Friday Fun

Today was a day full of fun, sports, and lots of exercise. We headed out to Distillery Road, which is just the name of a big athletic park near Croke Park. The Belvedere boys were able to join us for the walk and a morning of athletics. We met Mr. Phil Conway, who actually competed in the Olympics many years ago! He shared with us about his life, playing, and coaching. Everyone participated in relay races, jogs around the field (or pitch as they call it), soccer, kickball, and some frisbee. It was a blast! 

We walked over to Wallace's Asti for a delicious Italian lunch - many started with mini pizzas formed in the shape of baskets, or soup, and then had pasta or pizza for their main meal. It may not have been traditional Irish food, but it was good to get a little taste to remind us of home or the North End.

The adventure of the day began at Croke Park Stadium, the 28th largest stadium in the world. It can seat 82,000 people, which is more than Gilette and about twice the number of seats at Fenway Park. We saw inside the locker rooms, all the various team jerseys, their warm up area, and walked out to an imitation of the sounds of fans cheering for us. We strapped on harnesses, headed up to the roof of the stadium, and walked around the top roof of the stadium. It was amazing to see the whole city of Dublin, or at least most of it through the fog! The tour ended at the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) museum where we could do simulations and then used a real hurling stick and ball to see how fast we could hit it, or a Gaelic football. What an experience! We all walked back to school to meet our host brothers and begin the weekend!