I think I'm Gonna Hurl....

Today was the Gaelic Athletic Association Championship Final Hurling Match! County Kilkenny was defending their 8 year title against County Galway who had never won the Leinster Senior Hurling Club Finals before.... and guess who went... me! We were told we were in for a great game, and despite weather I was pumped to go! 

Once we arrived at Croke Park we waited in line for our tickets and talked to the people around us to try and get a feel for the game. The man behind us told us even though Kilkenny was favored to win, he was rooting for Galway. I asked who the underdog was, and upon hearing it was Galway I knew who I was rooting for... and with that it was time to hurl... ? -- I'm still not sure how you are supposed to say that... 

I realize that the stadium looks pretty empty... keep in mind that Croke Park holds 90,000 people and this was an amateur sport... even so we heard there were supposed to be 40,000 there. 

If you have never seen a hurling match... you Must!!! It is like baseball, lacrosse, soccer, football, hockey fights, and Awesomeness all clumped into one! Anyone that knows me knows I can't really sit and pay attention to sports, but this had me hooked from the first minute. 

I love the kid with his arms crossed watching the match... 

What made the experience even better were the fans around us. We picked the right team for the section we were in. If you were to think of an old Irish man sitting in a pub, having a pint and yelling about a match... we were sitting right by him. You would have thought he was friends or a parent to every man on the team listening to him talk about them... and yell at them... What he yelled isn't quite blog-friendly, but you better believe you can hear him in every video I got of the match. 

When the match began Galway quickly took the lead, but by the end it got close. The stakes were high, the fights were often, and man their shorts were tiny... 

The scoreboard has the county names in Irish. The top is Galway, the bottom Kilkenny. 

We bought some yarn "headbands" to support Galway.

Just as we had hoped Galway won!! For the first time ever, ending the 8 year Kilkenny streak... it was a historical moment and we were there to witness it. Thats pretty cool if I do say so myself... 

When the match was over the good ol' boys from Galway rushed over to welcome me to my first hurling match and thank me for cheering for them despite the odds.... 

I wish!... Hey, a girl can dream right? 

Even though that didn't really happen the whole experience was brilliant... probably one of my favorite things I've done in my whole time here. 

I couldn't have asked for a better day! 

Until Tomorrow... 

Cheers, 

   Becca :) 

Shoutout to Ol' Donny

Sunday, our last day in Galway. 


We were going to try and get up early and go horseback riding, but figuring it would be our last night of a good sleep until... August... we decided to sleep in. 
We also knew that if we had gone horseback riding we probably wouldn't have had enough time to go City Center to get Claddagh rings. These rings come from the Irish fishing village of Claddagh (right outside Galway). So now Galway is the place to get them, and we were on a mission!

The Claddagh ring is one that I've often seen girls use as a portable Facebook relationship status. The crown facing in and on your right hand if you are looking for love; the crown facing in on your left hand your are engaged, etc. While this is correct, that's not what I wanted it for. The ring (and the elements that compose it) are meant to represent love, loyalty, and friendship....I really liked them, until I saw the Celtic knot rings. 
I have been given a triquetra (Holy Trinity) Celtic knot necklace so I was very excited to find rings with the very same meaning that I hold so dear to me. I was picky, but I found one I love! I may have to make a pit stop at that Duggan Jewelers to get it sized. :) 

I also took this kids picture in city center for the simple fact that he was playing the banjo and it reminded me of my dad. :)

 

I gave him some euro and went on my way. 

That was it for Galway. We hopped on the bus and left the Galway Bay Hotel

and this view... 

and headed back to Dublin. The ride was beautiful and listening to coldplay the whole way made it even better. 

The weekend was great, but I've got to start preparing for my first exam on Tuesday. Yikes! Wish me luck! 

Until Tomorrow,

Cheers, 

   Becca :) 

True Life: I'm a Horse Whisperer

Today Jorie and I awoke from the best nights sleep we've had since being here... Which really isn't saying much considering in my Rathmines bed I wake up at least once am hour, spring in my side.
Somehow, even though I slept like I baby, I think all of the bad nights of sleep caught up with me and I felt more tired than ever. Nothing that a little Irish breakfast couldn't fix. I still haven't been able to stomach the black pudding (also called blood pudding or blood sausage.... its some type of animal blood stuffed into a sausage... or in porridge... normally I'm an adventurous eater, but that takes a few hours to warm up). I stuck with sausage, eggs, and toast. Not sure what it is about toast here, but it's the best darn toast to be had. And of course what breakfast would be complete without what grand Irish coffee. (Remember here that grand is not always the best). Maybe I need to get on this tea bandwagon?


After breakfast we were back on the bus to catch the ferry to the Aran island, Inis Mór, the largest of the three islands (just off the coast of Co. Galway). The bus ride wasn't bad but the ferry ride caused more than a few people to get motion sickness. By the time we got to the island it was cold, windy, and raining. We had the option to do a bus your or ride around the island on bikes. Thinkers that we are we chose bikes. 
Why not?

We rented our bikes from the self proclaimed "dangerous Dave" and then after biking up two huge hills, decided we needed coffee before we could take on anymore. We probably should have kept in mind that cycling in Ireland means cobble streets, rolling hills, and the occasional sheep and/or goat crossing... It made for an interesting day. 


We found a little cafe, "Lois Aengus," which I mistakenly called "Los Angeles" (oops) and ordered mochas....and my first chocolate cake of the day (yes I said first... yes I had it twice.... judge if you must). Not even joking, best cake I've had in my life.... 

I also fell in love with these guys... 

They are salt and pepper shakers... I don't care how goofy they are, I want to buy some! 

While we were in the cafe it started raining cats and dogs so we decided just to take our time, and once it slowed down we were off again. 

After visiting the Aran sweater market to get some souvenirs we explored the countryside. We took back roads and went to places that weren't bullet points on the attractions map. Jorie flipped at the sight of any cow... which was A Lot, and I did the same over horses, which wasn't as often but I made friends with one. 

Prepare for way too many pictures of my new horse bestie

He started all the way in the back... 

and through my horse whisperer ways I called him over... 

We Bonded

Highlight of my day week... life? Ok, maybe not that extreme, but it was definetly awesome. Much like the entire day. We didn't get to see a lot of the touristy things around the island, but I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I got to appriciate how beautiful the island was in a way that I imagine most tourists don't. 

And that concludes the Aran Islands. 
The evening consisted of Jorie and I breaking from the group to find Roberto's Italian restaurant in Galway City Center run by a lovely old Italian woman. Probably the best Italian I'v ever had... way to go Ireland? 
And my second delicious chocolate cake of the day.... Ladies and gentleman, when I return from Ireland 50 pounds heavier it will not be from the pubs.... No my friends, it will be because Ireland loves sweets, and that is something I can relate with all too well. 


And with the images of chocolate cake and a Violet Beauregarde looking Becca in your head, I'll call it a day. 


Until Tomorrow, 


Cheers,
   Becca :) 

   

Galway Girl

This morning I got up before the birds, packed my bookbag, and Jorie, Joe, Ryan and I hopped in a taxi to Christ Church to catch the bus for our weekend Galway trip! 

Despite getting very little sleep I was wired.... Jorie... not so much... 

I'll cut her some slack... it was 7:30 in the morning and I tend to be just a tad too upbeat. Everyone (except me) was about half asleep until the bus driver played "Galway Girl," and then we were all ready to go! 

Galway girl was obviously the most fitting song to send us on our journey, but afterwards the bus driver continued to play what I can only imagine was his "Lord of the Dance" sountrack. That caused another shift in the mood of the bus from tired, to excited, to slightly confused and annoyed... 

But we had a big day planned and we weren't going to let Michael Flatley get in the way of it! 

Our first stop was Dunguaire Castle, followed by the largest tatched cottage in Europe and then Poulnabrone Dolmen (portal tomb). After a morning full of driving and sight seeing we made a quick stop at McDermott's pub for some fish and chips and then were on our way to the Cliffs of Moher! 

As we pulled up to the cliffs we were warned to be extremely cautious. There are no barriers and that's not a fall you come back from....

We had heard a range from 2 to 0ver 100 of the number of people who die a year on these bad boys. We still aren't sure what the correct number is, but I know this; they are high. it's windy, and after you cross the point where the berriers end (that you aren't really supposed to cross but everyone does) some of the trails get a tad narrow.

That being said, the Cliffs were awesome! I expect everyone to grab a pen this instant and add it to your bucket list.... but seriously do it.
Here is why... 

I think I've made my point quite nicely. 

** For my mother Urka who worries about me climbing and being too close to edges: I wasn't being stupid, or unsafe, and certainly not a mixture of the two! I promise you I was being smart and not putting myself or anyone in danger. I simply have been finding that when I get to these places where I thought I would be scared, of heights etc. I'm just not. Which was very weird but cool to me!....There were a lot of things I thought I was scared to do, but once I actually face them, I'm not scared at all. 

Ok, Self-Revelation Over. 

Jorie decided not to go as far as Joe, Ryan and I and when she sat down she just so happened to be right next to this... 

Which at first glance is just a nice view. But if you look in the bottom right corner you will see a mud puddle. Not just a any mud puddle but a mud puddle that is awfully close to the edge of the cliffs. Jorie sat for about 20 minutes and watched as people hopped over, scooted around, did everything in their power to avoid getting their shoes dirty... all while almost falling off the cliffs. Really people... lets take a step back from the situation and look at the bigger picture.... it wont matter how clean your shoes are if you fall over the edge and die... just a thought. 

After the Cliffs it was back on the bus for what seemed like for-e-ver.... It may have started to get to us... 

So you can imagine our excitment when we finally got to the Hotel. We were off the bus and have beds that we couldn't feel springs with every turn! 

This was Jorie's immediate reaction... and then she didn't move for about 10 minutes. I joined on my own bed about 2 seconds after I took this. When we could finally make ourselves move, we got cleaned up and had dinner at the hotel. After it was a night of exploring in Galway! 

Tomorrow we are heading off the the Aran Islands for the day! It should be fun... even though it's supposed to rain... Shocking for Ireland I know. 

Until Tomorrow... 

Cheers, 

   Becca :)