Waterford

Tuesday, 20 August 2019

We all slept in this morning till around 10 AM.  By the time we got ready and had breakfast, it was afternoon.  I had downloaded a walking tour of Waterford, so we left the apartment and headed to the Granville Hotel for the start of the tour.  The Granville Hotel dates back to the 1700s and it is where Thomas Meagher was born in 1823.  Thomas was a Catholic, and a leader of the young revolutionaries leading the charge of independence against Protestant Britain.

View from in front of the Granville Hotel

Next stop was the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, a Catholic church with 10 Waterford crystal chandeliers.  Oh yeah, did I mention that this is THE Waterford that is home to the famous Waterford Crystal Factory?

Catholic church with Waterford crystal chandlers.

There were many murals all over Waterford.  Here are some of our favorites.  

Continuing on our Waterford tour, we came across the Blackfriars Abbey.  This site dates back to the 1200's.

Behind the ruins of the Blackfriars Abbey was a modern-day sculpture of a viking sword carved out of a fallen tree.  It is supposedly the worlds longest wooden sword sculpture at over 15 yards long.

Down from the sword was a reproduction of a Viking ship from the days the Vikings sailed over in 853.

In 2009 Waterford closed its doors and reopened 1 year later it was reopened as a smaller, scaled-down factory in Waterford that made special order pieces.  The "mass produced" pieces are now made in Poland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.  ​With this closing, many skilled glassblowers lost their jobs at Waterford.  Many have opened their own shops in town.  Here is one such shop called "The Irish Handmade Glass Company."  The side door was opened so you can watch the glassblowers in action.

Speaking of Waterford, we of course went and visited their showroom.  They had many custom works including duplicates of many sports trophies.  

Waterford Crystal Company

Admiring some pieces.

Vodka Chill Set - $1,100

AT&T Pebble Beach Trophy

Keough-Naughton College Football Trophy

We asked why the seahorse was the Waterford symbol.  They said that the founders saw the crest of the town of Waterford (below, right) and took the sea monster from it, turned it into a seahorse, made it face the other way, and formed a shamrock in the tail.

Seahorse Oval Bowl, $3,700

Town of Waterford crest

Down the street from Waterford was the spot where Thomas Meagher, in 1848, first flew the now flag of Ireland of Green, Orange, and White.  Green was for the Irish (Gaelic) Catholic natives, the orange for the English Protestants who had moved to Ireland, and the white for peace between them.  It was eventual adapted as the national flag in 1922.

Thomas Meagher flew a flag here

After the tour, we found a store with a pub in the back.  While Barbra and Christine shopped, Tim and I had our first Murphy's Irish Stout in country.  It was delicious.

After the beer, we were told by the barkeep that we should eat at Geoffs Cafe Bar.  So we went and I had fish and chips for the second time in Ireland which was delicious.  Oh, a a bonus, it came with a side of mushy peas that i really did enjoy.

Our waiter at Geoffs Cafe Bar, sent us on to the our next pub, Walsh.  It was a great old pub that used to have a coffee and tea shop in the front with the pub in the rear.   It was a great place to hang out, talk to the locals, and have a drink.  I had my first G&T (Gin and Tonic) of my trip here.

After this drink, we headed back to the apartment.  I did laundry, and blogged yesterday's blog hoping to catch up.  Well, here I am today, blogging yesterday's blog again, so still a day behind.  It is now 12:30 AM, so it looks like I will remain one day behind for at least one more day.