The heart of Dublin, IrelandTomorrow I will be departing for Dublin, Ireland, in what should be an extremely beautiful, enlightening, and exciting ten day trip. I will be traveling with both the Men's and Women's Vassar Rugby teams, in what should be an action-packed course of events. There will be about forty or so of us, so it will be a bit chaotic, but fun nonetheless. We land in Dublin on what will be Wednesday morning (March 10th) because of the time difference, and spend from Wednesday to Friday there getting acclimated. During the time in Dublin, we will be seeing Croke Park (the home of Irish Rugby) and the Guinness Brewery/Storehouse. In addition, we will be playing one match against Dublin City University Rugby Football Club (R.F.C.), which promises to be a tough match for us, as we haven't played in a game or had any contact since November of 2009. I hear Dublin is very similar to Boston, Massachusetts, a city which is very dear to my heart, so I'm definitely hopeful as to the time spent there.
The Cliffs of MoherAfter a few days in Dublin, we head over to Cork, Ireland, which is a smaller city located a few hours southwest, along the coast of Ireland. It is in Cork that we will be spending the majority of our time as a team. There, we will be seeing Connemarra Coast, The Cliffs of Moher (which seem absolutely stunning in their beauty), Bunratty Castle, Folkpark, The Blarney Castle (the stone of which I will not be kissing, as the locals apparently take leaks on it - I don't blame them), and Dingle Peninsula. Phew, that was a long list. I want to be careful not to fall into the touristy-traps that these different sights seemingly set me up for. Instead, I want to learn a bit about Irish culture from these landmarks, and see of what importance they are aside from revenue generators. I'm very interested to learn about a country who actually respects the sport of Rugby.
Kinsale R.F.C.During the time in Cork, we will be playing Kinsale R.F.C. and Fermoy R.F.C., neither of which I can find out much about (same goes for Dublin City University R.F.C.). I hear that American teams are expected to come out hard with an "American Football Mentality" and smash, while Irish clubs tend to be smaller and much more smart in their tactical play (much of the smallness comes from the fact that we will not be playing the First Sides of the clubs). Following each match, we will enjoy "festivities" with the host clubs, which I'm guessing will include beer and food - absolutely fine by me. I'm more curious, however, to find out what the clubs think of our rugby skill and playing ability, as most of the Irish players likely have played rugby since they have been able to walk (and I'm not even exaggerating).
Overall, I'm just absolutely souped for the trip and sitting at home with nothing to do the night before my flight. I will snap tons of photographs, as I hope to capture the soul of Ireland in all its beauty and rich culture. I'll probably have a post-trip blog post as a nice little contrast to this one, and I'm guessing it will be quite the contrasting experience from what I previewed here. I've heard Europe is quite different from America, but in a very good way - here's to hoping that's true. It'll all come to a close on Saturday, March 20th, when we fly back to Newark International.
P.S. - Did I mention almost every night is free for us to do whatever we please? It's going to be an absolutely epic trip.
P.S.S. - We will be staying at a quality five star hotel while in Dublin and a slightly more spartan hostel while in Cork. I'm pumped to experience each of them, and the hotel looks sicknasty.
