How cool is Dublin? I say that in both senses of the word - it is such a great place to be, but it is also so COLD. Thank you very much to Sal for suggesting I borrow her coat, as I don't think it has gotten over 7 degrees since I got here.

Had a lovely time with Sally, Guy, Karl, Evert and Jan at their home in Surrey. Had my first experience of under 12's rugby and got thoroughly cold and wet in the process, but it was all good fun (that said, it was good to see the interior of a car after a while!). Also went on some great walks while there and had a lot of good food.

I arrived in Dublin yesterday in the afternoon - there had been some very severe winds and so my flight was delayed by a couple of hours. Heathrow was only operating at 10% capacity, it was pretty wild and woolly. Still, made it to Dublin only two hours late and was on the bus to the city within 15 minutes of landing.

Dublin is a great place. I'm guessing it's probably similar in size to Canberra, but obviously quite different. What I love is that the craic is a real thing. At home you read about it and hear people waxing lyrical (much as I'm now doing) about it, but when you actually get here you really see and feel it and it is great! I spent last night at the Arlington, which is a pub just across the river from where I am staying, and it was pumping! They have free Irish music and dancing every night and so I had dinner there and then watched the show with four Welsh guys who had been over here to watch the rugby.

The music was great, they did a mix of traditional instrumental music and ballads (as well as Botany Bay - go figure). The guys I was sitting with knew all the songs and found it hilarious that I didn't, and then went up and had one dedicated to me on account of the fact that I had traveled so far to get here. 'The Fields of Athenry' is now my song :)

The dancing was amazing, and I say that in all seriousness. Riverdance never looked all that great on TV, but in the flesh it is something else. The rhythms just bore into you and you can't help but be captivated by it.

Also noteworthy from last night is that I had my first (three) pints of Guiness on Irish soil and it really does make a difference, it is somehow more mineral-y and flavourful here, or maybe it's just the cold. Still, it's delicious.

Today I have walked around the city and just soaked up a lot of the atmosphere. Have checked out the shopping area in Grafton St, and have done the back streets on the North side of the river. I also met my contact at the Children's Research Centre this morning and she showed me around the uni and the Centre. Was great to hear a bit about the sort of work they are doing here in child welfare, etc at the moment, and sitting by the fire in thr academics' lounge to discuss it was just lovely. Stephanie introduced me to the people who were at the Centre today as well and I got to hear about some of their current projects. After that, we walked back to the library area and Stephanie got me in to see the Book of Kells and the rest of that collection for free. It was really interesting to see while there the books that they have in their collection by Gould from the 1830's - studies of Australian birds and animals, and of course the Book of Kells itself was amazing.

Tomorrow I am off to do the Hop-on-Hop-off bus tour of Dublin so I can see all the major sights and investigate them more closely as I feel like it. Will do the Guiness tour as part of that, obviously. Then on Thursday I am off to Cork and to Blarney Castle. Saturday I am going to Black Rock as I hear there is a great market there, and then I turn my attention back to Dublin in time for St Pat's Day. Can't wait!

I have yet to find a computer here where I can upload my photos, but as soon as I have I will put them up so watch this space.