WARNING!! This post is sexual in nature and may be explicit to some.
Hello and Happy New Year everyone!! I hope you all were able to enjoy a lovely holiday with your family, friends, partners, spouses, and acquaintances 😊 Today’s post will take place after my last, which begins with me arriving in Ireland and England. Let’s get to it!!
I arrived in Dublin after quite a long journey; train to Montreal, overnight flight into Gatwick, a 3-hour layover, and an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. Once I disembarked and had my luggage in hand, I walked to the arrival area, and there Jenson was. I had the feeling of butterflies flipping in my stomach until we reached one another and embraced. We stood there, for what like a long while, hugging, and didn’t want to let each other go. “I can’t believe you’re here” he said with a wide smile, which mirrored. As he took hold of my luggage we headed out the door and hopped on a bus to his place. While on the way, a rainstorm hit like nothing I had ever witnessed before. The bus could no longer move as the streets quickly flooded and we ended up walking in knee-deep water the rest of the way, luckily, it wasn’t too far. When we arrived at his flat the sun had set and I was hungry and tired and….well…wanting to have sexy time so after dinner we cozied up in his bed and made up for lost time. The next morning the rain subsided and we quickly drank our coffees and set out for the day. Jenson took me to many places around Dublin so I could bask in its rich history and experience all the city had to offer. We began at Dublin Castle which boasted stone architecture on the exterior while the interior exhibited colorful walls and portraits of past royalty. After the Castle, we explored various other historic buildings and of course took a peak at what the infamous “Temple Bar” looked like by day. By night we were back to experience 2 Euro Tuesdays and much alcohol was consumed while much dancing was done!
The rest of my stay in Dublin consisted of a lot more sightseeing, pub crawling, and dancing to traditional music, where Jenson attempted to teach me a few “Irish Jigs”. We also set aside time where we did not leave the bedroom and made great use of our time together 😉 but before I knew it, it was time to head to England and begin my fresh start. Jenson and I had planned to see one another again but unfortunately, it did not pan out that way and this is where our “romance” ended. We had spoken a couple of times since I’d left but our lives were just headed in different directions and our connection slowly faded.
I arrived in Guildford, Surrey, which was approximately 45 minutes southeast of London, in the early afternoon hours. The hotel’s ops manager picked me up at the train station and we headed out for a 25-minute drive to a small village, called; East Horsely. As we hopped out of the car the ops manager showed me in through the hotel’s staff entrance and introduced me to 2 cooks, both of whom are from Canada. They showed me to the building that housed the staff and advised that dinner would be served shortly if I wanted a plate. Both cooks, who we’ll call Grant and Justin, were very welcoming and joined me for dinner. They offered to take me to the one pub in the village which was just across the way and said I would meet more colleagues, who normally all poured in after their shifts. The pub was a quaint little spot that housed a cozy dining room with a crackling fire to the left of the entrance and the bar area took up the space to the right with a pool table and high tops to observe. I ended up meeting quite a few co-workers as well as the bar manager whom I would work quite closely with, who would also become my boyfriend for a year and a half and we’ll call him Ashton. He was tall, blonde, had piercing blue eyes, and was unaware of just how good-looking he was. We bonded straight away, over our passion for travel and speaking of the places we had been thus far. Nothing happened between us, however, until the end of November when he invited me out for some drinks with 2 of his friends, which soon led to our first dinner date. Shortly after, we became exclusive.
When Christmas was approaching, work ramped up with many holiday parties and very long hours of work were put in. Most days were in the restaurant or the ballroom beginning at 6am and not finishing until 7 or 8pm. I was awarded an extra day off for my birthday and decided to head to Amsterdam as I had fallen in love with the place last time I was there and as the last time, I was still so in love with the city. Upon my return, work became even more hectic and before we knew it, Christmas was here. It was my first time ever working Christmas day and being away from family so emotions were flying through me as I tried to process that concept. I was, however, happy to be able to quickly get a grasp on my emotions before I felt any anxiousness. I was also very fortunate to have made a friend who invited me to spend the evening with her family and join them for games and as Ashton had also been a friend of hers, he joined in as well despite his family living 5 minutes away.
After the New Year’s celebrations and into the start of Spring, I was having a difficult time in the hotel with the long hours, snooty clientele, and how we were being treated by management and I just broke down. I was exhausted having just done 43 hours in 3 days and was still no closer to a day off so I just shut down. One afternoon while Ashton was comforting me, he suggested I apply at a pub that offers live-in accommodations for the staff as that style of hospitality would suit my personality better. The hours were still to be long but it was a more laid-back atmosphere with both management and clientele and more money. I agreed and he helped me search for pubs in nearby areas so we wouldn’t be too far away and within 2 weeks I got a new gig. It was a charming pub in the town of Dorking, still in Surrey and only a 10-minute car ride away from Ashton. I gave my month’s notice and by early May I was settled in my new work and flat 😊
My England adventure was far from over but I will leave you here until the next post. You will soon learn how I made one of my best friends who has been and is still a huge part of my life. One of my bridesmaids who planned my bachelorette party in Canada from England (And no, Ashton is not my groom) but someone I am so glad that we can still share so much of our lives together even though we cannot see each other as much as we would like to. Until next time 😊
Be kind to yourself xo