Day 3: Sunday (6/9/2013)

Today's goal: seeing the Rock of Cashel and Waterford.

After an early breakfast in our room, we headed out and got to Cashel at 9am.  Overall, it was the perfect time to see the Rock.  Brilliant sun--it got hot, in fact, an apparent rarity in Ireland--and no tour-bus crowds.  We opted for a self-guided tour and walked outside.

The Rock of Cashel

It's hard to describe the visceral impact of wandering an old ruin.  Cashel is a very significant site in Ireland (primary royal and religious seat in Munster).  It has a tremendous history that you can almost feel.  I will leave the details of the attraction to the tour books, but I will say that they're not wrong in calling this a place worth visiting on your trip.

After seeing Cashel, we attempted to hike across several fields to reach a nearby ruined monastery, but were thwarted by stone walls and hedgerows.  Getting arrested in Ireland would have sucked, so it was probably for the best.  We also tried to go to the Brian Boru center, but it was closed on Sunday.  Ah well, another time.

By now Cashel was hopping with tour buses, so we took off for Waterford.  We again took back roads to avoid tolls, but this time I thoroughly enjoyed the drive.  Zooming at breakneck (and legal!) speeds on curvy one-lane tracks through gorgeous countryside in perfect weather--what's not to like?  I was driving through a continuous green tunnel that normally you'd only see in a car commercial.  I was starting to fall a little bit in love with Ireland.

We got into Waterford around 11am.  For some reason, traffic near the waterfront was obnoxious--Sunday church rush hour?  We finally gave up on free street parking, found parking in a deserted lot, paid too much for it, and then wandered across the street to see Reginald's Tower.

People in the middle ages were
all midgets or gymnasts.

Reginald's Tower is purported to be the oldest structure in Ireland.  It started life as a Viking guard tower, and over the years did time as a watch tower, jail, and now museum.  It's one of three major museums in Waterford charting the history of the town (more on the other two in a moment).  The museum in the tower covered prehistoric through the Viking era of Waterford.  It was a fun visit, although walking up and down the low winding stairs was painful--I was bent double in some levels.  It must have sucked to get old in the 9th century.

After the tower, we grabbed some lunch at the nearby theater cafe, and ended up in the Waterford Crystal Showroom and Factory.

We started out in the showroom.  This is essentially a giant Waterford Crystal shop, where Mary hoped to get a souvenir until she realized she'd have to sell her organs to do so.  Still, it's a fun wander--there are some really beautiful pieces here.

Today they were making engraved
bowls

After that, we went on a factory tour.  This was extremely worthwhile--we got to watch crystal pieces being made by hand, including blowing, finishing, cutting, and engraving.  I have to wonder, though, how long these artisans are for this earth.  They're graded on precision while doing tasks that seem very automatable.

After the Factory tour, we wandered across the street to check out the other two museums in the Waterford trifecta: the Wine Merchant's Cellar and the Bishop's House.  Be sure to visit these in the order we did--the Tower covers up to the 11th century or so, the Cellar takes it from there through the 15th century, and the House wraps things up.  All are worth viewing.  It was amusing to note that their audio guides were simple Android phones running an app and encased in plastic.

We grabbed some bubble tea from a small waterfront shop run by a very shy young man and drove back to Kilkenny.  From there, we spent the afternoon wandering through the various middle ages structures, including several cathedrals and the Black Abbey.  Surprisingly, there were no Stag/Hen posses stumbling around in these.

Dinner was at Langton's, a place recommended by our travel guide.  It was a reasonable meal--see my review here.

After eating, we stopped by a local candy shop to see what the Irish liked for sweets, and walked out with some samples.  To round out the night we wandered around the Castle Park, taking the path by the river.  Beautiful walk.

Tomorrow, on to Cobh!