Days 217-222, 15-20 Jan '15, Caim - "Down on the Farm-let". We finally left the house on Friday 17th after a few days of hibernating. Popped into Enniscorthy for some dog food for the ravening hordes. We also gave in and bought a pair of winter PJs for James. Who would ever have thought we'd need such items - but it was minus 1 the other night (probably minus 4 or so "feels like"). Brrrr. Now that Joan has taken the heat wave back to Australia we're freezing! ...

Days 214-216, 12-14 Jan '15, Dublin Farewell (12th Jan) & Rest. Joan's flight departed the evening of the 12th and we couldn't have her come all the way to Ireland and just show her castles and countryside... So we fed the zoo, loaded up the luggage first thing and headed off for a Dublin day trip. Despite driving rain, freezing winds and mud in our neighbourhood, the roads dried out and we had blue sky and sunshine all day - fabulous stuff. We navigated in...

Days 212-213, 10-11 Jan '15, Butler Trail (Saturday) & Packing (sigh... Sunday). Oh what a day. Whoever said "It's a Long Way, to Tipperary, It's a Long Way, to go..." was not kidding. We have been building up to this extravaganza of a day with all our shorter trips. On Saturday we continued on the trail of the almighty Butler clan and their castles and holiday houses. All the way from Caim, via New Ross and Waterford to Carrick-on-Suir (Ormond Castle - sh...

Days 210-211, 8-9 Jan '15, James's 50th Birthday Dinner in Enniscorthy then a Ferns, Gorey & Coastal Drive. Wow. Being "early retireds" is just so much more convincing when at least one of us is 50 - and now we're there! Had a restful day around the house and then we all got gussied up and headed out into freezing cold rain and wind for a fab 3 course dinner at Treacy's Hotel. Without a lot of fuss or hoo-ha and without a big crowd, the three of us agreed ...

Day 209, 7 Jan '15, Kilkenny Castle and lunch at Kytelers... our new "local". "Never, Ever, Pay Retail" would have to be one of our favourite expressions. So when we knew we were coming to Ireland we started researching heritage spots to visit, what was open and how much it would cost. Lots of places, not much open and a bit expensive if you visit a few - between €4 and €7 a pop. We researched the annual pass at €25. Hmmmm - would we find enough places o...