Home at last. I am back in Melbourne, settled into my new job and healthy enough to write once more. Lots of you have been asking in person or via email for one final round-up, and you all know I can never resist the urge to talk -- doubly so when actually invited to do so! So, finally...

Days away: 63
Countries: 4 + 1 principality (Ireland, France, Italy, Morocco, Monaco)
Companions: 6 (Brendan, Katherine, Yulin, Sophia, James, Ailie)
Proposals of marriage received: 542 (6 Paris, 1 Italy, remainder Morocco)
Proposals of marriage accepted: 1
Modes of transport: 9 (Plane, train, bus, car, foot, bicycle, horse & cart, camel, ferry)
Languages spoken: 6 (English, French, Italian, Moroccan Arabic, Irish, Berber in descending order of fluency) [Read More!]

Just a quick note because the Marrakesh night market is waiting for me -- some highlights now, then photos and more detail to come when I am back at home with my beloved qwerty keyboard.

Since last we spoke I have...
- rolled down a sand dune in the Sahara by moonlight,
- fielded about 63 marriage proposals a day on average (Brendan, you got promoted from fiance to husband to try and put a stop to this, average now stands at about 24 plus approx 50 offers for Ailie),
- explored a Kasbah in the middle of the desert
- driven 1300km on the wrong side of the road with not a single near death experience (that we noticed, anyway),
- explored palmeries and oases in the desert,
- been dragged through hundreds of backstreets in a Medina by a guide named Charlie Brown (you call me Charlie Brown! Always smiling, never down!)

I am having the most indescribably wonderful time -- you all know how I love to talk, though, so I shall try my best to describe it when I get home. For now, the market and the souks are calling!

Ailie and I are drawing a lot of frank but very friendly attention here. Everywhere we go people greet us, and want to talk about everything from comparative religion to the prices in their shops. We've pushed through souks in the medinas, wandered through Roman ruins, explored the Hassan II Mosque (world's tallest minaret!), been offered live crab by little boys and had marriage proposed by surfing instructors. Lqst night we stood on the roof of the riad we're staying in and watched the sun go down, listening to the call to prayer from the four mosques just near us. Then we went down and filled up on the most amazing food, cooked slowly in tajines for the last hour. Did anyone seriously expect me not to talk about the food? [Read More!]

The decision to come and crash with James in Genova for a week is definitely up there in my Hall of Fame, All Time Top Ten Good Decisions, and rising in the rankings every day. As I am sans camera, you will all have to do some reading for once, and I will have to do some typing. [Read More!]

Sorry about the brief pause in transmissions, there! I've despatched first Brendan and then Yulin back to their respective countries, and have been traipsing around Paris all on my lonesome for the past week! Brendan took with him the digital camera, so Yulin has emailed me some pictures for this entry. Thank you, Yulin! Read on for words and pictures! [Read More!]

Thing number 527 on the List of Things I Said I Could Never Do, Then Did:
Cycle 40km in one day to see a French chateau (or indeed, cycle that far for any reason).

Thing number 528 on the List of Things I Said I Could Never Do, Then Did:
Get up the next day and cycle a further 47km. [Read More!]

Thank you all for your comments and emails offering congratulations -- they mean a lot to both of us. For those of you located in Australia, we'll be throwing a party to celebrate when I get home at the end of May. Without futher ado now, and before I have to backspace any more, we give you Paris in Pictures! [Read More!]

We made it to Paris on what some of you have noted was Brendan's 25th birthday. We've had a wonderful few days here, exploring all the usual places, eating far too much, and just wandering down side streets to see what we can see. Today we're meeting up with my friend Yulin, who's coming over from the States (because who can resist a rendevous in Paris?) [Read More!]

We made our way around the famously beautiful Ring of Kerry with my cousin Katherine, the bride's sister (still recovering from the wedding). As I'm belatedly updating from France and French keyboards kill me, you get a post in pictures! [Read More!]

I've been thinking about how to describe the wedding for a couple of days now, and I'm still lost for words. It was the biggest, best night out either of us have had in a very long time, and ended up lasting over 2 days.

The service was absolutely lovely, and I managed to pull my reading off without any major stumbles. The three of us girls who were reading were given a comprehensive warning b Father Sean (one of our thousands of relatives) beforehand: "Dignity is the key here, girls. There is no rush. The sit-down dinner isn't until 6." [Read More!]

This is Hippocrates, who is now travelling with us. Last trip it was Whacky the Monkey, then in Vietnam is was Nguyen the Lego Man, and now Marion has gifted us Hippocrates. He's going to see the world. He was v. impressed by the Dolmen.

Our day in Galway was perfect. Truly perfect days don't come along as often as they should, and I will never forget this one. [Read More!]

Monday morning we woke up early-ish (this is me we're talking about, you all know that nothing happens really early where I'm concerned), and struck out for Northern Ireland. Although this is my 8th (or possibly 9th, not sure) visit to Ireland, I've never once crossed the border, as far as I know. This time I was lured up by the very lovely Catherine and Marion, as well as the idea of seeing the Giant's Causeway. It was well, well worth the trip. For a start, we managed to escape the rain that's been falling ever since I arrived, but there was far more to the North than that. The scenery was nothing short of incredible, with huge forests and the soft green hills that people put on postcards. It felt as though almost everything we saw was brown, white, blue or green. We drove along amazing coastline with fierce blue ocean on one side and fields, hills and forest on the other. [Read More!]

And now, the pictures you've all been waiting for! (That's right, I know your interest in my ramblings is completely secondary to your interest in my pictures, I learned that last holiday blog!)

I picked up our car (called Barry) in Cork, and found myself upgraded to a Toyota Yaris -- if anyone's thinking of one, we love it! The drive up to Dublin was something else... at one point I heard a traffic report listing 9 serious traffic snarls across the country. Over the course of the day, I managed to hit 7 of them. Still, Dublin airport yielded up Brendan, and we headed to my uncle and aunt's place to crash. [Read More!]

Tomorrow I'm picking up our hire car and driving up to Dublin to meet Brendan -- you can all stop making navigation jokes right now, you hear? I will be fine, cynics! Our plan is to spend the weekend in Dublin, then really test Brendan's ability to understand Irish accents by heading up North on Monday to see the Giants' Causeway, and more importantly my friends Catherine and Marion. From there we'll head down to Galway, then back here to Cork for The Wedding Itself. [Read More!]