In the late afternoon, we arrived in Waterford, Ireland's oldest city, a port town about the size of Bundaberg. Before finding our B&B, we ducked into Waterford Crystal to check on factory tour times for the following morning. A wander through the on-site shop gave us a glimpse of the craftsmanship and extravagance we would see properly the next day.
That evening, we were warmly welcomed into a lovely hilltop B&B overlooking Waterford by an enthusiastic German lady who gave us quite a lecture on the dreadful act of booking into her B&B online, as third party websites both charge us AND take a cut of her earnings. I felt quite ashamed! :)
After some piano playing and book reading in the lounge room, we headed back into Waterford for a bit of exploring. We walked along the esplanade beside the river, found some creative graffiti on a closed up shop window (see photo below), came across a Curves gym in a deserted industrial area, and ate taco-style hot chips for tea.
The next morning, we returned to Waterford Crystal and were pleasantly surprised to be offered our tour for free, since we had been there the day before and the lady we had spoken to remembered us!
The tour was extremely interesting. We saw the red hot glass being blown and shaped, and watched a handle being attached to a jug (click here for a video). We saw designs and pictures being cut or engraved into the glass works by hand.
A man who has worked at Waterford Crystal for many years gave us a demonstration of the famous Waterford criss-cross pattern being cut into a large bowl using a fast-spinning wheel. Despite the fact that the pointed edge of the wheel cuts a deep groove into the glass in about a second, when he got one of the men on the tour to press his finger against the wheel, it didn't hurt him at all!
After the tour, we had another look through the shop, and established that the most expensive item was a crystal chandelier going for over €60,000 (i.e. >$100,000). (Of course, we were going to get it as a souvenir, but decided against it as it would be a bit bulky to take home on the plane.)
When we left Waterford early that afternoon (Tuesday), we were headed for Wexford on our coastal route back to Dublin. Along the way, however, we happened across the town of New Ross, where we found some small riverside markets and a ship from the Irish potato famine to explore...
We spontaneously joined a guided tour of the Dunbrody, a full scale replica of the original Dunbrody, which was one of many ships used during the mid-1800s to transport thousands of emigrants to America, desperate to escape the famine.
It was sobering to see the appalling living conditions endured by the steerage passengers (not that the cabin passengers had what we would call luxury)... hundreds of them in a very small dormitory-like space, confined below deck for most of the day, whole families sharing a bed, not much food, and disease and filth everywhere. Many of them died before reaching their new lives. It brings to mind the convicts' passage to Australia, yet these people were paying customers who had chosen this journey over whatever they were leaving behind... It's just impossible to imagine.
Afterwards, we walked around the centre of New Ross and checked out the shops.
We then drove all the way back to Dublin, via Wexford and Wicklow – which, despite their being points of interest on our original route plan, I really don't remember much about. Oh, we found an Alcorn Hardware store in Wicklow (closed, like the rest of the town when we were there), and Ben saved me from being hit by a car, which I was rather happy about. :)
Arriving back in Dublin that night, we found our hotel, and let's just say... we have stayed in nicer places!!!! To top off the lack of parking despite online claims to the contrary, the non-draining shower with the let's-find-the-most-random-place-and-put-the-hot-water-switch-there concept, and the missed breakfast (that one was mostly our fault), they actually charged us twice!! Still need to sort that out... :S
Anyway, on Wednesday, we spent the day touring Dublin in a double-decker, open-top bus, getting off anywhere we thought might be interesting, and waiting for the next bus to come along once we were done.
We walked through a pretty park, did some shopping, and toured the Guinness Factory (interesting self-paced tour, but a taste test confirmed the black brew is disgusting). Interesting fact about the Guinness Factory: In 1759, the man who started it all, Arthur Guinness, signed a 9,000 year lease on a disused brewery in Dublin for an initial £100 and an annual rent of £45!!! Yes, NINE THOUSAND YEARS at that rate!!!! :O We ate lunch at the top of the Factory with a stunning 360 degree view of the city.
The elderly gentleman who was our tour guide on one bus told us about Dublin's famous, probably-fictitious Molly Malone, and even recited part of the song of the same name. It's actually one of the tunes I've learnt on my tin whistle since returning home. :)
In the late afternoon, we hurriedly visited the Book of Kells and other very old books at Trinity College. This time we got in for free because we arrived 15 minutes before closing time. Perhaps there is a book waiting to be written here... “How To See Ireland For Free”!
That evening, we collected our car from the overnight parking near our hotel, and proceeded to get stuck in horrible traffic. This made our mad dash to the airport not so much a mad dash as a slow crawl of clock watching, growing panic, and reckless attempts to avoid the clogged main roads by weaving through the back streets along with all the other people with the same idea.
We eventually made it to the airport, dropped off our hire car, and sprinted to the check-in counter without a moment to spare. Flew home, etc etc.
And that was Ireland! :)
