The End of the Rainbow

Hello New York! It's déjà vu all over again. Just touched down at JFK airport for the last leg of the trip and it feels like we were just here. Ironically, 3 days ago we drove past the city of the Irish Kennedy forefathers. 

Phew- this trip has been a whirlwind. During this exciting adventure, we have used the "F" word a whole bunch; talking about "FLEXIBILITY" of course.

From lost luggage, a slightly misplaced passport, schedule changes, to four seasons of weather in 1 day, we've adjusted to a lot.  However, 8 days of gorgeous greenery, games, group photo op opportunities, great selfies, and giggles, all add up to one experience that we will not forget.

In addition to the historic lessons and breathtaking landscapes, we have met international friends through our competitions. Although the accents were thick, laughter is always a contagious language. Ballads of Molly Malone will continue to float through our heads and hearts. 

We were able to catch another Irish staple during our 2-1 win on the last night. Luckily the girls were not distracted...

We would like to extend a whole hearted thank you to our guides, Jonathan, Colin, and Kieran. With great enthusiasm, pride, knowledge, and care they made our trip what it was. We can't forget about Finbarr and Stephen our drivers. What's a road trip with out a U turn, or an overturned hay truck. 

Special thanks to all of those friends and family that helped make this trip possible with their love and support. 

As we start to gear up for the 2014 season, be sure to follow us at www.rhodeslynx.com! 

It's a great day to be a Lynx!

Cheers- Joe and Bev

Last Day and Happy Birthday Maria!

HELLO from our last day in Ireland!!! Saved the best (&most windy) for last! 

We began our day today with breakfast at the the Dromhall Hotel and then took the bus into Killarney. 

We had an hour to walk and shop around in the town before our tour of the National Park via horse drawn carriages! 

The national forest was established in 1970 and spans over 25,000 acres of beautiful views. There are three lakes in the park: Lower, Middle, and Upper Lake. The lakes are over 300 feet deep. The park is also home to a beautiful golf course where the Irish Open has been played in the past. On one of the islands on Lake Leen there is a monastery that dates back to the sixth century. 

 

Our horse drawn carriages dropped us back at the hotel for lunch, and we got to celebrate Maria's 20th birthday with some cheesecake. 

Afterward we continued on to Muckross House...There were amazing views and we had time to walk around the beautiful grounds.

 

From here we drove two hours north to Limerick for our game, which we won 2-1! We were happy to leave Ireland with a win. 

It was a perfect ending to our Ireland trip, and a great beginning to our 2014 soccer season!

Hannah & Ang

LIVERPOOL!

Hiiiii it's Sweeney and Shannon blogging today!

This morning we woke up to a blaring alarm in the building repeating "Attention please attention please we have an emergency within the building please leave by the nearest available exit." Luckily after sprinting down 5 flights of stairs we found out nothing was even happening!! Best morning workout ever!

After our eventful morning we took a ride through Liverpool to Anfield Stadium to watch Liverpool defeat Dortmund 4-0 in a preseason friendly. 

After making friends with several fans, we learned to never wear sandals in Liverpool where it is always raining. 

We then boarded our flight back to Cork. In the airport we witnessed the opposing team traveling back to Germany. They may not have won the game but they sure won our hearts. 

Upon arrival we drove our new beautiful hotel with 24 hour wifi and a queen size bed for one lucky roommate. 

Now that we are all settled in at our hotel in Killarney we are looking forward to our carriage ride and of course our game tomorrow evening!

Love,

Sweeney and Shannon

We've arrived in Liverpool!

We started our day off right with a morning jog around the harbor of Kinsale. 

After an Irish breakfast in our beautiful hotel, we took a walking tour with guide, Barry, and learned a lot about the history of Kinsale. The harbor town was perfectly situated for the Spanish to utilize as a base to launch surprise attacks against the English. Here is a view from what would have been the entry gate where Spanish, Irish, and English forces fought in 1601 for control of the harbor. 

The Irish were experts at guerrilla warfare and lost the battle in less than 3 hours to the English, without the Spanish even getting involved. This triggered a religious divide in Ireland.

Next, we explored the harbor even more on a ferry tour. The top deck was pretty chilly but we snuggled up to enjoy the sights! 

We savored another delicious lunch at the White Lady Pub. We liked it so much we came back after last night's dinner!

After lunch, we packed our bags and headed to Cork. On our way out of Kinsale, we stopped for a quick team picture.

We had a few hours to shop in the city centre of Cork. 

After a busy day and a short flight we have arrived in Liverpool and are excited to visit Anfield tomorrow-You'll Never Walk Alone!

Love to all,

Bre and Nic

Day 5- We kissed the stone!

Hey it's Wayda and Elise here! 

Today had been another great day in the picturesque Ireland! We started the day with a quick breakfast before traveling from Kilkenny to the Rock of Cashel then to Blarney then lastly to Kinsale.

After an hour of driving we stopped at the Rock of Cashel. It is home to beautiful scenery while containing a great deal of information about the ancient art and music of Ireland. The team spent some time learning about different horns and gadgets before taking a short hike up the hill to look over pastures. 

After another couple of hours we found ourselves at yet another castle- the famous Blarney Castle. 

The Blarney Castle is home of the famous Blarney stone. We all kissed the stone today, so hopefully our team will all receive the gift of eloquent speech! We all enjoyed a walk through the lavish gardens and climbed (or attempted to climb) some wacky looking trees.

After our stop at Blarney Castle, we drove to Kinsale to check into our hotel and have dinner.  Kinsale is in Southern Ireland and has a history dating back to the great power of the Romans. 

The view is absolutely breath taking! 

Tomorrow we will get to explore more of beautfiul Kinsale.  Goodnight!

Elise and Wayda

A Day in Kilkenny

Today we toured around the city of Kilkenny, which was the medieval capital of Ireland in the 17th century. We started the day with a trip up the tower at St. Canice's cathedral. The tower, built in the 9th century, was originally used for both storage and protection. It is the oldest standing building in Kilkenny. Here is the view from the top:

We had the afternoon to ourselves, so we walked around the city center and explored the shops and sites. 

A few of us chose to visit the Black Abbey, built in 1225, and the local Catholic Church, St. Mary's cathedral. 

We ended the day with dinner at Matt the Millers pub and watched live music and dancers at local pubs. Chandler and Elise even sang karaoke for us! 

Hope y'all are enjoying the blog! We can't wait to tell you more stories! 

Katie and Maria

Happy birthday Elise!!!

Heyo! It's me, Lauren, here to report to our lovely fans and followers about the lovely adventures we embarked on today. 

After another Irish breakfast at the hotel this morning we departed for the town of Kilkenny. Upon arrival, we met our new tour guide Keiran at the Kilkenny castle. We toured the centuries-old castle and saw the transformation it underwent from it's medieval tower to the fully restored Victorian library and gallery. The tour was short, but the amount of history inside the walls was endless. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed, but we did manage to snap a few shots outside and in the rose garden that the castle overlooks. 

After we finished at the castle, Keiran guided us through the streets of Kilkenny to Langton's Hotel where we enjoyed some mighty fine dining. Elise's family made an appearance and we were able to serenade her and the other fine diners with some happy birthday wishes. 

With full brains and full tummies, we checked into the Aspect Hotel and prepared for our second game. Our good friend Finbar drove us through the scenic Irish country side toward our site for the match. On the way there, there was a bit of a location change, but we didn't fret. Keiran and Finbar had it all under control. We arrived to play Wexford Select, tatted up and ready to go (shout out to Sarah Wachter's mom for the tats!) 

While we didn't get a winning result, the Wexford girls hosted a wonderfully simple dinner of bread and chicken soup for us afterwards which was much appreciated (yay for free meals!). During this little meet and greet we serenaded Miss Elise yet again with birthday wishes, hip hip hooray! 

To finish off our busy day, Keiran agreed to teach us all some lyrics to a few of his favorite Irish ballads like Molly Malone and Dicey Riley. He even threw in some James Taylor for us to sing along to.

All in all, it was a fabtastic day here in Kilkenny. And of course, happy birthday Elise! You're finally 9!!! I mean 19. 

Until next time,

Lauren!!