it's raining, it's pouring...

well, well, well...

so i found myself with another day off and decided i just had to tell the story of sunday, our day at the races. because it's worth it.

morten came over to my place around noon and i was still getting ready. noel (guy from work) was picking us up at half twelve to head out to naas.

fyi: you can see naas (pronounced "nase") on the map above... it's in the county beside dublin, county kildare.

we only got a little lost on our way to the racetrack, and when we found it we decided it was best to park in a Field beside the main entrance... why didn't anybody else think of this! i was wearing my brand new leather boots, so i didn't appreciate having to walk through the mud, but i guess it's better than having to walk 3 kilometres from the car to the entrance.

we got in, immediately found the beer, and headed inside to place our bets. i had researched a bit beforehand, but was still completely lost when i got there. i placed a patent on the first three races, a few each way bets, a lucky 15, and some random singles (i'm getting good at this!). we took our dockets and headed out to the stands to see the first race.

you know, i've been to the races before at home, but it looks nothing like this. we have those small oval-shaped courses (i swear the horses are smaller too) and here the track is 2 miles long and has all sorts of jumps and walls. everyone brings binoculars to see the horses on the other side... i didn't think of that.

anyway, my horse won the first race. so i figured i was guaranteed to win the rest of them too now that i was on a roll. unfortunately it doesn't seem to work that way. i lost the next 5 races (there were only 7). but, in my defense, one of morten's horses fell and one of them died halfway through the race. now THAT is bad luck.

so, i was out of money and decided that horse racing is probably not going to make me millions. but i found a horse called "bootlegger" in the last race and decided that it was a sign because of my fabulous new boots. so i put the rest of my money on him, and he ended up winning me all my money back and more! phew!

we finally headed out to the car and noticed the traffic was stopped on the way out. we thought we were quite clever because we could pass all the traffic by driving along the Field we had parked in. instead, our car got stuck in the mud. joke's on us! but we then noticed that pretty much everyone else who thought they were so clever to park in this Field was also stuck in the mud. but luckily there was a giant tractor (who obviously saw this coming) there to pull everyone out.

i'm just glad i didn't have to push.

at least it was entertaining.

we got dropped off at my place, a little tipsy, and decided to kidnap melinda and take her to the george. the george is the biggest gay bar in Ireland, and also the highest grossing bar in Ireland... and i hadn't been there yet? crazy! it took some serious begging, but melinda finally got herself cutified and hopped in a cab with us on our way to Acapulco (the mexican restaurant... not the city). we had a fantastic dinner, then headed off to gay bingo and a drag show.

i was wondering what the difference between canadian and irish drag queens would be... turns out it's just the accent. but there is a big difference between canadian and irish bingo! we all looked at our bingo cards and had no idea what to do with them. this is not the O69, B4 (b4 what!) i'm used to. we ended up asking a few people and got the hang of it.

melinda was 1 number away from winning the whole thing. i was not even close. maybe i should stick to horses.

what a fantastic day though! horses, bingo, and drag queens. my three new favourite things.

written by

girlbits on March 2, 2007 from Dublin, Ireland

from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.

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clearly Morten should be reported to the SPCA...and stay out of Heathrow, it always makes you cry.

written by memah on March 3, 2007

umm.... horse racing is evil. Just saying. SLOTH RACING ON THE OTHER HAND IS FUN AND SAFE!

written by angie on March 4, 2007

Hey Britt, we all say thanks for the Irish greeting and all those shamrocks! Green beer on the 17th right? I enjoy travelling with you.
love, Joyce

written by Joyce Gillespie on March 15, 2007

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