Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: DAY 627-629

May 21 - 23

1) And just like that our Europe trip has come to an end! But that was certainly not the end of our adventures though - as we faced an 8-HOUR delay on our flight back to Dublin! It was a rather long wait at the airport, with more than a few feathers ruffled as the flight was delayed initially from 1pm to 4pm, and then 8pm, and finally to 9.30pm. In fact, there was another flight (to Manchester) scheduled at 11am, but which ended up being delayed until way past 10pm. I can only sympathise with the passengers on board...

2) Anyway, we reached Dublin past midnight, so the entire day was gone. Nevertheless, we woke up very early the next day, before taking the first bus to town. Here our amazing tour of Dublin began - with myself as tour guide of course ^^ I first showed my parents around Dublin 1, with its lovely bridges, i.e. O'Connell, Samuel Backett, Ha'penny amongst others. We walked past Custom House Quay and the Famine Memorial, before stopping by Munchies for breakfast.

3) We continued on our way to my college, stopping by Trinity College for a bit. We would have gone in to the Book of Kells, but due to the long line we decided not to. After a bit more walking we reached RCSI. It's great that the new building has been opened, so in addition to the main campus, I had another 10 floors of state-of-the-art equipment to show my parents. We took many photos around RCSI, including a fair bit in St. Stephen's Green. After this, my dad wanted me to show him where I once stayed, so I brought my parents over to Leeson St. I haven't passed by myself for at least a year now, so the walk back there certainly brought back some livid memories both good and bad.

4) With noon approaching, we took the LUAS from Harcourt to Ballaly. If you haven't guessed already, I wanted my parents to sample what I consider to be good quality buffet at a reasonable price, at Global Cuisine. We sat down for the better part of three hours, just chatting away and enjoying the good food and lovely view of the Dundrum skyline. My parents agreed that it was a really nice meal (plus I still had a complimentary food voucher left so it was even cheaper ^^).

5) After our delicious lunch, we took a slow stroll back to my second accommodation here in Dublin, in Sweetmount Drive. Again, it was pure nostalgia as I retraced my footsteps up the three inclined slopes leading to my accommodation. Next, we found our way back to Dundrum station, before returning to St. Stephen's Green. We entered the Shopping Centre for a while, before passing by Temple Bar on our way back to Beaumont. But as usual, that wasn't the end of the day. I still had to show my parents my college at Beaumont (a.k.a. Beaumont Hospital).

6) I first brought my parents to the hospital building itself, which leads to the Centre of Education extension. We visited the lecture theatres, the student lounge, and the library in quick succession. Then, we walked to the Smurfit Building to grab some photos, and that was it for today. Returned home to what would be my parents' last night here in Dublin, while I cleared up stuff in my room. The next day, we paid a visit to Northside Shopping Centre, and I showed my parents where I did my groceries. We then had breakfast at a cafe upstairs, before returning to take our luggage.

7) Emma was very, very kind in allowing my parents to stay over for the couple of nights and for driving us to the airport, where I said goodbye to my parents. It has been a very exciting and memorable two weeks, and I do sincerely hope to be able to enjoy other such trips again in the future. But for now, that's all there is, there isn't anymore XD. Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a nice day. Cheers!