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Waterford, Ireland, September 10

We had an early call at 8am, so grabbed breakfast in the buffet. The ship had to anchor and we all had to take the tenders in through relatively rough seas. We had signed up for a 7 1/4 hour tour to Kilkenny Castle and the Waterford Crystal Factory.

Our guide, Frank, who was in his mid to late 70s, and our driver Michael, were full of Irish blarney and charm, as well as information, as we drove about 1+ hour to Kilkenny, their home town. Both had gone to the hurling match that was played in Dublin the day before and that we had watched on the television in the Dublin pub. It was the national championship game between Kilkenny and Galway and ended in a tie, which means a rematch in 2 weeks. Frank is very involved in the Kilkenny hurling organization, so we learned more about this purely Irish sport with 15 men on each side using a cross between hockey and lacrosse sticks, with no protective clothing and lots of body checking.  

When we got to Kilkenny, it was clear that Frank is well known as people on the streets waved to him as the bus passed. We parked outside the castle, which had been in the hands of the Butler family for 600+  years (Queen Elizabeth has Butler ancestry) and was the largest of the 48 castles owned by the family in that part of Ireland. In 1935, the family moved to London and either took furniture or sold it off. The castle fell into a state of disrepair over the years. In the late 1960s, the Butlers gave the castle to the city of Kilkenny for 50 pounds. Frank, as a young man, had spent time on the grounds, like most Kilkenny youth, and when the city took it over, his brother suggested that since he was a tree surgeon he might find work there. As he worked on the trees, he hung around and learned more about restoration, and now, he is basically in charge. Our tour group, therefore, got the special tour, going through doors marked "No Entry" and taking some photos when there were no docents around. Being with Frank was sort of like doing our tour of Ephesus with the archeologist – he knew everyone and everything and was involved in the discovery and purchase of original items believed lost, etc.

After the castle visit, we had some time in the shops across the road, where local artisans sold jewelry, linens, pottery, etc. It was much nicer stuff than the usual tourist ware. From the shops we walked to the bridge across the river for different views of the castle and then on to Langdon's, a four star hotel, where they served us a lunch of Irish stew (lamb), dessert, wine or Guiness, etc. Rob and Daryl sat with a couple from Toronto and Frank, so Rob found out all about the tree surgeon transformation to castle restorer.

It was raining when we left Kilkenny and we headed back to Waterford and the Crystal Factory. We had to wait for our tour to start so had time to browse in the shop and then went on the 45 minute tour, not in the main factory, but along a demo line. We have seen a lot of glass blowing over the years, but not much of the additional cutting and engraving that goes into Waterford Crystal, so it was interesting. We were late getting back to the ship. The last tender was scheduled at 3:30 and we did not arrive until 4pm, so the ship had to leave late. We had Bob and Jean to our cabin for drinks and canapes before their dinner. The seas were a little rough and we were not starving when we got to Red Ginger, having had lunch on shore. Daryl asked for the Tempura sole as she was assured it was a small serving, but they lied – it was a whole fish, delicious but way too much.