St. Patrick's Day

There are many different degrees of celebration all over the world and when I think of St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland something lively & loud like Mardi Gras in New Orleans comes to mind.  Perhaps St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, or even Galway comes close and I’m sure the pubs were overflowing with patrons dressed in green. Maybe not so much this year. There was another cold snap that came in over the weekend, so we decided to partake in our local celebration.  Still froze our arse’s off!!

For the past few weeks we’ve seen all the store windows decked out in green and Irish flags flying everywhere.  On the big day there were numerous events all over town – a rubber duck race in the Shannon (cancelled due to the weather ☹) 

Drummers (just outside the library – haha)

In the park there was face painting, petting zoo, bouncy houses & military & Garda displays.  Of-course the parade earlier enough in the day so no one had to miss the "big game". The parade was like any Fourth of July parade we’d experienced back home.  

The most visible difference being rather than Red, White & Blue everywhere, it’s Green, White & Orange.  Parade participants included old men in uniform, kids marching from every organization imaginable – including the scouts, bagpipers, cars, clowns, drummers (my favorite) and St Patrick himself. 

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Waterford Crystal

When we traveled through Waterford two years ago it was during tourist season, full tour buses congested the streets and travelers filled the sidewalks.  As I’ve mentioned before one of the main reasons we chose to stay a year here was to experience Ireland when all the tourists go home.  Winter is the best time to visit those places that would otherwise be jam-packed at the height of the season.  So many times, we’ve stood in the back of the crowd waiting our turn to get up front to see what everyone else was looking at – after the tour guide had already moved on. 

In Waterford, this time, we took a tour of the Waterford Crystal factory.  There were only 5 of us on the tour and it was wonderful.  Plenty of room along the rail at the front so see everything that was going on. Which is great for me at 5 ft, one inch. We also got to experience a few things most would not – like holding a solid crystal football; worth thousands of dollars.  

Our guide Valarie was able to answer every question and give each of us her special attention.  She was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Waterford Crystal. A fascinating process of blends and procedures from start to finish.  80% of the process is now done in the U.K. but the blowing and etching remains in Ireland.   

There is a 5-year apprentice program. There are over 600 different etching's that one must master to become a certified Waterford Crystal etcher.  At the end of the apprentice program they are given 3 chances to etch a bowl with a very specific pattern. Once they have successfully completed their 'final examine' they etch their name on the bowl and it is theirs to keep as their diploma. 

Apprentice Bowl

The finished products; craftsmanship are extraordinary, quite beautiful and expensive for good reason. 

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