The 50th post involved a familiar topic...

Cheers for beers! Yes, that's right. How could a visit to Ireland not involve catching up with a trusted confidant? As you may have guessed, JB has just returned from the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, a virtual shrine to the big, black stuff. I'm now spending an hour in an Internet cafe, which is a much better proposition than dodging heavy rain without an umbrella or parka, both of which were left back at the hostel for some stupid reason. But finding €40 in the process has more than made up for things despite the onset of a cold.

Do I get to run through a banner, similar to footballers, upon reaching this important milestone? Fortunately (or unfortunately), I've managed to ramble on about my travels and other things close to my heart on 50 separate occasions since May. Recently, there's been a few problems with people being able to access pictures and other content on the site. I'll quote my good mate back home - who also likes beer - Paraletic Paramedic. The other day he wrote: "Had some trouble with the blog in the last few days in getting access ... hope it's just me and not some underlying issue." Hope so.

I'm not sure whether I'll rush back to Dublin in a hurry. I'll sum the place up in two words: cold and expensive. A McDonald's value meal provides anything but value. But maybe I'm just cranky as this flu is getting the best of me, despite my best endeavours. I'm going on a three-day tour this Friday to the western part of Ireland where prices and the weather will hopefully be more kind to a battle-weary traveller.