A beam of bright sunshine pierced the otherwise dark room.  That is a good sign.  Golf is in the cards.  A late check out secured, we made our way to the restaurant for another full Irish breakfast. It is a short walk to the clubhouse from the lobby.  I can see a few golfers on the course, not very busy for such a nice morning.  We reach for the club house door, it is locked.  The proshop is not open yet.  Crazy, it is almost 9am. I start to unpack the clubs and put on my shoes,  Johanne is looking for another entrance.  As I close the trunk, the driver in the car parked beside me steps out.  It is the Assistant Pro from the shop.  Busted!  We caught him having a little nap between the early wave of golfers and us.  He sheepishly hurries to the door.  We arrange for rentals and a buggy for the girls and off we go.

The first hole is a semi blind dogleg right par four.  It starts well, we all find the fairway.... game on.  From there things get a little interesting.  Johanne takes a mighty lash at her second shot, launching it into the fescue grass 20 yards to her right and almost 90 degrees from her intended target.  She drops a second ball, takes aim, a very determined look on her face.  She is going to intimidate the ball, it's going where she says!  Whack, 40 yards right back into the fescue.  $^$&^%(*()) the french is flowing.  "I forget how to play....what is going on" she says.  Dad chunks his chip, my mom is doing fine, I manage to get it on the green and now out of nowhere, we have a group behind us, hands on hips waiting, not so patiently for us to move on.  Then, also out of nowhere, it starts to rain.  I love Golf.  The second hole is a nice little down hill par three.  Raining,  we tee off,  mom finds the green side bunker, everyone else is in good shape.  We let the group behind us play through.  Things settle in from that point, the rain stops, the sun shines again, all is right in the world.  The course offers some great views of the surrounding valleys.  It is in great shape, fairly generous off the tees, with lots of sand surrounding the greens.  First round of golf in Ireland.  Life is good.

After checking out, we head east toward Waterford, the town and the home of the world famous Waterford Crystal.  Some interesting facts regarding Waterford.  It is Ireland's oldest city, founded by the Vikings around 853.  The Irish finally chased them out in 917.   It has the oldest urban civic building in Ireland, and the first building in the country to be built using mortar.  Called the Reginald's Tower, it is the centre piece of downtown Waterford.  Today, Waterford is known for crystal and as the origin of one of Europe's largest discount airlines, Ryan Air.

The making of glass became a central piece of the city's landscape, back in the late 1700's.  The industry disappeared until 1947 when a Czech immigrant, Charles Bacik started a glass works taking advantage of the city's reputation as a glass maker.  The result is what we are here to visit today.  750 tons of crystal is melted a year in this facility.  The craftsmanship that goes into the making of these items is something from a bygone era.

 Wooden molds are still used for custom,one of a kind items.

Champagne anyone?  This glass will hold 150 litres.  Gives a whole new meaning to "I only had one glass".... 

After the tour, we had a nice early dinner/late lunch.  We sampled some Irish oysters, for the second time.  They were just as good.  Best ever.  Our trip to Ireland has come to an end.  8 days is not nearly enough time to see it all.  We did cover enough of the country to know that it is a friendly, interesting place to visit.  Each of us leaves with fond memories, we hope you enjoyed reading along with us on our journey in the Emerald Isle.  If you get a chance, go for it.  If you only have 8 days try our route and let us know how you liked it.  Our ferry awaits for our next adventure in France.  Come join us for the ride.

All Aboard

Be Well

A Bientot