Sunburn in Ireland!

Friday - The car again!  OMG.  Once we got out of Dublin, which took a few tries, we set out to drive to Cork with a stop in Waterford the oldest city in Ireland, founded by Reginald the Viking in 942.  The road was good, not too narrow, and the fields and shoulders were blanketed in gorse.  I had read about gorse in a number of English novels, but never seen it.  We stopped to look and yes, it is bright yellow and very thorny.  The heroines who ran through it always had their clothes ripped.  It is also the bane of Irish farmers, apparently, as it is invasive and not nutritious so they burn all they can.  It's called "the scotching of the gorse".  Very pretty, though.

We parked on the pleasant quay and walked past narrow streets of shops and restaurants to The Viking Triangle, oldest part of the city.  We parked on the pleasant quay and walked past narrow streets of shops and restaurants to The Viking Triangle, oldest part of the city.  Reginald's Tower was built 300 years after the original Viking settlement but is the oldest urban civic building in Ireland, and the oldest monument to retain its Viking name.  Vikings ceased simply raiding monasteries and settled in Ireland in the mid-ninth century.  As they became part of the population they turned to commercial enterprises, including a brisk trade in slaves which led to the rapid growth of Dublin and other port cities.  Vikings ceased simply raiding monasteries and settled in Ireland in the mid-ninth century.  As they became part of the population they turned to commercial enterprises, including a brisk trade in slaves which led to the rapid growth of Dublin and other port cities.

Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms with a High King claiming lordship over the others.  Here's a very simplistic account of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland:  In 1169 the ousted King of Leinster asked for help regaining his kingdom - he had abducted Queen Derbforgaill, wife of the King of Bréifne and was attacked and deposed for that - go figure!  Henry II of England and Pope Adrian IV saw an invasion as a way to gain crown lands and drag the Irish church into line with Gregorian reforms.  Yes, here are the seeds of a conflict between Ireland and England that continues to this very day.  Anyway, Strongbow (Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke) one of the invaders conquered Leinster and other Norse-Irish city-kingdoms such as Dublin, Wexford and Waterford, then married Aiofe MacMurrough, the daughter of the King of Lienster and we have both of them to thank for a long, sometimes glorious list of European royalty and, sadly, George W. Bush.

The old part of Waterford is open and easy to navigate.  I think we beat hordes of tourist by coming so early in the season, but this made for a lovely unhurried stroll to take in the sights.  I say it was unhurried, but I was scrambling for shade.   As you may know, I am sun-averse and will go to great lengths to stay out of it.  Ireland, of all places!  I didn't even bring a hat.  Within the triangle are parts of the original city wall, a ruined Gothic cathedral built in 1210 and the new Christ Church Cathedral (Church of Ireland) built in 1779.

Well, this is also the home of - you guessed it - Waterford Crystal.  While much of the crystal is made elsewhere now, the facility in Waterford makes a variety of custom orders and also the "Aiofe" pattern exclusively.  Founded in 1783, the factory closed in 1851, only to be reopened in 1947 by Czech immigrant Charles Bacik.  There were no skilled Irish glassmakers at that time, so Bacik brought craftsmen including designer Miroslav Havel from Eastern Europe to Waterford.  Here are some images from our factory tour.  Yes, they use wooden molds.  And they burn up and need replacement regularly.

The finished crystal pieces are gorgeous and amazing.  No wonder they are displayed all over the world.  How did I not know the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square drops a ball made of pieces of Waterford crystal??? (photos below courtesy of Waterford Crystal site)

As close as I will ever get to Waterford crystal!

We decided it was time for a snack and a drink before continuing on to Cork.  We found a very peasant rooftop pub The Reg overlooking the tower and quay.  We have been gorging on fish, but here were our first oysters.  And lovely cheeses, including Cashel Blue.  Our step-grandfather was Bill Cashel and he and my grandmother, parents and aunt visited the Rock of Cashel when they came to visit us while we were living in London in 1960.  It was delicious and we thought that was great - it does not take much to amuse us.  Barbara tried some local brews and I asked for ginger beer.  Silly me!  We loved ginger beer as kids, but this was alcohol and 16 oz.!  So, since I was driving, we lingered over the goodies for quite a while.  Navigating the road to Cork with a buzz on was not in my plan.