Luck of the Irish

My most recent trek abroad sent me to Dublin, which was my first trip to the Emerald Isle. Considering that, well, all my friends here are Irish, and that I have taken to supporting the massive disappointment that is the Irish rugby team, the fact that it has taken me almost 18 months to visit has been quite the surprise.

Well with me guide Willie (who you might remember from such trips as Sardenia, scroll down past that whole marathon thing) by my side we visited all the sites of Dublin:

Trinity College...very famous, I guess.

And then after visiting all of Dulin's sites, from there on out it was seeing Dublin as it was meant to be seen...through the bottom of a pint glass. While few pictures document this, the estimates are we made the rounds to around 15 different bars over the weekend, not too shabby I would say.

But the main point of our trip was to see the Ireland v Scotland rugby match. This is special as Scotland brings the best group of supporters, and the Irish are the best hosts. The number of skirts and hairy legs I saw was amazing. I even say a man wearing his kilt and a Dale Earnhardt Nascar jersey...that made no sense.

Well regardless, we were joined on our travels with my long-time travel companion Timmy, and we hit the match at historic Croke Park with all the intensity that 2 Americans and an Irishmen can muster:

After the triumphant Irish victory (sadly, one of the few during the 6 Nations tournament), we headed out for a night on the town. We managed to take a souvenir off a ridiculous group of French guys on a bachelor party of some sorts:

Luckily, we were given free boarding at Willie's brothers apartment. Of course, only 3 months ago one of the tenants was murdered by a vagrant with pruning shears in the lobby. Willie was kind enough to demonstrate the scene (yes, I am as shocked as you that he would do such a thing):

My last day in Dublin was easily the best Sunday I have spent in Europe. We had a great Irish stew for breakfast/lunch, and went to Donahue's, a tiny pub which is quite famous for its traditional music and serving the best pint of Guiness in the world. Luckily I had several hours to determine that this was in fact true.

A perfect ending to a great weekend. I can not wait to go back.

Until next time, cheers!

The Luxembourg Inn

If there is one thing 2008 has brought, it definitely has to be lots of work. Well that, and an steady stream of guests to the new pad in Luxembourg.

First there was the world travelor Timmy who stopped by for a little weekend trip. I think Timmy's write up captures the spirit of the weekend, except he failed to mention 2 things:

1. He did not show the Black Cat we drove around in through our trip to France:

Yup, that is my 4th different ride here in Luxembourg (I had them exact same model Focus wagon twice). I have this German girl until the end of August, then it will be on to car number 5.

2. Verdun looked pretty cool, and it probably would have been a very educational trip as well if every historical site there wasn't closed for the month of January. You have to love the French.

Our 2nd group was actually Secil's sister and her guy friend who stopped by for 1 night to see all the sites Luxembourg has to offer....they got them all and still had time for a good breakfast:

Third up was again Secil's sister, but this time she brought the rest of the siblings over for a little family reunion:

Since I do not speak much French, I was able to impress them by using my Turkish phrasebook to indicate that my butt was swollen, and that they looked like they need medical attention. Plus, I kicked there asses in Wii bowling.

Lastly, our nice friend from Nice (sorry, that is a bad joke) who left Luxembourg a few months ago to study in Germany stopped by to say hello. And unlike Secil's siblings, she really enjoyed our double inflatable mattress....really, it is quite comfortable and now it is definitely broken in. Oh, and I forgot that during the subject of my next post coming this week (my trip to Ireland) Secil also had her cousin and 2 nieces over as well!

So for all of you who haven't made the trip, the Luxembourg Inn is now fully open for business. The price is good, the food is wonderful, and you really can't beat the company.

Cheers!