Staying in Dunmore-East and Waterford

Friday started off as a lazy morning in Dunmore-East as we got up for breakfast late and then leisurely ate since we had no big plans. We ended up doing was making a loose plan to go on a cliff walk near the beach and then head towards the opposite side of town, the harbor, to get a light lunch and explore what was over there.  What really happened was that I left the Haven hotel with a big bunch of people and we took some wrong turns on the roads and couldn't find he path for the cliff walk, and when a bunch of the guys in our group decided to just climbing up the side of the steep hill I bailed with Menglin and Becca. The three of us decided to go to the other side of the beach that we hadn't explored yet and just took in the scenery. It was sad that it wasn't warm enough to swim, but I bet Dunmore-East would be a great summer destination. After sitting on the rocks for a good bit, we decided to continue the plan and go towards the harbor of town. Since its off-season for tourists not much was open, but we did get to have a great ocean view from café we stopped at. We also went into the Spar (which basically works as a grocery/convenience store) and grabbed some snacks for travelling. With our snacks in hand, we walked back to the hotel for a nice afternoon of reading and watching videos while it was rainy and foggy outside. For dinner that night we ate as a big group downstairs where I got to have fish and chips and lovely salad with rashers or rocket leaves, which I don’t know the American name of! After dinner we had yet another history lecture in order to catch up with the rest of the class still at Auburn. That lecture took an hour and we were all exhausted after it. Ashley and I went upstairs to our room and propped the door open because there was live music going on downstairs at the bar that we wanted to listen to but not go into the crowd. It was the best decision because we could hear them very well, but we could be comfortable!

The Dunmore-East Beach

Saturday we had the option of going on an excursion with the group to Loftus Hall which is the supposedly most haunting building Ireland and a Lighthouse in County Wexford, which sounded fun but I also wanted to go into the nearby city of Waterford so I opted out. Ashley and Becca also didn't want to go so we all caught a bus into Waterford at 10:30 that morning. My plan for the day was to see the Historical sites of Waterford because it is the oldest city in Ireland that was founded by Vikings and also go shopping a little bit as some girls that went on Friday said there were some really good places to go. So we got dropped off right near the center of the city and saw Reginald’s tower which is famous for how long its been there, as it is the oldest tower to survive in Ireland- and with a cannon ball lodged in the side too! We went into a 3-story Penneys because the other two girls had not been in one where I surprisingly found a good wallet for 2 euros to replace my travel wallet which was past its prime. We also went into some thrift stores where we did more window shopping than actually purchasing anything. There surprisingly wasn't much open for lunch, as we should’ve guessed (again not tour season) but found a pretty large café where I got tea and pie as a wasn't really hungry. We checked out the mall in Waterford, again window shopping, and passed by the Waterford Crystal Factory and the Museum of Medieval Treasures which we had plans to visit the next day so we didn't go in. We saw the sights and were content with ourselves enough to go back by the bus, but we did have to wait a bit for the next one which came at 4:30 pm. We were dropped off by a fancy restaurant in town and walked back to the hotel were we played some cards (watch out I’m getting a lot of Rummy practice in!) and I wrote a bit in my journal. We were a bit tired from the day, and I still wasn't too hungry so I just grabbed a quick sandwich as my dinner with a side of chilli heatwave Doritos. The time change for Ireland was that night so we all had an earlier night than usual to account for losing an hour of sleep.

The Waterford City Walls Map in the City Center

Today we have done a lot. We started out by leaving the Haven hotel at 9:30 am after grabbing a quick breakfast downstairs where they have been making us amazing food ranging from poached eggs on toast to beans on toast. We left in two vans that dropped us off at the Museum of Medieval Treasures where we arranged to have our bags stored until we came back to take the tour later. We then went right across the street to the Waterford Crystal Factory to take the factory tour there. We took a look around the store first while waiting for a tour guide, which houses some pretty amazing work. We were called and so we walked a building over to the factory where we had a rundown of the factory’s back story and saw the more famous crystal pieces they are known for (i.e. the National Championship Trophy!). By the way, they are wary of people from the University of Alabama as they have dropped their trophies 3 times!

Me holding a scale of the BCS football!

We walked into the molding room which was not in use today because it is the weekend and then moved into where they blow the glass and form the basic shapes. We got to see them process about 4 vases which was really cool because you saw them take it to the furnace, take it out, form a cylindrical shape, put it into a casing in order to blow it into that shape, and then cool it down with water and air in order for it to come off of its base. Then we moved into the area of the factory where they clean and sand the edges of the crystal to make it presentable. Besides the fact that every time the man in there started sanding a new piece there was a terrible loud grinding that quieted as the glass gave, it wasn't much to see. From there we went into the patterning and cutting area, where there were many artists work on vases to make very straight cuts into the already formed crystal which looked very impressive to me. Then we went into the etching area where we found three artists working on various projects that were masterpieces of skill. They use copper wheels in order to make such etching on the crystal, while also using very small tools to create details. Then we were done and back into the store where I got something for myself and my mom. When in Waterford, buy some crystal? 

Molding the glass into a cylinder

Cutting the glass in extremely straight lines

When I'm making bank, one day I will come back to Waterford. 

              We went back to the Museum where we had a great tour guide who was very fun to listen to took us through the history of Waterford and through the artifacts they have. Most of what they have dates back to the 1600s or older, but mainly focuses on the stuff Ireland had around the time when it was conquered by England. We did have the treat of seeing the found spiritual garments of clergymen and models of what the city would look like in different centuries. It was a quick tour, but a good one that really showed me more about the city’s different histories that were influenced by the Normans, Vikings, and the English alike. We grabbed our bags from the Museum and then put them onto a coach bus which we took to drive to Cork. 

The clergymen garments made withe actual gold

Cork is honestly like a mini Dublin. I looked up from reading on the bus and someome said what I was thinking, “Are we back in Dublin?”. We also are staying in a Kinlay House hostel so really it is just like Dublin, but this time we have a room of 8 and a room of 4. Take a guess at which room I’m in. It’s not that bad, but it is tight with 3 bunk beds against one wall and the other wall has one bed against it with an armchair weirdly on the same wall. We figured out who was going where and then had a quick group meeting before going to eat. We found some Mexican place akin to Moe’s or Chipotle to get a cheap meal. We stay in Cork for about 3 nights before moving to Kilarney, but we have a good schedule setup with going to Blarney Castle and Blarney Stone tomorrow and Cobh for the Titanic exhibition Tuesday.