Encounters With Young People

Alcohol of the Day: None (at least not for me)

Our B&B in Dublin is situated steps from the Aviva Stadium, home of the Irish rugby union team and the national football team.  So, naturally, we thought it would be interesting to take a tour.  We walked around half of the perimeter and couldn't find an open entrance.  We went back to our B&B to see if they knew how to get in.  They called the stadium to see if it was too late to take the tour and found out that, since they're setting up for the Madonna concert that was taking place in a few days, they're not doing any tours right now.  Well boo.  But it was likely for the best, because they had the Bruce Springsteen concert there the day we arrived, so it was probable that there wouldn't be much to see in terms of a pitch anyway.  Just a bare floor and sound and lighting equipment everywhere.

Our consolation prize was to try and get to Croke Park Stadium north of the city centre in time for their first tour.  We made it again with less than a minute to spare.  The tour group was fairly large, half of which appeared to be a group of special needs kids and their chaperones.  They added some colour to this experience (random statements, some frantic gestures, a lot of enthusiam, etc.).  This tour was pretty impressive.  They showed a behind-the-scenes video of the facility during championship matches.  This stadium hosts the amateur gaelic football and hurling teams.  Yeah, I have no idea either.  Both games appear to be strange combinations of other sports (gaelic football is like football, rugby, and North American football, while hurling is like field hockey, football, and polo without the horses).  But the stadium holds 82,500 spectators, which for amateur sport is fairly amazing.  We got to walk through the tunnels, see the dressing rooms, walk out beside the pitch, sit in the announcers' booths, and check out a VIP box.  They kept throwing names out that I had never heard of before, but it was kind of cool that the Australian tourist's cousin played on the same team as the tour guide's father.

Later in the day, we took the train from Dublin to Belfast.  Our car was packed with college kids who were apparently on an ultimate frisbee team and were going to Belfast for a tournament. They were also incredibly well stocked.  I don't know if I've ever seen this much alcohol outside of a liquor store.  Well, okay maybe, but the speed and quantity that was consumed on a two-hour train ride was staggering.  They were nice and all, but it made for a loud journey.

"The silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload"