Waterford & Cashel - Another Irish Adventure

Yesterday we made our way down to Waterford, an adorable little town on the banks of the Suir River. Our destination was the what most people think of when they hear "Waterford", their Crystal Factory.  Housing their entire line of crystal products, there were plenty from which to choose. I have always wanted a set of lovely old fashioned tumblers, so we purchased the Dolemn patter.

  Our new tumblers

We had thought we might spend the night so we could see the sites, but with the Irish weather there was not much to do outdoors, so we decided to head over to Cashel to see the historic site, the Rock of Cashel.  First used as a defensive fortress for the overkings of Munster, it was given over to the church in 1101.  From there a great church and other buildings, including a round tower were built here as it became the seat of an archbishop.

The Rock of Cashel fortress - view on a clear day, which wasn't our trip

We could see why the site was abandoned for a less inclement location the 18th Century - while we were there it was raining quite hard and the umbrella bending wind was whipping the rain around in all directions.  The restored private living chambers of the monks, now housing a museum and theatre, were not heated and they were freezing and damp.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like 1000 years ago without modern advances of electricity and central heating!

We had skipped lunch and by 4 pm we were ready for food.  Right at the bottom of "the rock" was the most scrumptious place called Cafe Hans (with a sister restaurant for dinner called Chez Hans next door in a converted chapel).  Reeves had a lovely gnocchi with spinach & rashers and I had yummy lamb chops over mashers and green beans.  All the food was top quality and an unexpected treat as most restaurants we have stumbled upon are barely better than "pub food" and finding good cuisine in Ireland is usually a challenge when you don't have a specific recommendation. I would highly recommend this place if you are in Co. Tipperary.

While I was hoping we could spend the night to avoid driving home in the weather, Reeves really wanted to sleep in his own bed so we braved the pouring rain and bad drivers and made it home in one piece - another Irish adventure to add to our collective memory.