Europe Trip: Day 9

Our visit to Ireland was a perfect trip with nearly perfect weather. The daytime temperature was a pleasant 75 degrees with almost zero humidity. However, our last full day in Ireland (Day Nine) we experienced the weather that Ireland is known for...rainy and cold. We began the day by departing Dublin on our coach to Kildare, Ireland to visit the Irish National Stud, home to the Japanese Gardens, Saint Fiachra's Garden, and The Horse Museum (http://www.irish-national-stud.ie/). Founded in the early 1900s, Colonel William Hall-Walker purchased a farm at Tully, Kildare and started to breed thoroughbred horses. In 1915 he gave the Stud as a gift to the British National Stud Company until in 1943 it was handed over to the Irish Government. In 1945 The Irish National Stud Company was formed to promote the interests of the Irish Bloodstock Industry, which it continues to do today. We left Kildare around noon and headed to Kilkenny where the team enjoyed a tremendous meal at Langton's Pub. After lunch we had roughly three hours to tour Kilkenny. Most of the team was exhausted and didn't want to deal with the poor weather conditions and chose to stay warm inside the city pubs. DJ Comer, Kyle Cotrell, and I decided to visit the Kilkenny Castle (http://www.kilkennycastle.ie/en/). Admission was probably the cheapest expenditure of the trip at only 2 euros. Kilkenny Castle stands dramatically on a strategic height that commands a crossing on the crossing on the River Nore and dominates the High Town of Kilkenny City. The castle became the principal Irish residence of the powerful Butler family in the early 1300s and remained in the family ownership for over 600 years until 1967 when Arthur, 6th Marquess of Ormonde presented it to the people of Kilkenny in return for a token payment of 50 euros. Over eight centuries of existence, many additions and alterations have been made to the fabric of the building, making Kilkenny Castle today a complex structure of various architectural styles. After we left the castle we walked around the city and went into a couple of shops. The city was unexpectedly big and full of shops. Our coach departed at 5 o'clock to the University Center of Dublin to play the Irish National Team. Lacking youth and experience, Team Ireland got off to a rough start as Team Loyola jumped to an early 14-0 lead thanks to strong performances from Brian Smalley, Mickey Haight, and John Schiavone. Loyola kept the momentum into the second half and ended strong with a commanding win. The referees lost track of the score after we went up by 26 goals. However, Team Ireland wasn't ashamed by their performance and we all had a good time at the social following the game. Although the day was dark and gloomy, the coaching staff saw some light through the strong showing of the rising seniors, juniors, and freshmen. We ended the day with a nice gathering at the local pub in Dublin and enjoyed our last night out together in Europe.

Europe Trip: Day 8

It was another beautiful day…clear skies and low humidity. An optional breakfast was from 7-10 a.m., however most of the team decided to take advantage and slept until the last minute before we boarded the coach. We were scheduled to take a tour around Dublin City for most of the morning, but had the remainder of the day to ourselves. On the coach tour we visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the President’s House, Dublin Castle, Dublin City Hall, and many other attractions that make Dublin fascinating. Throughout the city was the famous Georgian style which is the most characteristic architecture feature of Dublin. It was developed as a symbol of the relative prosperity of the city during the 18th century and its primary feature is the repetition of geometric figures such as semicircles. Despite the repetition of elements, not two Georgian doors are exactly equal. Although the coach tour around Dublin was immensely educational, the team honestly enjoyed the tour. At 13:30 we had a buffet-style lunch at O’Neill’s Pub in Dublin. After lunch we shopped around the city looking for flags and family crests as decorations for our off-campus house this fall. However, the most exciting part of the day was when Cooper MacDonell and I were invited to play a round of golf at a local links with Eric and Mr. Lusby. Our tee-time was scheduled for 16:00 at the Deer Park Hotel & Golf Resort in Dublin. The hotel and course are located at the grounds of the Howth Castle in North County Dublin (http://www.deerpark-hotel.ie/). The wind picked up late in our round, but the weather held up and we were able to finish all 18-holes. Unfortunately, Cooper and Mr. Lusby ended up beating me and Eric, but just being able to play golf in Ireland was more exciting to me. We were pretty exhausted after the round and decided on pizza for dinner at Godfather’s Pizzeria, a two-minute walk from our hotel. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Europe Trip: Day 7

Another travel day was upon us. Except day seven was a more entertaining and interactive day. We had an early departure from Wilmslow and arrived at Holyhead, England. We traveled by ferry across the Celtic Sea and were scheduled to arrive at Dun Laoghaire Port, Ireland around 12 p.m. The ferry was enormous; it included casinos, tourists shops, a restaurant, lounges, and hundreds of televisions. It even cruised at a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). Compared to the coaches we were used to, the ferry seemed like a cruise ship. Most of the team spent majority of the travel napping in the lounge areas trying to recover from last night's escapade.
We arrived at the port at 12:30 p.m. and took two coaches over to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. The Storehouse is Ireland's number one international visitor attraction (http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx). We took a tour of the factory, learned about the historic brewing process, and experienced fresh pints of Guinness at the Gravity Bar (top floor of the factory), which overlooked the city of Dublin. It was an amazing couple hours. I literally could have sat at the bar and drank pints of Guinness until I passed out. Anyway, after our time was over we headed to the Burlington Hotel in Dublin where we were staying. Our team dinner was at 6 p.m. and afterward we were free to explore the city social scene. We asked the locals where would be the best city nightlife was and the consensus was Temple Street. The street was packed with bars and clubs. We went bar hopping for most of the night until early in the a.m. Day seven turned out to be my favorite day of the trip.

Europe Trip: Day 6

We had an early breakfast at the hotel from 8 to 9 a.m. After breakfast we boarded our coach and headed to Chester, England. Chester is an ancient and beautiful city, close to the boarder with Whales. Chester lies on the River Dee and has the reputation of being the "English medieval city par excellence", but many of its buildings are from the Victorian era. We had roughly four hours to grab some food and tour the city. As I walked around searching for a reasonable priced restaurant, I was able to see some of the historic buildings that surrounded the city...Chester Town Hall, Grosvenor Museum, and the Victorian architecture. An hour or so before we had to be back on the coach, a couple teammates and I decided on the Old King's Head, a pub that was formerly the home of Randlre Holme I - the mayor of Chester in 1633. We passed on the opportunity to eat at a restaurant that Bono owned due to our funds capacity. The menu at Old King's Head had a wide-variety of choices, but I went with the simple fish and chips.
At 5 p.m. we shipped out of Chester and headed back to Wilmslow. We had another match with team England, except this time we ended up getting the better of them. A total team effort led to the huge margin of victory for Team Loyola and after the match was over both teams enjoyed each others company at the social. The dinner was chili served over white rice with a couple of pints. In my opinion, it was the best meal we had yet! We arrived back at our hotel and were extremely eager to enjoy the social scene at the Queen of Hearts and Honey Bee, local clubs close to the hotel.

Europe Trip: Day 5

It was was another beautiful day over in the U.K. After an eventful and exhausting day, we were allowed to relax and recuperate for most of the day five. Coach Toomey informed us that the freshmen and sophomores had to run a lacrosse clinic at the Stockport Cricket Club at 3 p.m. (http://www.stockportcc.co.uk/) The juniors and seniors had the day off. Most of the team took a coach into Manchester City for lunch and a chance to site see around the city. However, still feeling the effects from the previous night, I stayed around the hotel.
At 3 p.m. the underclassmen boarded the coach and headed to the clinic. There were roughly fifty kids at the clinic. Because lacrosse is a relatively new sport across the pond the kids clearly needed some work. They were eager to learn and ask questions which made the clinic bearable. After the clinic was finished, the juniors and seniors met up with the rest of the team and we enjoyed a traditional English dinner...buttered bread, ham, cheese, chips, and an assortment of refreshments. In my opinion the dinner was unprepared and a last minute thing. It could have been done a lot better and with more enjoyable options. The meal didn't compare to the other dinners we had been enjoying. As soon as the sub-par meal was over, we headed back to Wilmslow and relaxed at the hotel for the night.

Europe Trip: Day 4

The following morning we had a team breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and prepared ourselves for our travel to Liverpool, where we had the luxury of touring the historic city and fortune of playing a tough group of Englishmen in a game of lacrosse.
We arrived in Liverpool at roughly 11 a.m. Coach Toomey informed both buses that we had four hours to tour and travel around the city. Immediately, teammates headed directly to The Beatles Story (http://beatlesstory.com/). The Beatles Story was conceived and founded by Mike and Bernadette Byrne in 1988. It opened its doors in May 1990 at the Albert Dock, Liverpool. The exhibition came about after Mike and Bernie realized the need for a permanent exhibition in the city, dedicated to the Beatles. Mike and Bernie were able to plan and bring it all about and draw on their memories from their personal experience of having grown up in the city at the same time as the Beatles. However, Eric Lusby, Chris Moore, DJ Comer and I decided to walk around the city first. Our first stop was to the John Lewis Mall where we purchased some football (soccer) jerseys. As we shopped around Eric found a unique interest in the European capris while Chris complained about the lack of jorts (jean shorts).
The common impression among the group was that Liverpool was a vast city full of construction. Around 12 o'clock we met up with Shane Koppens and Collin Finnerty and grabbed a bite to eat at Nando's, a delicious European restaurant known for its legendary, Portuguese, flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken.
We did a little more shopping afterward and around 2:30 p.m. Eric and I headed to The Beatles Story. Admission was eight pounds. The exhibition was truly remarkable. Everything from John Lennon's travel jacket to the group's two-piece attire that Brian Epstein bought for the group's first international performance was on display. The exhibition proved to be a historical and informative piece of history.
After the great tour around the city the team headed to Wilmslow, a suburb of Manchester, and reset the focus to our intense battle against Team England. After a rough start Team Loyola was fortunate to prevail after great efforts from Dylan Grimm and Cooper MacDonnell. After the game both teams enjoyed a social. The long but fun-filled day was topped off by a night in Manchester where the team enjoyed each others company.

Europe Trip: Day 2-3

On day two we finally got the "plane out of our legs" and had the opportunity to venture around Scotland. In addition to the site seeing, we had our first lacrosse match against Team Scotland in the afternoon. Early in the a.m. we had a mandatory hotel breakfast in which the traditional Scottish meal was served...sunny-side up eggs, baked beans, ham, sausage, beef patty, toast, croissants, and juice. Most of the team made egg sandwiches on either toast or a croissant. As soon as breakfast was over we packed our lacrosse bags and backpacks and headed over to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Our tour guides provided a brief history about the city as well as insightful information as we traveled throughout the capital. The historic centre of Edinburgh is divided into two areas: Old Town and New Town. We were given about an hour to tour the castle (http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/). The most popular attraction was the castle dungeons, home to many of the pirates and scallywags that were captured. The hour quickly passed and we were on our way to the fields where we had two matches against Team Scotland. It was evident that Team Scotland needed a couple more practices and experienced players as Team Loyola dominated both games. However, the players of Team Scotland were grateful losers and couldn't help but mock their own performance. After the games were finished, both teams enjoyed a social at Carl's Pub, a local pub in town. Members from each team squared-off in a few drinking competitions. Team Loyola won the two v. two friendly chug while Team Scotland dominated the five v. five drinking battle. Regardless, both teams became more acquainted and enjoyed a great experience. Around 10 p.m. we left the pub and headed back to Stirling. The bars of choice for the night were Outback and Fubar.
After the eventful day/evening, the following morning was not so fun. Hungover and still drunk, we had an early wake-up call and had to be on the coach at 9 a.m. We departed Stirling, Scotland and headed to Manchester, England...the next stop of our ten day expedition. Part of Scotland's Union regulations, coaches were only permitted to travel up to two hours before taking a thirty minute break. We pulled over in Jedburgh, Scotland where we grabbed some food and waters. We were only ten miles from England's border. However, we still had another five hours of traveling until we reached Manchester. Around 8 p.m. we finally arrived at the Willow Bank Hotel and had a mandatory team dinner. Because we had an early day ahead of us, Coach Toomey informed the team of an early curfew. A couple teammates and I walked around the town until curfew. Thankfully the tiring and annoying day of traveling was over.

Europe Trip: Day 1

Our team was split up into four groups (for traveling purposes). On June 28, Group 1/2/4 packed the bus and departed to Dulles International Airport around noon. We traveled Air France and departed at 4 p.m. The duration of the flight was long and tiring, with some sporadic turbulence. We arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport (Paris, France) and quickly rushed to our connecting flight that would land the group at Edinburgh Airport (Edinburgh, Scotland).
After we grabbed our bags, we headed over to the currency exchange booth where we converted our dollars into pounds. Unfortunately being stuck in a recession and an economic crisis, our dollar isn't worth anything. With our luggage and pounds in hand we boarded the coach and headed to Stirling, Scotland. Our hotel was called the Golden Lion Hotel. After we unloaded our luggage and checked into our rooms a few teammates and I headed to a local pub. It was an Australian themed pub with an outdoor and indoor bar. After a couple drinks and hours later we headed back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the team and enjoy a team dinner at the hotel. Scotland had a little different food selection, but for the most part was enjoyable. Around 10 p.m., the team headed out for the night where we enjoyed each others company.

Notes of interest:
The drinking age is 18 (or from the minute you can walk).
Cars, Coaches, and Bicycles drive on the left side.
The roadways are extremely narrow.
"Coach" is the term for bus.
"Cheers" is the universal word for thank-you, welcome, hello, and goodbye.
"Boomin" is a slang term leaving or "peacing out".
"Edinburgh" is pronounced EH-din-bur-uh

Loyola Men's Lacrosse Europe Trip

From June 28 to May 7 the Loyola College Men's Lacrosse Team had the opportunity to travel around Europe and play lacrosse against the Scottish, English, and Irish National Teams. We were able to visit four countries, seven cities, and, for most of the players, experience life from the other side of the pond. Our team consisted of forty-five players, four coaches, three trainers, and two academic and athletic coordinators. There were thankfully no injuries, sicknesses, or complaints while we traveled around Europe.

Trip Itinerary:
http://www.loyolagreyhounds.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/locl/sports/m-lacros/auto_pdf/TravelItinerary

Photo Gallery:
http://www.loyolagreyhounds.com/view.gal?id=49593