About flatmates that come, and flatmates that go and first time in England

That thing I wrote about "some coworkers will come later tonight to have a drink here" ended up being what pretty much seemed like a party... Where 20 people managed to get in my living room. After the initial shock, I have to say that I had a great time, and since nothing was broken, I think I passed the test. Not that I am thinking in taking it again. So after a couple of beers here, we went to The Village.

On Sunday when I woke up I started cleaning up the living room. We have made some turns, and I though it was fair that I started with that, because it was me who had invited all the people. Truth be told, Julia had already thrown away some of the things we had left at night. Then, after lunch, I met Tomoyo and we went to buy some things at Penney´s and for a walk... and that's basically how the Sunday ended.

At work, the week was tranquil again. Valentina and I have up to date the project almost everyday, so some days we have little to do...

To be honest, it has been quite a curious week... On Monday, when Carlo came to collect the rent, he told me a new flatmate was coming. He was in other flat... and was only staying for the night. And then on Tuesday, out of the blue, Carlo appeared with a new flatmate. In this case, for 10 days. His name is Alejandro, and he is from Valencia. So after he came in, I went to his dorm to help him bringing his things. And then on Wednesday, after dinner, we went to watch the Supercup to a pub.

And then... weekend! On Friday, as soon as I got home, I packed, had dinner... and went to bed... because I was waking up at 4 and going to the airport, destination England. In the end, I had some free time... specially taking into account that the flight was delayed due to some technical issues (indeed, we did not know if we were flying). But then, at about 8:45, I landed for the first time in the United Kingdom.

We spent the morning visiting Newcastle, the river, the university, the football stadium... And then, when it started raining, we went to a shopping center for a while, and after that, directly to Durham. Since the weather wasn't great and we were exhausted, we decided to stay at home, have dinner and watch a film there.

And then on Sunday, after sleeping a nice amount of hours, we woke up, had breakfast and headed to Durham... And I confirmed how beautiful it is. And, since the weather was nice, we were able to have lunch in the Market Place. Then, we went back home to pick up my things, because we had decided to go back to Newcastle and go for a walk there. This time, Irene joined us. And a couple of hours later I went back to the airport and then to Dublin. 

And that has pretty much been my week... Enjoy the pics I'm uploading!

Newcastle's Cathedral

University

Durham's Castle and Cathedral

Market Place
 

Durham's Cathedral

The Angel of the North

About algo se muere en el alma...

It seems lately the main topic of my blog has been farewells and closing chapters... Well, I´m right now exactly at the mid-point of this experience... And also in a more metaphoric way, because almost everybody with whom I shared this first 6weeks has already left. Special mention to Ayla, who left yesterday morning, because she was the one I spent the more time with. Logical, on the other hand, given that we shared a flat. I got to say I´ll miss her laughing in the flat, going out... Season 01 of Pembroke Shore has ended...

So this week was less quiet than the previous ones. At work it was pretty much the same. Little to say about that, only that a new intern has started, Adrián.

And since these were Ayla's last days in Dublin, we decided to go with Tomoyo and María to Dicey´s on Tuesday. It was great, as usual... and packed, also as usual... And it's easier to speak Spanish or anything rather than English...

On Wednesday we stayed at home watching TV because we were quite tired... That morning, Andrea moved out, so it was only the girls.

Then on Thursday, Tomo was here when I arrived, and later came another friend of hers. We went to a jazz concert in our street, from the boyfriend of Ayla's boss. The place, a multifunctional space was really nice. Also the atmosphere was really nice. After the concert, they went to have a drink but I went home because I have a cold... Also logical, given this crazy changing weather...

So, as said, Ayla left on Friday morning, so I´m taking the single room. Right after work I moved my things (and I also did the laundry, rearranged the things of the kitchen...) and I got used to the room. Then, after dinner, I went to Tomo's to have a drink there and chill for a while.

And today, after sleeping tight and for a good amount of hours, and also after lunch, Julia and i went to the supermarket to buy the things for the week... But I gotta go back now, because I forgot some things. And not much more to say. Some coworkers will come later tonight to have a drink here and then we will go out... I'll tell you on the next update!

About more quiet weeks and more farewells

I won't lie to you... The week has been again quiet and quite uninteresting. I think it makes sense, anyway, taking into account that I spend most of the time at work and when I come home, I need to cook dinner, lunch for the next day... So I don't have a lot of time for anything interesting...

The week was a little bit shorter, because it was Bank Holiday on Monday. So we watched a couple of films (X-Men and Skyfall) and later we went to have a beer with Fabian, who was leaving on Wednesday.

Then at work, little to say. A new intern has started working part-time, but the only thing I know about him is that his name is Miguel and he's spanish... but I haven't had the chance to speak with him because we're already working when he comes.

Thursday after work I went to St. Stephen's shopping center, because Tomo and I wanted to buy a small present for Ayla, because she's leaving next week. And I also wanted to buy something for María, because it was her birthday on Friday. So we had a look both there and in Grafton Street.

And then on Friday, Ayla and I met María for a drink to celebrate her birthday. The plan was having something and then heading home early, because we were throwing a farewell party for Ayla and Chris on Saturday... but, once again... Truth be told, we did not stay until the end. So the three of us went to Dandelion and the Grafton Lounge, and then Tomoyo and some friends of her joined us in Dandelion.

And yesterday, as I wrote above, it was Chris and Ayla's farewell party. We did little during the day... we were saving our energy for the night... And at about 21.00, Sandra and Tomo arrived and we had a drink here before going to Temple Bar. It was an awesome night, one of the funniest.

And today we're also being lazy and unproductive... We've gone to the supermarket and that's pretty much it... Youtube, songs, TV... I was thinking about going for a walk... but the sky is so dark right now I'm pretty sure it'll start raining any moment... 

XXX

About the end of Act I

So... the first month of my stay in Dublin is already gone... Which means one third. Balance of this first part? Really positive.

Once more, there is not a lot to say about the week at work. I have been working on two different projects, the Folens one, about school books, which I had been working on until now, and then a new one about a list of Solicitors in Ireland. Apart from that, a new intern came on Monday. She is called Valentina, she is 18 and comes from Turin.

The week has been pretty quiet, not only at work. Indeed, we have been home everyday but from Tuesday. Then, we went to a pub nearby to have a beer, Andrea, Ayla, Christian, Tomoyo and I. And also on Wednesday, I decided to go to O´Connell street because I wanted to have a look at a couple of things in Penney´s. 

Oh, and I have also bought the plane tickets to England, to visit Carolina in Durham, and my sis has bought hers to come and visit me :)

On Friday, since it was holiday here on Monday, we went out from work earlier. I was really looking forward to getting home, because Ayla had told me that we had a new flatmate and, in my case, roommate. She wasn´t here when I came, but she came a little bit later. Her name is Julia, she is German. She's 19.

Friday plan was simple. We went to have a beer with a couple of friends of Ayla. We weren't for a long time in that pub, but we then went to another one. Typical, you go out for a beer and you end up closing the bar. That was Friday. Well, it is not a big deal, considering that "closing late" means closing at 3-3:30 here... but well... Anyway, we really enjoyed the bar, it is quite big, has a couple of floors... And, above all, music is quite good. And as far as I know, there is live music every night. 

On Saturday we went to the Mart, a small market on the old Fire Station, where daily some people go to sell their handmade stuff. And we went with Tomo, who wanted to sell the jewelry she makes. We were there for a while, and then we came back home (just when it started raining). The rest of the evening we did not do a lot of things, just lying on the couch... And at night, we went to Cielo, a nightclub nearby.

Yesterday, we decided to go to the cinema. We wanted to go to the 15:40 showing, but we couldn't make it on time, so we waited for the next one having a coffee and doing some shopping. We watched "No you see me" for 9,40€ (student discount included). We really enjoyed the film, so somehow paying that amount of money was worthy. But still... wow. And then, after the movie, we went to have a pint in the Temple Bar.

And today, it is the Ban Holiday here, so we won't be doing a lot (everything -but pubs- is closed). We will meet later, because Fabian is leaving, but that's it.

And not much more to say... C U!!