Advertisement
Published: November 12th 2006
The Big Stick!!
Extremely useful for navigation!We have returned from Ireland and might I say....had an absolute ball. Apart from both suffering from severe head colds, we managed to drag ourselves out of our warm hotel every now and then for a quick peak at Dublin.
Well, you've probably heard, Irelands got nothing on Scotland as far as beauty, but if you ask me, the Irish food, is the best we've had since we left home, and Dublin would have to be the only city we've come across in Europe to even slightly remind us of home.
And, just incase you were wondering, the rumour is absolutely true.......you cannot walk from one side of dublin to the other without passing a pub!
The people are the friendliest and consider 'drinking' a national sport (there's even beer in the good ole Irish stew....mmm that was good!) they're laid back and easy going (unlike the rest of europe) and love their sport.
As far as famous monuments go, Dublins biggest drawcard is considered to be their 'Guiness' factory, and if that wasnt enough to draw the tourists, a few years ago they erected a giant pointy.....what can only be described as a pole, (or fondly known by Mick and
Drunken Poser
Mick posing in front of the famous Temple Bar. This area of dublin was first established in 1840 and is full of pubs. I as the big stick) in the heart of the city, presumably so tourists wouldnt get lost, as it can be seen from miles away.
Their public transport system consists of the good ole 'tram' (told you it was like Aus) and they're the only country apart from ours that's ever heard of AFL!!
Now, speaking of AFL.....we were lucky enough to get tickets to the sell out 'International Rules' game at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin. Apparently it was their biggest crowd ever, with 82,127 fans. The aussie fans were few and far between, possibly a couple of thousand of us at most and although our cheers were overpowered by irish insults, we had the last laugh with an easy victory!! Woohoo....go Australia.
Now, some of you may have since seen the game, or atleast highlights on the news, so let us just clarify a few things for you. All that rough and tumble was mostly before the game even started, and the Irish guy that ended up in hospital was only injured in a legitimate tackle during play.....and....they dished it out as good as they got it. So for all the newspapers in dublin the next day stating
St Patricks Cathedral...in the dark.
St Patricks Cathedral. No we didnt take this pic in the night, we took it looking into the sun, very intelligent. If you squint you can see it better. that the aussies were all thugs, they were only sooking cos they lost. And I'm sure that guy that Fevola beat up in the pub the night before was asking for it! hahaha.....they're right, we're thugs.....and proud!! :-)
Anyway, the Irish took it quite well considering, and they are absolutely brilliant with the insults, alot better than the brits at dishing it out thats for sure. Speaking of insults, Mick wants to ban me from attending sporting events ever again, as it turns out I seem to catch a temporary case of 'tourettes syndrome' and feel the need to yell obscenities during the matches....I cant help it, its an involutary reaction to competition!!
Apart from the game, we spent the time exploring Dublin, and took a little day trip to Howth, half an hour by train from Dublin to have a quick look at their beaches.
Mick helped drag an unconscious woman from a tram on the way to the football game, so he should be expecting a medal sometime soon (just so you dont worry, the woman re-gained consciousness after several minutes and was last seen seeking medical attention) although it was later revealed that the only reason mick
Dublin Castle
Dont pick on them just cos their castle isnt as good as Edinburghs.... Its good enough, and they'll drink to that! acted so swiftly and seemingly 'helpfully' was cos he wanted to get to the game on time.....his words not mine! :-)
We also managed to each gain a couple of kilos whilst in dublin, chowing down on pub meals every night, and for lunch...and tucking into a traditional irish breakfast each morning aswell. So its no longer the heathrow injection, just call us the Dublin Dumplings!
Well, thats about all for this week, we're off to watch the Socceroos play Ghana this Tuesday night in London, and might go and check out the 250,000 xmas lights that they've just switched on in Oxford street next weekend, so we'll get some pics of that for you to have a look at. Until then, take care!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.405s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 16; qc: 69; dbt: 0.1437s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
OSSIE AUSSIE OZZIE oy oy oy
non-member comment
GO YOU GOOD THING AUSIES
Hey guys, terrific that you could attend such a gut wrenching event in Ireland, I tend to agree with your summary Tan, most of the replays I saw were pretty tame compared to a McKechnie Left Full Back tackle on a Butler or two just outside the box, but there was a bit of a stink back here. Ireland is terrific, glad you enjoyed the ride (though our ride was over on the ferry during VERY F*#ing rough seas (over the top deck) Keep on enjoying the UK! VERY MUCH ENJOYING THE BANTER! Cheers