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Published: November 3rd 2017
The Waterford Seahorse
The seahorse was the emblem of Waterford Crystal ... now it is just the name engraved at the bottom of objectsWhere the girls are so pretty,I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,Through streets broad and narrow,Crying, "
Cockles and
mussels, alive, alive, oh!" … read the whole song at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Malone … under Lyrics …. :-) …I did not find her and did not caress her cleavage as hundreds of others have done to the point of polishing up the bronze ...
This will be a backward look to three interesting towns/cities in Ireland. How does one speak here of the other parts of this group of islands on the edge of the Atlantic. It was difficult to be politically correct and the advice was ... Ireland and the UK ... like Newfoundland and the Maritimes ... definite distinctions. Ire;land became a reublic and Newfoundland became a province in the same 1949 year.
Here in Dublin I have been in a panic because Oct. 30 was both a Monday and a Bank Holiday. All museums and Libraries are closed. Souvenir shops, all the BIG name brand shops and the restaurants and coffee shops were teeming with folk all out for the
Medieval Couple
The Vikings came and the Normans .... originally also Vikings ...way back....and Waterford's motto is "a city never taken" weekend ...on top of everything this is the second half term holiday I am experiencing i.e. the kids are out of school for a week and they are all over the streets with their parents … have never seen so many prams and stollers!
Even with the pain in my leg ...please … no pity! .. I decided to walk to Iveagh Gardens. Passed St Steven's Green on the way . In this green space a lot of fighting during the rebellion took place. Placards thru out the park remind all who stop to read.
Decided to walk from my little apartment … could not find my way out thru the locked doors without help … down the straight street that lead straight from Connoly Bridge to past the park.
The first part of the walk down Crafton Street was a weary trial of getting thru masses of shoppers all for some reason coming towards me … felt like a salmon going upstream.
Passing large houses with lots of windows, the gardens were finally found hiding, behind a wall, down
a small street congested with construction of new condos … the selling pitch being “with beautiful views of Iveagh Gardens”.
Its Autumn, the garden shows little but garden bed structure, some leaf covered shrubs, few hardy fragrant rose blossoms and the iron structures waiting for next seasons climbers. Taking a few shots I was quick to retreat due to sprinkling rain.
Wimped out and took the tram for one stop costing two euros. Avoiding the busy pedestrian walkway, I found a Costa for the first coffee of the day. Had to sit on a chair bespeckled with a years worth of coffee and sandwich droppings...YUK... I remember Starbucks in Sudbury being in a similar condition...the state of the furniture does not warrant collecting E3.50 -$5.23 for a capuccino.... holy s*^t … and the cafes are full and people are eating out ….how do they manage?
But it was all worth it because I spoke to a woman in a long skirt and coat with short grey hair who has turned her second bedroom into a library in her Chicago
From the Bus
Thru the windshield of the bus the small villages being passed all have flavour of their own. It is amazing how many butcher shops are alive and doing well...no pun intended on the 'alive'. condo apartment. If you recognize her please make it known to me. She told me about the Book of Kells at Trinity College. I thought everything was closed.
The day turned into a wonderful experience. The full explanation of the manuscript from history to production to pigments to the meaning of the illustrations made for a fruitful visit before entering the second surprise of the day. The Long Room, a sixty five meter long room is filled to the rafters with 200,000 of the libraries oldest books. Too bad the venue closed at 16.30. Had just enough time to buy a postcard picturing the Long Room without all the people's heads as in my shots.
! There were so many people !
On Sunday I had gone by tram to the National Museum of Ireland. Because I had arrived in Dublin by 10.00 There was plenty of time for a visit … that was before arriving there and reading that on Sunday the place does not open until 14.00. What to do four two hours? … sit in the restaurant of
the hotel near by … tanksbetogot it was within walking distance. After soup and a read of the Sunday paper it was time to go back to the Museum.
…. what an approach!
The place had been an army barracks and the entry was a bit foreboding … all rock and grey and tiny windows.
The collection was grand especially the Asian pieces donated by Albert Bender ...”A Dubliner’s Collection of Asian Art: The Albert Bender Exhibition’ opened at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks in November 2008.
Since its opening it has helped bring to the public’s attention (both Irish and international) this highly important Asian art collection given to the National Museum during the 1930s by the great Irish-American Albert Bender.”
www.museum.ie. There were numerous Japanese prints one by Katsushika Hokusai …. he of the famous blue wave.
The bus ride to Dublin was quick and painless ...the front door only flew open once at 90km/hr. Once in Dublin I called Abby Court Apts., discovered it was a hostel enterprise, left my packs in the back room and went to the museum.
The apartment lacks soap, milk, coffee, knives and forks, and decent pots. It has a TV in the lounge again with the pseudo leather sofas, stool for sitting at the bar and a comfortable bed. Will not use the ancient microwave … already I glow in the dark...no need for unnecessary exposure.
Waterford...Crystal City The reserved Guesthouse was turned down because … and I am sure I did not miss this in the description … I would have to share the bathroom - not with one but with two people … Could not do that for three sleeps... where would I hang my washed out undies?
Found a room twice as expensive with white towels at the Fitzwilton just around the corner from the Guesthouse.
The first and most important errand was to find the Tesco so as to buy food for three days. A long walk brought me to the grocery store but what I wanted was not to be found.
The reason for coming Waterford was a visit see how crystal was made here in this town of 40,000.
The history of the company is long and has had its ups and downs.
https://www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com/node/378 … from their website.
Charles Bacik, grandfather of Irish senator
Ivana Bacik, established a glass works in the city. Skilled crystal workers were not available in Ireland so continental Europeans were used. Aided by fellow countryman and designer
Miroslav Havel,
the company started operations in a depressed Ireland.
In June 2010, Waterford Crystal relocated almost back to its original roots, on The Mall in Waterford City. This new location is now home to a manufacturing facility that melts over 750 tons of crystal a year. This new facility offers visitors the opportunity to take guided tours of the factory and also offers a retail store, showcasing the world's largest collection of Waterford Crystal.”
from …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterford_Crystal There were only three people in the tour so lots of questions were asked and answered. In the first room much information was written and displayed....but we would not be coming back to this room. The tour was extensive, eye-opening and satisfying. The wooden molds, the 17,000 bowls to be made for the shopping channel, the numerous
patterns that have to be memorized by the crystal makers, the engraving with the use of tiny to large drills are all facts that were eagerly absorbed. This is what I came here for. I loved the tour … all except the fact that I could not read all the info in the first room.
The need to have this info read was satisfied on the third floor of the Medieval Museum. The museum was the goal of day two in Waterford. The Museum has a set of very precious vestments.
“Dating from the 1460s the Waterford cloth-of-gold vestments are made from Italian silk woven in Florence. The panels were embroidered in Bruges which was the centre of the medieval embroidery industry.
Depicted on these priceless vestments are various scenes from the Bible and from the life of the Virgin Mary. They are the greatest treasures of late medieval Ireland.”
http://www.waterfordtreasures.com/medieval-museum/whats-inside/cloth-of-gold-vestments … read the whole story about the treasures at the website above. The man leading me alone on the tour explained that the entrance of the museum was made of the same sandstone that had been used hundreds of years
ago to build the monastery that stood in this place. Taking the virtual tour is worth it if you want to see where I walked...
http://www.waterfordtreasures.com/medieval-museum/the-experience/virtual-tour .
The visit to Waterford was a pleasant success. The bus-stop for the journey to Dublin was a green metal square with Dublin-Bus written in green. I keep my pack on the seat beside me and I strap it in with the seat belt. Some of the drivers experienced during this trip step so suddenly on the brakes because of necessity or because of lack of driving finesse.
That pole stands directly across the street from the bus station where the journey from Galway had ended.
Galway … the way to the Aran Islands.....the second prime reason for coming to the Emerald Isle, the first having been the Titanic Exhibit in NI.
But that experience has already been trans-scribed in a previous blog entry. ...did like that apartment compared to the one in Dublin... am not going to rent anymore apartments ...too big tooo much to disinfect ….no watching TV from bed … but I do like to prepare my own food
…
Here in Holyhead I bought food and used the micro in the breakfast room.
I
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