My parents were able to make their first transatlantic trip this past weekend from Friday (10/27) to Tuesday (10/31). I was able to show them my life in Limerick, some of Ireland’s beauty, and introduce them to my Limerick family. The weekend started on Friday with showing them around the city and trying out some of the local restaurants. Then Friday evening they got to watch me coach my U16 team as they beat crosstown rival Limerick Lakers. We started Saturday morning by visiting the weekly market in town. The market is huge! Products ranged from fresh meat and vegetables to clothing and power tools. It contained everything you could possibly imagine. After the market, we walked to LIT to show them my school and apartment. We bought some groceries to stock up for the next week or two and bought some house-warming items. One of the main reasons why my parents chose to come this weekend was because they would have the chance to watch me play in two games. On Saturday, we played against league-leading Killorglin at home. We struggled during this game and lost to a very strong team. Even though we lost, it was a great opportunity for my parents to meet a bunch of people. They also got to see me receive my player of the month golden ball from the Limerick Mayor, which was a really cool moment. Then next day we had an afternoon game in Portlaoise. This was a quick turnaround and was especially difficult because I’ve been dealing with a broken hand the past couple of weeks. Fortunately, we played great and got a huge bounce back win! It was a really important win because we have the next weekend off, so it would’ve been tough to lose back to back games going into the break. We had a bunch of guys step up and play well against a good team on the road. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going after the break!
Since Monday was a bank holiday, we took the opportunity to see one of the most famous tourist destinations in Ireland. We went to see the Cliffs of Moher. Thanks to Esther for taking us there and Liz for joining us on the adventure. The pictures don’t do it justice, it was so unbelievable! On the way back, we stopped at the Bunratty Castle and Durty Nelly’s. These are both popular tourist destinations. Durty Nelly’s is a pub covered in badges from various American cities, but we unfortunately didn’t find one from Vermont. We ended the trip with a dinner at one of the family’s houses. They welcomed in Liz and me, along with my parents, for an amazing dinner. It was so great to show my parents my life here and I can’t wait to see them again! Check out my video on Facebook for some more images of our travels.
