"Well, your adventure begins..." said Bonnie as we landed. She was the lovely lady I sat next to on my six hour plane ride from Toronto to Dublin. I think this was the moment when I fully realized that I was beginning this crazy adventure. Bonnie and her husband Jeff were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with a trip to Ireland and Scotland....adorable.
Exiting through customs (I had been really nervous going up to the window, not knowing Rachel's home address of where I was staying...the man asked me two questions, and then sent me on my way. That's Ireland for ya.)
Rachel Rock was waiting to collect me, in her pyjamas. Typical.
We then met up with the lovely Laura Boyd for lunch, and reminisced over paninis and salads, not very Irish, but satisfying. It was great to be with the Irish lasses again!
Refusing to let me get over my jetlag, Rachel had her girls over to the apartment that night. We partied in true Irish fashion into the wee hours of the night...Welcome to Ireland.
Sunday I joined up with Laura's friends (she had to work) and went to my first Irish football match. (Only played in Ireland--think rugby, soccer, and volleyball all mixed together.) It was such a cool experience, very Irish! Laura introduced me that night to chipper (also very Irish, take-out food) which was a tasty treat. After watching X Factor (the whole country is obsessed) we went to Cuala, which is basically the clubhouse/pub for the football team that we had watched earlier that day. It was located in a town called Dalkey. Bono and Van Morrison's homes are also both located in Dalkey...let the stalking begin.
The pub was probably my favorite experience yet. I shared pints with the most Irish men you could ever meet. All in the best of moods (despite their loss) singing and dancing all night long. (Again into the wee hours.) They all made fun of my accent, since I was of course the only foreigner there, and proceeded to make me say things like "out" and "about" repeatedly throughout the night.
I also had the absolute pleasure of meeting the Irish version of The Situation. I kid you not, this is NOT A JOKE. It was fantastic. The most entertaining guy I have ever met. It was grand.
At one point too the bartender, Rob, challenged me to a pint pouring contest. I gladly jumped behind the bar (think Cuba guys) and poured a Heineken... Did a pretty good job too...
Today I went to Rachel's hometown, Draghada, to meet the fam and see her house. It was a picturesque little place, about half an hour from Dublin. It was really nice to see where little Rachie came from, and to see her family again!
Tomorrow we are off to Galway! We're there for a night, then we're going to Rachel's cottage about an hour from the city. Should be beautiful! There until Friday or Saturday... Updates to come...
xx
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