I'm in Dublin! Flew in yesterday and had a guiness at the airport (following Lesters strict instructions!) It's true the Guiness is better here. Dublin is everything (so far) that I had hoped for. It isn't huge and dirty like most other European cities and everyone is incredibly friendly, so friendly that if you have to allow extra time to do everything as everyone wants to chat! I am told that it takes all day to check in the the guarda for my work permit as they have a chat with everyone in the line.

Lester and Kieran are living in style in Ballsbridge, really close to the centre of Dublin and close to shops and Temple Bar. It is extremely hard to find accomodation in Dublin but our search starts tonight as we are going to have a look at a place with another girl from Melbourne. We went to a bar in Temple Bar last night for a few pints with some of Lesters friends. I think Lester and Kieran have our drinking week planned out too, with pub tonight, Australian embassy drinks tomorrow night and then a trip to Gallway, where I am sure there are heaps of pubs. Next week we start job hunting in ernest so we can afford it all!

A wrap-up of our trip from my diary:

Turkey was fantastic, the most diverse and interesting country that I have seen. The people are surprisingly friendly and sharing. It is in Turkey that I best got to know locals with our Okey game and experiences in the Otogar in Aydin and meeting the crew of the Mermaid. The country is full of natural beauty and rich in history. Also it is easy for tourists without the rip-offs and opportunism of places like Egypt.

Greece was also an interesting place to visit – very relaxing too. The islands in non-peak season were the highlight – I won’t forget the amazing view sailing into Santorini. Also unforgettable was the night at Pirates Jazz club when we bonded with locals and danced home through the whitewashed cobbled streets. Athens is surprisingly a beautiful city teeming with history and alive with the fun social and family oriented Greeks. A shame we did not see more.

Egypt – For all the troubles we had a I feel privileged to have seen what we did. All the temples and pyramids we saw were fantastic – so well preserved – a history of a civilization etched in stone. It was amazing to be sailing up the Nile, a body of water that sustains the existence of such an important country in the development of life as we know it. Who knows what the world would be like without it! Despite the stressful time we had I must make a point to return, this time wiser and preferably with a male.