Little Caroline Travels The Big World: Exploring Waterford Crystal

Exploring is the best hobby.

I decided to explore Waterford Crystal, Rock of Cashel and Dunamase Castle today through Paddy Wagon Tours. It was great fun!

Like the other Paddy Wagon Tours I had taken, I met up with the group at O'Connell Street in the early morning. This time it was 8 am. I was worried because other Paddy Wagon shuttles were coming and going, but mine wasn't. It also seemed that I was the only person at the stop waiting for this tour.

And it turns out that I was correct. A small van pulls up and that was for me. There was an Italian couple in the back. Turns out that there was only 3 of us going on the tour. This is going to be interesting was my thought. It was nice for the tour company to still do the tour even though there were only 3 of us.

At the beginning of the car ride the group was talking and passing the time. Soon, I started to dose off. I was so tired from getting up early and of course the car can just put you to sleep!

The driver did at some point kind of complain that we were a quite group. What did he expect? There was only 3 of us that didn't know each other! Were we suppose to talk the whole time? And the driver wasn't doing much to add to the conversation. I would ask him questions and he would only respond with a one word answer. Great.

After 3 hours we were in Waterford, Ireland for our first stop. The city was founded in 914 AD by the Vikings, making it the oldest city in Ireland. The site even goes back further, with evidence suggesting that the Vikings settled near Waterford in 853 AD.

In 1171, King Henry II of England landed in Waterford and declared Waterford and Dublin royal cities.

After the Reformation, Waterford remained a Catholic city with its own Catholic government. That all ended when Oliver Cromwell took over Ireland and brought it under English government once again.

I was already loving Waterford. We drove along the river and it was so nice! The buildings were unique. I really hoped that we would get some time to explore the city more, but that wasn't the case. Maybe before I leave I will come back and explore more. I know time is short and I don't really like revisiting a place if I can afford it, but Waterford might be an exception! Who can pass up the oldest city in Ireland and Viking history?

Our first stop on the tour, and the only stop in Waterford, was to Waterford Crystal. A crystal company started in 1783 and it wasn't until the early 2000's that the trademark of fine craftsmanship and unique pieces added to the Waterford Crystal reputation.

The tour brought us through the factory and told us about the process of making the beautifully crafted, glass art work. Apparently, it takes 8 years to train for most of the jobs in the factory! That is dedication!

At one point our guide was showing us some of the special pieces they make for award shows and sporting events. He then mentioned the SAP Open and I said that I was from that area! I was so excited that I kind of just said it out of the blue. I was just so excited about a mention of my home town.

At the end of the tour we ended up in the lobby where there were items for purchase. These items were so beautiful! Of course I didn't get anything because it would not survive the next month of travel that I have in front of me.

I would definitely recommend people to check out Waterford if they are in Ireland. It seems that there was a lot of exploring in the city and many shops. Definitely a place for history buffs! Waterford Crystal Tour was worth the trip! Learning about the process and seeing the amazing pieces was a treat!

When our small group was together, we headed off to our next location, which was the Rock of Cashel.

Waterford. Beautiful day :)

Waterford

Waterford Crystal

Waterford Crystal

Entrance to the Waterford Crystal Factory!

Waterford Crystal Grandfather Clock. Pretty fancy.

Waterford Crystal Factory

The winners of the People's Choice Awards are given Waterford Crystal awards!

About to enter the factory to learn how the pieces are made. This is an introduction video. I felt like I was in a club.

Molds for the different pieces are made here.

Mold for an award for football.

The "American Football" award mold.

Workers molding the crystal! They blow into the pole while turning it to make vases and other items out of crystal.

Molding the crystal into various shapes.

The final product!

Final product. Amazing!

Crystal blowing station.

Placing new crystal onto the pole.

Crystal right out of the oven!

Inspection. Here people look at the items to make sure they are perfect. Any bubbles and the item is toss and it has to be created again.

Inspector doing his job.

Hand Making section. Many of the special items are hand created.

A machine use to help cut the crystal into special shapes. They program the machine with new designs for each piece and then the machine cuts the crystal according to the plan.

Design drawn up for a special crystal item.

A worker's station.

An artist cutting crystal by hand.

Artists cutting crystal.

An artist working on a bowl.

Some times, crystal is put into this machine and the machine cuts the crystal.

The crystal cutting machine.

The machine creating a vase.

Examples of items that the artists have made.

Example of work the artists have done.

Sculpting station.

Piece of crystal. This is what the crystal starts out as.

This is what the crystal can end up looking. This is for the SAP Open in San Jose, CA! :)

Various items made at the factory.

Artist at work.

Tribute to 9/11. An artist worked on this during his free time.

Work station.

The items are then places on this structure to be washed with oxalic acid. This makes sure the crystal is shinny. The bowl on the left is before it is washed and the bowl on the right is what it looks like after it is washed.

The cleaning structure.

Cinderella's Chariot.

Famous Irish authors.

The harp. This is Ireland's national symbol.

Viking boat made out of crystal!

Bishop's Palace. Bishop Charles Este of London had it commission to be built in 1740, but he died in 1745 and the building was still not finished. Richard Castle and John Roberts were both architects that worked on the project. It was intended to be the Bishop's Palace, but now it is used by Waterford City Council.

Waterford

Reginald's Tower. This is a Viking defense tower that was built in the beginning of the 13th century. The tower is where Strongbow, a famous Anglo-Norman leader, met his future wife Aoife. It has also been used as a mint, a prison and a military store.