Ireland 2019
July 8 — waterford crystal and city historic quarter
Today, we started the day with an amazing tour of Waterford Crystal. I was blown away by the craftsmanship. Some of the apprentices work 8 years before they can become a master. I love seeing craftsmanship and precision and care of quality. I was very impressed with the glass blowers in particular. The heat, the precision, the technology were all so well thought out. They had on display the NFL football. It weights 27 pounds and they let us pass it around. It was so weird holding something that expensive but it was also so intricate and beautiful. I was also very excited about their graphic design system. They took the simple out line of some of their cuts and designs and used them flat. I loved it. Another smart thing was that at the end of the tour you end up in the showroom where everything is for sale. I might have spent a bit of money!
Then we walked up and went to the Medieval museum. I loved all the illustrated manuscripts and the seals that when with memos and notes. The vestments were also pretty darn impressive. The concierge at the hotel really recommended it and it was good but the way finding was really bad.
Next we went for lunch at “The Reg” which is next to Reginald’s Tower. We had a chicken salad sandwich which was really delicious.
Then we went walking around town, shopping. Most of the shops were typical and easily available in the US. I have been a bit disappointed that there aren’t more artisan stores. I did find a small boutique with Irish artists. I got a couple of good prints.
After walking around all afternoon we headed back to the hotel, had an early-ish dinner and then to bed. I think dad is tired. It seems to wear him out pretty quickly. I would have gone to two or three more museums. Next time!