I took a chance to catch my breath on Sunday morning. It seems like I have been going about 18 hours a day since I got here so I took it easy in the morning and did some laundry. Sunday afternoon was the Euro Championships game between Ireland vs France. Ireland led early and the pub where our group was watching the game was going nuts. Sadly, France scored twice in the second half to win 2-1. I met some interesting characters in the bar, Conner and his friend Rus. Both of them were going to Las Vegas next month and they were very excited about it and asking me lots of questions about Vegas and what it was really like. Conner’s girlfriend Meg even painted orange, white, and green (colors of the Irish flag) stripes on both of my cheeks like she had for Conner and Rus. I really wish I had thought to take a picture of that for the blog, but it did not occur to me before I washed them off. After the game I ate in City Centre, then traveled back to campus and had a Guinness nightcap at the student union NewBar.
Pictures: McDonald’s on O’Connell St (I did not eat there just used the bathroom) with their balloons to match the Irish flag; Brannigan’s Pub where we watched the soccer match in the north part of inner city; The Monument of Light is almost 400 feet high & located on the site of the former Nelson’s Pillar (the IRA blew it up on the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising because they hated having a monument to British war hero Horatio Nelson in their country). The Irish refer to the Monument of Light as the ‘spire’ and I am told they don’t like it very much.
I’m not sure what’s more fascinating, you getting your face painted or you doing laundry!!