Better Late Than Never
Dublin was quite enjoyable. On the first day, I was able to take in the Guiness Storehouse. Lovely place, and the free pint (which I poured myself) made it even better. Lots of interesting history, as well as information on the brewing process. Strange to think that Arthur Guiness signed a 9,000 year lease for the brewery (or that said lease was signed over 100 years before Confederation).
Apart from the Storehouse, most of the pre-tournament time was spent walking around Dublin and generally familiarizing ourselves with the city. As stated earlier, the tournament went quite well for Canada. I would have liked to have done a little better, but realistically we probably ended up about where we should have expected. The highlight would definitely be getting judged by a DCA in Round 8. It was my first Northern Hemisphere worlds, and there was definitely a different feel than in South Africa or Singapore. It was good to see a lot of people that I'd seen at previous worlds, as well as to reconnect with the other Canadians (and the Alaskans). Of particular note was the meningitis scare that they had during Comedy Night. It definitely killed the mood.
In terms of other Dublin sites, we were able to take in Dublin Castle, the GPO, the Four Courts (where I got them to sort of show us around by stating that we were law students from Canada, in spite of the fact that Crossman and Jones were not) and, of course, the Book of Kells at Trinity College. It was great to observe so much history. The Long Hall at Trinity was especially impressive. In addition, we were also able to check out the National Gallery and the Temple Bar district. And while it didn't take much time, I was able to see the Molly Malone statue, which was quite cool.
In terms of purchases, nothing major. Though, I am now the owner of a Lions jersey, as well as a combined Lions/All Blacks jersey (commemorating the tour). On the last day I was going to try and go see Landsdowne Road, just to take a picture of it, but I was too sick to leave the hotel. Apparently I went by it on the cab when I was leaving, so that will have to suffice.
The downside was, as alluded to earlier, I came home quite sick. The last day in Dublin I pretty much stayed back at the hotel. Particularly bad was the trip home. I don't think I've been that sick before when I've travelled. The time in the Frankfurt Airport was especially rough. On the bright side, I saw most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the plane home. At any rate, I'm home now and am feeling much better than I was the first week back (though, I'm still trying to shake the cough a bit). It was a good trip, and I'd certainly recommend Dublin to those thinking of going there (the transit was quite good, complete with double-decker buses and the St. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street area is quite nice).
Apart from the Storehouse, most of the pre-tournament time was spent walking around Dublin and generally familiarizing ourselves with the city. As stated earlier, the tournament went quite well for Canada. I would have liked to have done a little better, but realistically we probably ended up about where we should have expected. The highlight would definitely be getting judged by a DCA in Round 8. It was my first Northern Hemisphere worlds, and there was definitely a different feel than in South Africa or Singapore. It was good to see a lot of people that I'd seen at previous worlds, as well as to reconnect with the other Canadians (and the Alaskans). Of particular note was the meningitis scare that they had during Comedy Night. It definitely killed the mood.
In terms of other Dublin sites, we were able to take in Dublin Castle, the GPO, the Four Courts (where I got them to sort of show us around by stating that we were law students from Canada, in spite of the fact that Crossman and Jones were not) and, of course, the Book of Kells at Trinity College. It was great to observe so much history. The Long Hall at Trinity was especially impressive. In addition, we were also able to check out the National Gallery and the Temple Bar district. And while it didn't take much time, I was able to see the Molly Malone statue, which was quite cool.
In terms of purchases, nothing major. Though, I am now the owner of a Lions jersey, as well as a combined Lions/All Blacks jersey (commemorating the tour). On the last day I was going to try and go see Landsdowne Road, just to take a picture of it, but I was too sick to leave the hotel. Apparently I went by it on the cab when I was leaving, so that will have to suffice.
The downside was, as alluded to earlier, I came home quite sick. The last day in Dublin I pretty much stayed back at the hotel. Particularly bad was the trip home. I don't think I've been that sick before when I've travelled. The time in the Frankfurt Airport was especially rough. On the bright side, I saw most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the plane home. At any rate, I'm home now and am feeling much better than I was the first week back (though, I'm still trying to shake the cough a bit). It was a good trip, and I'd certainly recommend Dublin to those thinking of going there (the transit was quite good, complete with double-decker buses and the St. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street area is quite nice).
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