As we lurch into October (less than three shopping months until Christmas, if that's your thing), the weather has started to turn fabulously cool here in the Emerald Isle - coldest night so far 6 degrees - let Winter begin! We first visited Ireland in late 2012 which was a fabulous but hideously rushed road trip down the west coast with 3 days in Dublin at the end. We figure we've been back 4 times since then and have (nearly) circumnavigated the whole island - just a tiddly bit of the South left which we'll be taking care of during our excursion to the Ring of Kerry in the next couple of weeks. There has been one castle on our list over the last 5 years that we'd almost given up on seeing - Ormond Castle in Co. Tipperary. And finally, this year, after many years and squillions of euros - they've finished the restoration! Yay! The Castlemaniacs (that's us) were off and running. By running I mean... waiting patiently for Free Wednesday (you know Free Wednesday - it's when the Irish Heritage let everyone into their properties for nix on the first Wednesday of the month - Brilliant - saved €10 between us (A$15). The beauty of the local free day being a Wednesday is hardly anyone gets to use it - so our tour was a private one with just the two of us. Unlike most Irish tower house castles, the Earl of Ormond was seriously ahead of his time and built a stunning Tudor mansion which he integrated his original castle and two towers into - spacious, cosy and ready to last another few hundred years - magic! We needed to stretch our legs during the drive home and pulled up in a particularly scenic spot for a coffee and a cookie to keep us going til lunch - and blackberries - nothing like a few wild blackberries for a quick snack. Otherwise the last few days have been quiet - Thursday of course was 'town day' when we pulled on respectable clothes (vs. our bumpkin-knocking-about gears and wellies) and went to town for the local market and some sightseeing (this week the local museum, a graveyard and a walk in blazing sunshine around the Dungarvan waterfront - we know how to make our own fun. The finale of town day was of course fish & chips at our 'local' - two weeks in a row and we're almost regulars. Suspect we'll be best friends with the Moldovan behind the counter by next week. Bring it on.