Waterford

Saturday was warm and sunny; the sunniest day we've had since arriving in Ireland. We said goodbye to Croughmore and drove to Waterford, about an hour-and-a-half away. Waterford is located on the coast on a harbor formed by the River Suir. The site has been inhabited since the stone age and has been a town since the Vikings settled here; then it was occupied by the Normans and finally the British. We stopped in at the Museum of Treasures along the riverfront. This is an extensive exhibit of the history of the settlement of Waterford. It was rather disappointing and probably best suited for school groups.

Waterford is famous for crystal so we next went to the crystal factory. It was founded in 1783 and has been world famous since. We had a tour of the factory and got to see the process of creating these beautiful pieces. The tour ended up in the store and we successfully resisted temptation--while we appreciate the beauty of the pieces and the skill required to produce them, we have to admit that crystal really is not our style.









Then we drove to our B&B in Butlerstown, the Coach House. This is part of an old estate which has fallen into complete disrepair and ruin; the owner has restored the coach house as a B&B. The setting is green and pastoral, complete with cows next door.









We drove about one-half hour to Dunmore East on the coast for a fish dinner.