Bits and Bobs of London: Take 3 (Goodbyes and Hellos)

It has been a GREAT last few months with the March Intake, and I am going to miss them all a lot. We kicked off their last month here by going to my co-worker Nadeem's house for his birthday party! It was great fun and I got to meet more people from my office and spend time with those that are leaving.

It was Sarah’s B-day a few weeks ago, so we decided to go to Tayyabs, a BYOB Indian joint not too far from Canary Wharf. It was phenomenal food and of course the drinks were great too! We ate buffet style. There were 6 of us and we ordered several starters and lots and lots of Naan. It was a great way to end a stressful/busy day at work!

Two weekends ago was the last full weekend in London for the current March intake. I spent my Friday night at the office working on my essay that was due Monday so I would be able to participate in all of the activities planned for their final weekend in London. Saturday I finalised my paper and headed off to The Eagle, in the early afternoon. The Eagle was a perfect place to hang out and sit in the beer gardens since the weather was simply beautiful! It was also one of the first places I had a pint in London since it is right down the street from the Thistle hotel where we stayed for our first week in London! After a few pints and maybe a few shots later my roommates and I went home to have dinner and get ready for the night ahead! We headed back to Ability Towers (better known as Club Ability), to have a few drinks before making our way to Shoreditch. We fully intended on going to Floripa, but instead found ourselves at the Electricity Showroom. It was quite the light show and they had great music. 

Sunday we headed back to the Eagle for a few pints and to sit down and chat with everyone. By time I actually got there though, most of the March intake had already left. I stayed for a bit and headed home to make the finishing touches on my essay. 

Monday a bunch of us got together and had a great time just eating dinner and chatting over a couple bottles of wine back at the flat. There may or may not have been a dance party in our kitchen until the wee hours of the morning! The new March intake arrived on Monday, and we had Welcome drinks for them after their orientation on Tuesday. It was my first time back to the Peasant since I arrived in London and we had our Welcome drinks back in August. It was great to get to meet some of the Newbies and see how excited they were to begin their year in London.  After a few hours of mingling and having some drinks and nibbles, I decided it was time to go home and hopefully get some sleep!

Wednesday night was filled with a lot of reminiscing and laughing over a few pints or glasses of wine at Corney & Barrow, and Wine Bar right off the water near West India Quay. It is sad to think that the March intake leaves in less than a week, but they are all hopefully  moving on to bigger and better things! There are only a few more nights left with them, and they are going to be a bit crazy, but more than enough fun will be had!

Thursday night was Kane's leaving drinks, so we went out with a bunch of coworkers to the Cat and Canary. It was sad to think that all of these guys would soon be leaving us! BUT, Friday was equally sad. We had family dinner in the flat then we all went to JP's leaving drinks at Tompkins/The Attic! After a few drinks and lots of laughs it was time for the tears! After parting our ways, those of us coming back to Canary went up stairs to sing and play the guitar and have a couple more drinks. It was the perfect ending to our time here with the old March intake. At about 2am Tara and I realized that we still hadn't packed up all of our stuff that needed to be moved out by 9am Saturday morning. We turned on the tunes and packed until nearly 5am. I had never felt so exhausted when my alarm went off 2 hours later! It was time to get up scrub the flat and say our goodbyes. Something I was definitely not looking forward to!  

Jinou had to leave fairly early in the day, we said our goodbyes and cried for a bit. The rest of us decided to head off to the Pepper to get lunch and a pint for Dave and Kane's final few hours. It was equally hard to say goodbye to the guys! They were like brothers to me! =] Guess that just gives me an even better excuse to travel the world to see everyone again! After everyone made their way to the airport it was time to move all of my stuff and unpack again! 

Saturday night was the inaugural newbie introduction to SWAY a nightclub in Central London. It was a great way to get to know some of the new intake. Sunday was the official move-in day for the new intake and it was now time for me to meet my new roommate and flatmates! They are all great! It is going to be a fantastic remaining 5 months! 

The Land of Leprechauns and Sheep!

Sooo I arrived in Cork this morning!!! When I got there I took the bus into town to meet Peta and begin my 5 day trip down memory lane! I made my way to St. Patrick's Street where I met Peta so I could take my stuff to her house. Oddly enough she lives just up Barrack street, not too far from where Rob and the guys lived when we were studying here. It was great to sit down and chat with her and her roommates for a bit. Since she still had College while I was there, I made way to the other side of the river where I wandered around  for a while. While on my hike I went over to the old Cork Gaol and on my way there I saw the church where Christine had her concert in while we were living there. The weather was beautiful and it was a great time to hit up some of the places I used to frequent with the rest of the Montana Crew like the Franciscan Well, Sin E, The Corner House, and even over the Cork Coffee Roasters to grab a Chai Tea Latte! Funny enough, the same guy was in there working that I used to see there all the time 2 years ago! He was such a chatty fella, but super duper nice! I then met up with Peta and a few of her friends from College and chatting about anything and everything, we grabbed some groceries and then headed off to an art exhibition where we found ourselves indulging in some tasty appetizers and wine! By the time we were ready to leave, I was simply exhausted, I had been up since 4am, and there was no chance I was going ANYWHERE that night.

On my second day in Cork, I finally got up and ready by about noon! It felt fantastic to finally get to sleep in. Since it was super nice out, I decided to take a long stroll up Barrack Street to Rob, Abe, and Zach's old place and even made my way past Jackie Lennox's Fish and Chips, and REFRAINED from buying it all! I wasn't quite hungry yet so I decided I would come back later. I then made my way over to Caitlin's old place and made the loop around to Megan's old place! Nothing makes you morning better than stopping for coffee and desert at Serendipity, a small quaint cafe over by my old University. Pistachio Brownies and a Mocha...Perfection! I met up with Peta again after her classes were over and we went to another art exhibition (more free food and wine!-Not afraid to admit it!) It was really cool to wander through some of the art studios and see some of the projects some of the students were working on! It was the perfect night to make our way to The Brog-Our old stomping grounds and have a great night out. First we went over to Brian's house for a few drinks, but I skipped out part way through to go and meet Damian at the Woolshed for a few quick rounds of Table Quiz. After the quiz was done, I found myself heading back to the house to meet up with the group before going to The Brog. So there we were... Off to the Brog with a group of French and Irish folk and we were all ready to have a Grand ole time! The Brog has changed sooooo much, instead of having a Nasty dance floor and slimy bar... There were picnic tables for chairs and a BMV Van/Bus thing that was there the DJ now sits.  After a few hours at the Brog, we headed back to just hang out for a bit, but seeing as how it was already 3am I was seriously exhausted. I might have fallen asleep and woken up with a tattoo... don't worry it was only pen, not real! One of the French guys named Charlie thought it would be hilarious to give me a tattoo, good thing he was nice and only drew a few hearts and all that kinda stuff.  Most of the people finally left around 4:30, but the remaining four of us all passed out on the only couch in the flat. I do have to say, four people sleeping on one couch is not very comfortable at all, but it sure beat walking all the way to Petas at 5am!

My third day in Cork began by waking up at around 1pm and rushing back to Peta's to get ready for the day since she had class and I had a hair appointment at quarter past 2. It's all gone... I cut it all off!!! JK but I sure did take quite a few inches off! We spent the afternoon being lazy and watching movies! Rosin and Dean brought us some fish and chips for dinner and Movie night commenced!

Day four I was a bit more productive. I loved every minute of being able to sleep in, but still be able to see everything I needed to in Cork! Peta and I made our way to the city centre to get a bit of shopping in! We stopped by the Brog for a Post-Shopping pint. I started chatting to the bartender and found out that most of the old bartenders that worked there when I lived there had started  working ay another pub across town. Since not too many people were in town that weekend, I still managed to meet up with one of my old roommates, Laura, at...the Brog. I think you can see the pattern here!  I met my fair share of people that night, but there were a few winners that actually attracted my attention. At this point my mind was made up, I was going to marry the next decent Irish man I met because, well I love the accent and I wanted to live there forever! On our way home, I stopped to chat with the bouncer, he still works there! Haha He looked at me a bit funny when I asked him if he remembered me, but when I told him I live here are couple years ago, and that I was friends with a former bartender Colin. His response was hilarious! 'Oh goodness I sure do remember you, you and that other American and Erin were ALWAYS here!' I guess that is proof that was spent far too much time there! I had to follow through with tradition and get some Tasty Kebab(Garlic Cheesy Chips) on the way home, but since Tasty Kebab no longer exists, I had to resort to a different kebab shop to fulfill our drunken traditions. Then we trekked through Deans Hall by my old flat, oh the memories!

Sunday morning I got up fairly early and made my way into town, got some brunch, admired St Finbarrs Cathedral, and met up with Laura for tea and coffee. A bit later in the day, Peta and I strolled on up to UCC where I attended University while I was there.  It was nearing time for me to head to the airport, so we headed to the Spailpin Fanach grab one last pint and to Lennox Fish and Chips for one last order of Garlic Cheesy Chips! Guess it was time for me to get back to the reality that is my life and job in London. So Long Ireland... don't worry, I'll be back! =]