Kendall and Katie Checking in from Sliiiiggggooo!

Okay, so I will explain the Sligo pronunciation in a minute.

Alright, since the last time I checked in I have met up with Katie and we have already been having an amazing time (just in Dublin thus far, but 2 weeks still to go).

We are going to recount our last two days for you to paint the clearest picture (for you Mike) and really because the entire town of Sligo shuts down at 6 and we have some time to kill.

Alright---
We began our afternoon together by having lunch and a pint at Saint John Gogarty's Pub. There was lovely traditional music and really good Irish stew. We then strolled around Dublin (saw the castle, Grafton St.) but wound up right back in Temple Bar at Saint Gogarty's.

This time we were approached by two English soldiers on holiday before flying back to Iraq within the hour. I (Kendall) was told I was the "bee's knees" by one and said I was June and he was Johnny. Nice enough, but glad they were headed out. Shortly after, British boys: rocker Liam (looked a bit like Gallegher), James (who will thus be referred to as Legolas- he was a bit elf-like) and sweet Sean. Stupidly we asked what Britain thought of Americans, and Liam informed us that mostly they thought that we were really dumb. He consoled us however by saying that he believed that we in fact were "really, REALLY dumb." Though they were sort of teasing we had some good political talks and discussed our lack of exposure to the world view. After hanging out a bit we called it an evening around 9 or 10. Hats off to Katie. She trucked on through the day despite the fact that she had just flown in and hadn't slept in over 24 hours.

Second day in Dublin was one for the books. We began by taking the Dublin bus tour around town about 10 times. We are actually considering appyling for jobs as guides being that we know everything about Dublin and we might not want to leave...ever. Amidst our touring we shopped at O'Connell Street, stopped at the beautiful Arlington Hotel (where Bill Clinton stayed) and toured their immaculate restroom facility, took the Guinness tour and had a pint of the perfect Guinness from a 360 glass atrium overlooking Dublin. We then planned to conclude our day at the Jameson whiskey distillery but they closed just before we arrived. (Going to earn our whiskey tasting certificates on our way out July 20th). We then had dinner, regrouped and then headed back to our favorite pub, St. Gogarty's for some live Irish music and chilling out. Not what was in store for us however. As if my prayers were answered--- (earlier that day I said to Katie that it would be great if a team of Irish athletes would come into a pub and just hang out with us)--- in walked 8-10 guys in crazy hawaiian and disco themed shirts. They approached us shortly after and what do you know, they were actually Irish! As we continued to talk to them we found out they were wearing the shirts as a mourning of the loss of their hurling championship match the day before. There are too many details to recount on here, we'll tell you when we get back, but highlights of the evening...
1. Attmpting dance to traditional Irish music, following the locals.
2. Celebrating the county victory of the Sligo football team with one of the team members that was friends with the hurlers. (We did this by shouting Sllliiiiigggooo in a way that you really have to hear to understand).
3. Comparing our white, freckley arms and realizing that Katie and I are actually whiter than the Irish.
4. Basically joking, laughing, and singing until the wee hours of the mornin'!

Oh that so can't do it justice, but we have a ton of great pictures and videos that we will share when we get back.

So tonight we plan to karaoke in Sligo and hopefully continue to celebrate the football (soccer) victory. WE have been instructed to go in to any and all pubs and say "We heard that the Nester Cup has returned after 32 years and we have come to see it!" Apparently the folks of Sligo will love this. We'll see!