The National Anthem !

 The latest from our roving  Irish Ambassador....

Hmmmm... where to begin!? I’ve had a busy few days! Saturday I took to the streets of City Centre London to explore and navigate the bustling avenues of this city. I availed of a great free walking tour which took us from Hyde Park past Buckingham Palace, into Trafalgar Square and down to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. St. Stephen's clock tower was a great sight. What is St Stephen's clock tower? It’s more commonly known as Big Ben! Big Ben is actually just the bell inside the clock tower. The streets were alive with people, and though hard it was at times to get around all these people, it still made for a fantastic atmosphere. I happened to be wearing a green tshirt yesterday, so coupled with my ginger hair, I was practically a walking Tricolour. Essentially, I was Ireland's national flag for the day! It didn’t go unnoticed too as many people said "Hello" to by simply uttering “Irish yeah!?” I think I’m making it too easy for people! However, I didn’t let the opportunity pass me by and informed all I met of our own great big thing that sticks into the sky in Ireland. The Spire! It is only one of Dublins many landmarks, but is essential to see none the less! If you haven’t gotten a picture pointing right up the length of the Spire, then what else have you been doing in Dublin!?

Saturday evening was great fun, as I found myself having a bit of an international conference of sorts. alcohol included of course. There was me, three Argentines, four Canadians and one South African, sitting round a table, shouting probably a little too loud and drinking probably a little too much. Thankfully, I stopped short of singing the Irish National Anthem, but I was tempted into the first line!

Sunday was always going to be a great day. Around a month ago, I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Mens Single's final of the Olympics. How? Well, I had to go on air on a radio station in Ireland, against somebody else, and grunt, yes GRUNT, as if I was playing them in a game of Tennis! Luckily, my grunting seemed up to par and I won the tickets! Due to the very nature of competition, there could have been anybody in the final. However, as it happened, who was playing other than Andy Murray and Roger Federer! Fantastic! Seeing Murray race home with a three sets to zero victory was incredible, as the fans went absolutely bananas when he fell to his knees in glory! I brought along an Argentine by the name of Damian I had met in my hostel, and he was lucky enough to see a fellow country man, Juan Martin Del Potro recieve the Bronze medal for finishing third!

By evening Damian was probably sick of me trying to compare tennis to our own sport, hurling. If you haven’t seen it, then you must!. It is one of the fastest land games on Earth and played at such a fast pace that your eyes will struggle to keep up with the ball, or sliotar, as it’s called in Ireland. Damian and I ventured down to the Camden Market later on that day. What a place! Thriving with food and clothing of every design, this is a dream for those looking for an interesting place just to walk around and stare or for those wanting to splash the cash on some funky gear. I didn’t indulge in anything too off the wall, but you could easily spend a day in there just absording the atmosphere. I really enjoyed the place!

Monday evening I leave for Paris and I begin my travels of mainland Europe. I’ll talk to you then! Follow me and my travels on Twitter at @ciaran_o_connor and @IsaacsHostel