Waterford & the Sisterhood of the Traveling Broads

Well folks, it's St. Patricks day (Sunday) and we are back in our room with big fat bellies after another 3 course dinner. Two busy days means we are behind blogging so let's try to catch up. Yesterday, we headed out to the National Stud. Get your minds out of the gutter, its the national horse breeding farm, not a hot guy waiting for some chicks. A delightful Irish lad led our tour of the various paddocks where the "studs" each had their own space. Just to give you an idea of the fees for the best linage, stud services for one of their star horses, Invincible Spirit, costs approximately $60,000. It was interesting to hear that almost all of the stud business in Ireland has been purchased by the Arabs.

We left the studs and headed back into Dublin for a free afternoon. The broads master plans was to head to a park near our hotel to look at street art for a possible souvenir purchase, then head to the Kilmainham Gaol (famous prison). To sum up the afternoon, IT RAINED, THE ART WAS BAD and after arriving at the prison, THE TOURS WERE SOLD OUT. Boo, hoo!! On top of that, the town was filling up with thousands of people in for the St Patty's parade, including countless American high school marching bands. Picture 100's of American teenagers  wearing giant leprechaun hats, beads, and shamrocks painted on their cheeks jostling through the narrow streets of Dublin, all making their way to Guiness in hopes of a small taste. No matter, in some ways, this too was still FUN.

The night ended with a rowdy dinner and live show at a local pub. The dinners organized by our tour company are HUGE compared to home grub. It seems 3 courses for dinner is standard.  Entertainment included a small troupe of  dancers (think Riverdance) and  3 old codgers who played decent Irish music and told jokes (Hee Haw, Irish style). It was great fun.

Today, we said goodbye to Dublin and all those screaming American teenagers - yippee.We headed for Waterford, yes, the very town that used to produced the crystal we've seen for years in finer stores. We were surprised to hear that the Waterford factory closed three years ago and all  production has moved out of Ireland, very sad for this small, quaint town. It is a major economic blow to the community. So collectors out their beware. Crystal produced now under the Waterford label is made elsewhere, likely in Poland, Chech Republic, etc. The good news for us shopping broads is some of the crystal made in the Waterford facility was still available in a local store - woohoo for us. We DID make a small purchase or two, and had them shipped back. After a quick sandwich we watched a little bit of Waterford's St Pattys parade, which included kids dancing, civil defense marchers, a marching band, a big group of hairy harley riders, fire trucks, etc. It seemed like the whole town turned out for the fair, including the town council and major, the later being a very interesting group, dressed in purple and red capes.

Before going further in the blog, the broads have to give a huge shout out about the Irish. The are super friendly, and it's not just service staff. You can stop anyone, anywhere with questions or just conversation and be met with kindest.

Okay, so now we are back to the end of the day and big fat bellies after another 3 course dinner with great conversation with fellow travelers. We have an interesting group, and OMG, we started talking about healthcare this evening, AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!1 We are off early tomorrow headed for a jaunting car ride through the Killarney National park that is on the Dingle peninsula.

P.S. This hotel has ICE. Ice, Ice, BABY!! Its rare to get ice with any drinks and we've never had it available for the room. Even if it is just by the glass (no ice bucket), it is glorious.

Across the street from the Gaol in Dublin. Fourteen figures stand in a circle, at the centre of which is a plaque containing a copy of the Proclamation of Independence, engraved in bronze.   The figures, perforated with bullet holes are limbless & stand united in a circle, blindfolded, as they would be for execution.  This statue commemorates the 14 leaders of the 1916 uprising executed at Kilmainham.

Invincible Spirit. A horse getting $60,000 per stud can do anything it wants, even roll around on is back.

Sorry, bad picture of the dancers at the pub.

Waterford chandelier inside the Bishops house in Waterford.

Town people gathering for St. Patty's parade.

View of Cork from our hotel.