Ireland - Day 4 (Sunday 4/02/2006)

Sunday morning I woke early in Waterford and headed out to the Waterford Crystal Factory to see just what was SO special about this glass that would cause women’s legs to spread at the mere though of getting some. It was closed when I got there so I waited in the parking lot for a bit. After a few minutes it was opened and I went inside, fully expecting to see chiseled men in loin cloths making glass vases. Lucky for me this was NOT the case.

I bought my ticket and perused the gallery and sales floor while waiting for the first tour to start. What I WAS greeted by, instead of the Chippendales’ Dancers, was a room full of gorgeous, but expensive, glassware. Okay, so it was crystal, not glass. And it was thick and heavy, which was nice. But some of it cost more than my Jeep. Still, it was cool to see the craftsmanship shine through.

The tour started and I learned all about the different jobs that went into making these works of art, from the Blowers to the Cutters and on to the Etchers, each doing his or her job with precision. The tour was informative, but not too informative, or too long to the point of boredom. Once it was over I did a little shopping and then hopped back in my car for a little more driving.

I headed north to Jerpoint Abbey. This place, built in the 1100’s for the Benedictine monks, was completely self-sustaining, with everything these praying dudes would need to survive, even an infirmary. Of course, not much was left now, but it was eerie to stroll the grounds and think about all the history.

After my visit to the abbey was complete I drove north again, through Kilkenny (where I’d be staying), and a bit further to the Dunmore Caves, very old limestone caves that were the site of a Viking massacre back in the day. These caves were small, but gorgeous, and the thought of a bunch of smelly men with axes roaming through them in search of another kill was interesting.

It was here that I gave Sean, from Montanna, a ride back into town. Seems he took an internship in Dublin and was spending the weekend traveling. Sounds like fun. After driving back to the hotel and catching a cab, Sean left the scene at the train station and I took the taxi the rest of the way into town. Once again, you see, I’d been cursed with poor planning, and my hotel was a good walk outside of town. But, hey, it WAS walkable, as I proved later that day.

I strolled around town for a bit, spending a decent amount of time on the grounds of Kilkenny Castle. Mind you, I didn’t actually go IN the castle, just AROUND the castle. The insides of castles tend to bore me, AND they cost money. One thing about Kilkenny I noticed was that there are TONS of churches and abbeys around town. You could spend days visiting them all, and it’s not a very big town. Apparently it was a town full of citizens in need of a LOT of help from the Lord.

After strolling around town and buying a few things I started my walk back to the hotel. It wasn’t late but I was tired. On the way back I stopped in at the Langton, a supposedly famous pub, for a pint and a snack. The pint was good, as was the snack, but there was this group of Irish that just would…not…shut…up. Now, I love the Irish accent, but when you’ve got a crowd of five Irish, drunk off their asses, talking loud enough for the whole bar to hear them, it gets old. Very old.

Anyway, I finished my pint and continued on back to the hotel for some dinner. Unfortunately the service at the hotel was LOUSY. The pay-to-play internet access was broken, and they wouldn’t give my money back even though they knew it was broken but just didn’t feel like putting a sign up. And I sat in the restaurant for a good 15 minutes without anyone approaching the table. So I tried the bar and that was just as big of a debacle.

Well, I put in my complaint, and they made me feel like it was MY fault, so I headed down the street and ate at another place, and read my book. I did a lot of reading in Ireland. After dinner I returned home and prepared for tomorrow’s journey, which was to include the Blarney Stone and Cork. Maybe the service will be better.