DAY 489-493

Jan 2 - 6

1) If you've been following my blog recently, I'm sure you would have noticed the increasingly sporadic blog posts. I suppose it was unavoidable; as medical school progressed, so too did the workload, and on top of all that, I have other responsibilities to shoulder as well. Most recently, after coming back from my "Winter Wonderland" trip, I was faced with another challenge - to pack my stuff and shift to Beaumont - where I'll be spending the rest of this year.

2) So I've spent the past couple of days packing. It's amazing how much more stuff I have compared to last year (when I moved out of Leeson to Dundrum). Finished stowing away all my belongings and cleaning my room, and bade goodbye to my wonderful host Suzanne, before calling a taxi all the way to Beaumont - from one end of the city to the other.

3) Me new host - Emma, greeted me with open arms at the doorstep of her house. After an evening of just relaxing and taking some much needed rest, I've been exploring the vicinity the following morning. There's a medium-sized shopping centre (Northside Shopping Centre) just 10 minutes away. Also, Beaumont Hospital is right behind my house - literally. However, the Education Centre (where RCSI students are based and attend lectures) is located at the opposite end of Beaumont, right beside the main entrance. That means I will have to circumvent the perimeter of the hospital, which is a piece of cake compared to having to travel by bus all the way from the city centre.

4) I'm currently in the library typing away. No one else is here except for two other students. It is a quiet Saturday, just two weeks before school officially reopens. I might as well savour the free time I have now before things become hectic again haha. Anyway, that's all in this blog update, and I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks for visiting, and have a great day. Cheers!

Last pic with Suzanne and Muireann,

in front of my accommodation for the past half year

My room after my Herculean effort in packing up and cleaning up

My new room :))

(Just after I unloaded my belongings...)

The laceration marks after lugging REALLY heavy luggage that cut into my skin XD

St Luke the Evangelist,

Kilbarron Rd

Northside Shopping Centre

(a slightly smaller St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre)

Small and comfy interior

Lunch at Sbarro just now

This is literally behind my house

In the virtually empty RCSI Beaumont Library ^^

DAY 478/479/480

Dec 22, 23 & 24

1) Today, Zi Yan, Wei Herng and I embarked on a quest to visit the Christmas Market at Dun Laoghaire. Dun Laoghaire is a suburban seaside town, about 12 km south of Dublin City Centre. We met up at RCSI as usual, and took the bus to the city centre. Unbeknownst to us, we were staring right at the Christmas Market and didn't even know! My only excuse is it was early in the morning, and many stalls had not been set up properly yet.

2) We continued walking around the harbour, before taking another bus to Upper Georges' Street, where Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre is situated. From there, we thought we had to take the Bus 111 to our supposed destination. After checking the bus schedule, we decided to walk the rest of the approximately 3km together. Not taking the bus turned out to be the best decision we made, as we took in all the sights that Dun Laoghaire had to offer.

3) We passed by Town Hall, People's Park, took a tour of Dalkey Heritage Town, strolled by Bullock Castle, skirted along Castle Park School (whose building was a real castle!), and took some lovely snaps of the mist-leaden islands in the horizon. We unanimously agreed that Dun Laoghaire had some of the most beautiful houses we had ever seen, and the decorations that adorned the walls of many a building were simple yet ornate.

4) To make a long story short, we asked for directions after being unable to find the Christmas Market, only to be redirected back to the City Centre! We then took the bus back, before finding the Christmas Market right in front of us, stalls open and beckoning our arrival. Famished, we first looked for something to eat. Wei Herng decided to give the Hungarian "langos" a go, while me and Zi Yan had the foot-long 100% Irish sausage hot dog, with all the fixings! The weather was simply perfect, cooling yet with the perfect tinge of sunshine to bring a smile to everyone's face.

5) I decided to get a large 99's after lunch, and was pleasantly surprised to discover the enormous size of the soft serve, complete with raspberry drizzle and a chocolate bar. Afterwards, we decided to go for a walk on the West Pier. As we returned, the Sun was setting, its golden rays reflected in the shimmering waters beneath. Wei Herng went back to the Christmas Market to get some takeaway snacks, and we took the bus back to Dublin. That has been our day today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for tuning in, and happy holidays everyone! :D

P.S. Do scroll down for LOTS of memorable pics of a seaside town that has quite enamoured me. Cheers!