Today we travelled to Waterford and got a tour of the famous crystal factory. Waterford started in 1873 and has changed hands over time. Most recently it closed down in 2008 but was taken over by an American company. The new showroom and manufacturing site is much smaller, but located in the heart of Waterford.
During our tour, we learned some of the history and saw the entire process of making the crystal pieces from blowing and cooling to drawing the design, then cutting, etching and polishing the pieces. Most of the process is done by hand with master craftsmen who study their craft for at least 5-8 years before they can work.
We saw some pieces for the 2012 Olympics in London and the cheese heads in the group were were excited to see the Lombardi Trophy.
After our tour we had plenty of free time to explore downtown with its winding narrow streets and have some lunch.
Our afternoon stop was at the Rock of Cashel, a sort of fortress that sits atop a prominent green hill known as the "rock," just outside the town of Cashel. Various tribes controlled it early on, but later a chapel was built followed by a cathedral and for while it was the archbishop's residence until he moved it into the town of Cashel. We understood the reason for this move: the weather was windy and rainy and pretty miserable, but probably not a tour we will forget.
St Patrick spent a little time here and his cross is in the little museum of artifacts which we saw on our way out. While our visit here was interesting, we were cold and wet and happy to board our Coach and have Joe take us back to our hotel in Clonmel. The skies cleared and we enjoyed a beautiful evening.
Sounds like another full and and interesting day!
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