Our wedding wardrobes are coming together

Up and on the road at 6:30am again to beat the traffic. Not a long drive, just about 40 minutes from our peaceful overnight spot at the cemetery to the Westlodge Hotel Motorhome Park.

Campgrounds in Ireland are pricey enough... usually ranging anywhere from €20 to €40 a night. We would rarely have the need or desire to stay in a place like that. But there is the occasional dedicated motorhome parking area that is €10 ($15 CAD, $11 USD) a night and has a service area to empty your holding tanks and fill your fresh water tank. If we can't find a free place to do those chores, then this is the next best thing.

Fantastic hike out to Dunlough Castle, and two good deeds for the day...

We had been in the very touristy visitors center at Mizen Head on Friday and decided that we didn't want to spend the €7.50 each for the tourist experience out across the bridge. We knew there had to be a nice coastal walk in the area that didn't cost, and yet was a similar experience. And we were right!

Just as we were leaving the parking lot, we met a guy riding a bicycle and asked if we was from the area. Sure enough, he lived just 20 kms or so away. We told him what we were looking for, and he was quick to come up with "Oh, you have to go out to Dunlough Castle!"

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Mizen Head, the most southwestern point in Ireland

We were up and on the road early Saturday morning. Sunrise is now just after 5:30am, so we can easily start driving when we get up at 6:30am. The narrow Irish roads are much more enjoyable at that hour when there's not much traffic on them!

We were headed for Mizen Head, the most southwestern point in Ireland. 

We needed some wedding clothes!

It's just about time for us to head up towards Dublin. We are going to a wedding on May 25th in a town called Leixlip that is located just 20 kms or so west of the center of Dublin. We're going to stay in the nice hotel where the wedding is taking place for two nights, so it'll be like a little mini vacation for us!

Before we left Kilbrittain, we went for a nice trail walk through the woods into the village.

Another beautiful coastal hike

We sat by the sea and had our hot drinks and breakfast, then headed off on a hike to the Old Head of Kinsale lighthouse. 

Once again, a beautiful morning, but we could see some clouds rolling in and they were calling for the wind to pick up.

Parked for free by the sea

We haven't been driving very far each day, but sometimes it's nice to take a break and not drive at all. So we decided to stay put in the parking lot near Kinsale. Not the most scenic overnight spot, but it was quiet at night and there was still a walk we wanted to do on the other side of Kinsale.

We wandered around a bit before lunch, then went back to Max for lunch, then the longer walk after lunch.

Our route map so far

We've been in Ireland for about 8 days and we're only 219 kms (136 miles) from where we started. But we've driven 330 kms (205 miles) since we arrived. There's so much to see, and we haven't been taking a very direct route.

Yesterday, we headed up to the busy town of Midleton, then decided to skip the city of Cork. Friends had been there recently, and said that while it's pleasant enough, we like the smaller towns better. We'll be getting enough city when we visit Dublin later this month.

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Driving a motorhome in Ireland is not for the faint of heart

Our free Sunday parking in Youghal was over by 9:00am Monday morning, so that's when we left. But boy, was it ever busy getting through town at that hour... due to the school kids being dropped off by the excessive number of buses and cars. I guess nobody walks to school anymore.

We were headed to the coastal village of Ballycotton where I had read that there is a coastal cliff walk. The only problem was getting there unscathed!

It all comes out in the wash, as they say.

They were calling for an overcast day with rain, so we figured it was a good time to find a laundromat. Here in Ireland they have over 500 locations with a Revolution Laundry. They are located at some fuel stations, and in the parking lot of some grocery stores. 

They're convenient... but very expensive. The only problem is that there aren't many other options.

A beautiful day in Dungarvan, Ireland

We hit the road early again and arrived at our destination at the seaside town of Dungarvan before 8:30am. 

There is a popular paid motorhome parking area here that has dump and fill facilities and a nice view facing the water. We wanted to arrive early to try and secure a spot. We were almost too early!

Who doesn't love Ireland?

We went for a wander around the village of Inistioge, and ended up getting sidetracked onto a beautiful four km walk that led up to a castle ruins with a view of the village.

And, we're really lucking out with the Irish weather. We had set our expectations low, as we always try to do, so when it turns out better than expected, we're very happy! 

Shaking hands with President Kennedy

There's a big Tesco superstore on the outskirts of the town of New Ross, and we needed to pick up some groceries. So we headed there first thing.

This gave us our first real look at grocery prices in Ireland. It's far cheaper here than Canada, in fact we think that groceries here might be cheaper than in Spain! If you're a drinker though, you'll make up for it in alcohol prices, which are similar to Canada. Maybe even a little higher.

At this rate, two months in Ireland won't be enough!

This is our third day in Ireland, and we're exactly 50 kms (30 miles) from where we arrived at Rosslare Harbour. There's so much to see, packed into a fairly small country. Ireland is about the same size as the state of Indiana. Or from a Canadian perspective, the province of Ontario is 15 times larger than Ireland!

The population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 2 million in the north, and 5 million in the south.