Luck o' the Irish

well we've made it to Dublin now, leaving France just in time. As Joe put it, "We got off a sinking ship," in terms of the Parisian riots and all. Good times. We saw none of it.

We had a great time at the game in Lens Thursday, a 5-0 win for the home side and their very vociferous fans. We took a morning train to the airport and had an easy flight over here to Dublin. Our hotel is farther away from Trinity College and the city center, where I feel at home, than we'd like, but it's close to the Guinness factory! We went to what could be our last game of the trip last night, seeing my old Irish friends, Bohemians. They're struggling a lot more than when I was here, but at least they pulled out a 1-0 win on a very cold night here in Dublin.

Today the Guinness Factory, tomorrow Croke Park, and then we're heading up to Belfast for a couple days and flying home Thursday morning. A big shout-out to the Rice soccer team for making it to the conference final (on CSTV Sunday afternoon) and I really think they've got a good shot to make the NCAA tournament again.

Other than that, not too much to report. It's weird being here without my friends from my study-abroad program two years ago, but I'm thinking of you, guys, and trying to revisit some old haunts!