World Peace is obviously important (beauty pageant contestants say so all the time). Ending hunger (vital). Doing something with N. Korea (no one knows what). Exceedingly important. The lot of them. But after a passage like we had last night... effective sea sickness medication has more value than all the above - a price above rubies. So whilst not sick we were definitely a bit tired by the time we trundled off the ship in the Emerald Isle - we think it's our fifth visit in five years - a firm favourite. We met up with our friends in the arrivals hall and all piled into 'Leaf' - their Nissan electric car - wow! The four of us, plus luggage, plus a grocery stock up at Aldi in Waterford and we were still powering along. The problem with Leaf is you think it won't be powerful - you might even have disparaging thoughts about gallivanting about in a sewing machine - then find it's actually a struggle to keep it under 100km/hour. We must admit to not taking in as much as we normally would have on the long drive from Rosslare back to Dungarvan but the scenery was stunning - we even took another ferry (which came as a huge surprise to us). The little Passage East car ferry which cuts a handy 40 minutes off the trip (and has 130 sailings per day... which is a clear indication of how short this trip is). Was super to arrive at their place (about 25 minutes north of Dungarvan itself). We aren't the end of the line... there is a neighbour up our laneway - but it sure felt remote as we went from the N road, to the R road, to the L road... not sure our lane even merits a "Lane" designation - Google Maps calls it 'No Name Road'. The holiday cottage had everything we could possibly want and I admit to collapsing for a couple of hours of post-voyage sleepies while James went out with the ladies and their 4 gorgeous black Labs to explore the neighbouring foothills of the Comeragh Mountains. We all (including the doggies) went for a drive to the beach on Saturday, chilled on Sunday and mostly hung out together about the house on Monday. We also learned a new skill - bodying. What pray tell is bodying? (verb: "to body") Well might you ask. The dogs are highly trained and very intelligent gun dogs and search and rescue dogs. To give them a bit of practice we drove up the mountain behind the house and James and I lay in the wilderness - very still - and the ladies used whistles to get the doggies to find us. We figured it might be our scent... but they are actually trained to hone in on non-moving humans in a search situation (stops them 'finding' all the searchers - d'oh). We almost had a tear in our eye when each of them found us, dressed in their little "Rescue" dog jackets. Aaahhh... Our other new friends are the ducks - Georgie & co. There used to be 5... it was very sad but No. 5 was very ill and couldn't walk. Now there are four. They are being a bit standoffish in the eggs department, but we figure a week or two of bereavement leave and they should be OK. We have visited Co. Waterford before, but never made it to this exact part of Ireland before - always a bit far from our mates' place in Enniscorthy - so it's a great chance to explore new scenery and history. Starting with market day in Dungarvan, our nearby town. Some Irish towns can seem a little tired, as if time has passed them by. Not Dungarvan! Every Thursday there's a bustling foodie market in the main square. We also discovered that the local Supervalu supermarket is a bit of a foodie destination in itself - there were something like 15 different things to sample when we went in to pick up a roast chicken and salad. We found a shop to pick up a SIM card and then returned to the car park to pick up Leaf who'd been quietly charging while we walked around town ('charging' is code for 'parking for free whilst plugged in'). We've had great weather since we arrived and the roast chicken lunch next to the pond was just the first of many outdoor dining experiences. We couldn't believe it when we reached Saturday 16th (time flies when you're having fun) and with Leaf fully charged we hit the road for a driving loop from Bleantis to Cappoquin, on to Lismore and it's castle and then had a massive (huge) hike around the Ballysaggartsmore towers (or follies - one of the two is pictured. This is what happens when you build two glorious and grand gate lodges and then, run out of money). We felt fortunate indeed that we'd organised a local SIM for the phone... just as we were pulling up at Lismore Castle, a call came in from Italy - confirming a 2-3 month sit in villa an hour from Rome over Christmas and New Year... felt a bit like Christmas come early. Planning, she must commence!