Waterford and places we went to but didn't

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The two spots Mike wanted to go in Ireland were the Waterford factory and the Frank McCourt Museum in Limerick (see that entry in a couple of days). An Irish native, living in Virginia, who returns at least annually, said Waterford/Midleton (Jameston distillery)/Cork would be a nice day. So, a tour was arranged that would include Waterford, Midleton, and Cork; ten of us were on the tour.

Michael was our driver, very nice young man and very flexible about times and places. We went straight to Waterford and got tickets for a tour. Mike and I took the time that was open before the tour and ran down to the waterfront and went up in Reginald's Tower. We had seen it on the Castles series on BBC and it's one of the earliest, originally built by Vikings, and improved upon by everyone up to the British.

The glass tour was great--information on the materials used to make the glass, the blowing, cutting, etching, engraving steps. Wonderful tour and these are the only artisans who do this!!

Midleton, home of the Jameson distillery (1.5 hour) tour. Mike and I were not planning on going on the tour but we were all going to have lunch here so Mike and I headed into the town and most folks stopped near the distillery for lunch. Near the end of our delightful lunch, we got a text saying that the rest of the group had decided not to go on the tour because of the cost.

So, that left us time to go to Cobh, the last stop of the Titanic. Turned out to be a lovely seaside town BUT there were timed tickets to the full museum/exhibit that didn't work with our schedule. So, three of us went through the non-narrated portion (still with an ID card for a passenger), lots of exhibits and information about the sinking. Of course, my person did not survive.

Good news--since I left my coat on the backseat of the Prius when Hillary dropped us off at the airport, we've been looking for a raincoat for me and I found one in the shop next to the Titanic exhibit. Purple and on sale!!

Then on to Cork, mainly because a friend and I hoped to get yarn there. After a couple missteps and thanks to her husband asking, we found a great shop, Scribes & Vibes. And it was next door to the coffee shop he wanted, for some freshly ground. Got beautiful yarn from Kerry (berry colored, of course) and she got some for her daughter.

Headed on back to the Castle!

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Photos

Reginald's Tower
from the base.
Inside, we saw a model of a Viking long boat, which was handy since the Waterford artisans were working on one.

View of the river
from atop the tower

View from the tower
of the street below

Waterford new piece
after being blown ( 5 years apprenticeship + 3 years journeyman to be able to take the test)...

markedup
The exact grid is inked onto every piece after being blown. Then, the cutters cut the set of cuts required for the pattern being done 'today', one of 150 they have memorized.(See next pics)

Cutting
This was amazing--parallels just being cut into the vase one after another, perfectly spaced.

Players cup
The 'in case' trophy--in case the real one got dropped and broken!

Celtic Cross
a good 30 pounds!!

Fruit Bowl
Beautiful piece!

TwinTowers
model