(as read above) was mine. I think it was fairly fitting, and much better than the one Jenny got: Today will prepare you for tomorrow (in bed). For those of you who don't know, whenever you read your fortune you have to add “in bed” at the end – it's usually pretty good for a laugh.
This past weekend I finally made it out on my hike around Howth. It was looking pretty dismal when I left the flat on Saturday morning, but by the time the DART (commuter train) pulled into the station it was a gorgeous day. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I toured through town, then walked all the way around the cliffs next to the shore before checking out the castle and church in the center of the village. It was great being right down by the ocean again – the River Liffey running through the city just doesn't cut it. Howth is mainly a fishing outpost and reminded me SO much of Nova Scotia; namely Morden and Victoria Harbour. Everyone was incredibly friendly and actually stopped to say Hello as I walked along the trails. It was a great change of pace from Dublin.
Then, after a movie that night, and another the next morning, I headed north of the city again to check out a hurling match that a co-worker (Joe) had told me about. I really had no idea what to expect, but ended up running into Joe and his kids as soon as I got the the stadium – I got the full play-by-play and think I have a pretty good understanding of the game. It was supposed to be a complete upset with the current National champs (Kilkenny) giving Dublin a beating. In the end Dublin scored a goal and a few late points and it ended in a draw. There were a few brawls and the game never seemed to slow in pace. The game is a strange mix between lacrosse and field hockey - no pads, just a hurley stick and what looked like a baseball. I'm definitely going to have to make it out to a few more games. The stadium we were at this weekend holds 13,500 people and was just about a sell-out. The finals are held at Croke Park with, as I mentioned before, seating for ~82,500 (and it ALWAYS sells out for the big matches). It's hard to believe that amateur sports can have such a draw when pro-sports back home seem to have a hard time filling the stadiums.
Alannah (another UBC alum) is heading to Dublin tomorrow - Susan and I are going to attempt to show her the sights. First on the list, Temple Bar. After that, I'm not really too sure yet. This weekend England is playing Ireland (Rugby 6 Nations Tournament), so there are sure to be mobs of people everywhere. Win or lose, I see that afternoon/night turning into even more of a gong show than usual. Nevertheless, it will make for good craic.
Apparently my pictures aren't worthy of Blogger uploading them right now, but I'll keep trying - hopefully they'll be up soon.
This was all that was yelled for the entire 70 minutes of the Hurling match, but more on that in a bit. . .
Happy Chinese New Year – we all got fortune cookies with lunch today and that(as read above) was mine. I think it was fairly fitting, and much better than the one Jenny got: Today will prepare you for tomorrow (in bed). For those of you who don't know, whenever you read your fortune you have to add “in bed” at the end – it's usually pretty good for a laugh.
This past weekend I finally made it out on my hike around Howth. It was looking pretty dismal when I left the flat on Saturday morning, but by the time the DART (commuter train) pulled into the station it was a gorgeous day. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I toured through town, then walked all the way around the cliffs next to the shore before checking out the castle and church in the center of the village. It was great being right down by the ocean again – the River Liffey running through the city just doesn't cut it. Howth is mainly a fishing outpost and reminded me SO much of Nova Scotia; namely Morden and Victoria Harbour. Everyone was incredibly friendly and actually stopped to say Hello as I walked along the trails. It was a great change of pace from Dublin.
Then, after a movie that night, and another the next morning, I headed north of the city again to check out a hurling match that a co-worker (Joe) had told me about. I really had no idea what to expect, but ended up running into Joe and his kids as soon as I got the the stadium – I got the full play-by-play and think I have a pretty good understanding of the game. It was supposed to be a complete upset with the current National champs (Kilkenny) giving Dublin a beating. In the end Dublin scored a goal and a few late points and it ended in a draw. There were a few brawls and the game never seemed to slow in pace. The game is a strange mix between lacrosse and field hockey - no pads, just a hurley stick and what looked like a baseball. I'm definitely going to have to make it out to a few more games. The stadium we were at this weekend holds 13,500 people and was just about a sell-out. The finals are held at Croke Park with, as I mentioned before, seating for ~82,500 (and it ALWAYS sells out for the big matches). It's hard to believe that amateur sports can have such a draw when pro-sports back home seem to have a hard time filling the stadiums.
Alannah (another UBC alum) is heading to Dublin tomorrow - Susan and I are going to attempt to show her the sights. First on the list, Temple Bar. After that, I'm not really too sure yet. This weekend England is playing Ireland (Rugby 6 Nations Tournament), so there are sure to be mobs of people everywhere. Win or lose, I see that afternoon/night turning into even more of a gong show than usual. Nevertheless, it will make for good craic.
Apparently my pictures aren't worthy of Blogger uploading them right now, but I'll keep trying - hopefully they'll be up soon.
posted by Trevor Schofield at 10:06 p.m.
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