I never thought it would be this overwhelming... It was hard enough saying goodbye to my friends and family, but amazingly enough I was able to hold back the tears. I just kept thinking over and over in my mind "I still have some more days in Portugal, it's fine." or "It's just five months, I'll be back in no time." Albeit all those things were true at the time, the final countdown reached its end and there's no more procrastination, no more goodbyes... I was on a plane to London, all alone. It's so exciting and so terrifying at the same time! The captain told us that the flight should take a couple of hours and that the weather forecast for London consisted of many clouds and cold showers... (I did not see that coming!)
Eventually I started to feel the weight of the two hours of sleep I got last night and slept like a baby until the touchdown in Heathrow. That airport brings me good memories, from the first time I was in London. But I didn't have much time to reminisce... Had to rush from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 and go through security all over again... (Yey!) Luckily the rain decided to give me a break!
At 1 pm I was already on the plane that would take me to Dublin, which was much smaller, but still confortable. The excitement was starting to build up. I just couldn't wait to get to know the city I would call home for the next few months.
After a total of about 7 hours of flying and waiting around I've finally arrived to Dublin and my luggage was all there. Props to British Airways for not losing all the precious belongings I slaved so hard to fit in my bags over the past week!
And then the real challenge began... To get to my residence carrying all my stuff and not getting lost in the process. Luckily I had a map and some directions written down, which led me to the airlink. Paid my 6 euros ticket to get to the city centre and hopped on. The trip was fairly smooth and in about 15 minutes I was getting off in Parnell Street. The problem was... I had no clue of which end of the street (which is huge btw) I was in. Oh, and perfect timing for it to start raining, Pete! After looking around for about 5 minutes like a moth blinded by a flame, I decided to ask someone the way. And after 5 more minutes walking, this time in the right direction, and a bit more wet and cold than I had hoped for, I arrived to the hotel's reception. And yes, I will be staying in a hotel. Why? Well, because my residence is part of the hotel group and they only have a room available for me at the residence in March, so in the meantime I'll be living here. Shame, isn't it?
My room is nicer than I was expecting and I have a sofa and two beds, for some reason I have yet to understand.
After such a long day like today, I only had enough strength to take a shower and go down to the restaurant to have a proper meal. I barely ate anything all day so I deserve it. And lucky me, there was a traditional irish music live performance going on to set the mood for my typical irish dinner! =)
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| My first irish dinner: Guinness Beef Casserole |
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| My beds! |
And now, sleepy time...Tomorrow I'll start exploring this lovely city, hopefully with a little less rain!
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