The first half of the week flew by. I wanted things to slow down! Waterford. Oh, my, how I loved Waterford! The history, the beauty, the pubs! I would highly recommend the Walking Tour of Viking Triangle to get a quick history of the town, although Denise (our "Vagaguide") did a great job with the history on our drive.
 |
| The "Murder Hole" in the City Wall |
 |
| The City Wall |
 |
| The building where the current Irish Flag was first flown. |
 |
| The City Wall is marked throughout the town |
 |
| Wooden sword in Viking Triangle. The sword is in the Guinness Book of World Records. |
 |
| Strongbow and Aoife. Strongbow attacked Waterford in 1170; he and Aoife were married shortly after. The marriage changed the course of Irish history with the invasion of the Normans. |
Where We Stayed
This was our only time that we stayed 2 nights in the same hotel.
The Tower Hotel was wonderful. Again, we had big rooms and nice bathrooms. One thing about the bathtubs: You have to step in quite a ways to get in. One of my sisters almost had a fall getting out of the bathtub one morning. The reason for the tubs being high: The plumbing is under the tub as opposed to in the walls and floors like they are in the US. This makes the pipes easier to reach for repair.
Back to the hotel: The location was perfect, right on the water with Reginald's Tower across the street. It was very easy to walk to anywhere we wanted to go. The breakfast buffet was amazing. We didn't have a good view this time, but the view at breakfast more than made up for it.
 |
| Breakfast view from The Tower Hotel overlooking the water |
 |
| Breakfast view from The Tower Hotel looking at Reginald's Tower and Viking Triangle |
Where We Ate
The first night we ate at
The Reg, which is one of the places recommended to us by Denise. If you look in the picture above you can see the restaurant behind Reginald's Tower. The food was good, but we were a bit disappointed because they seated us right next to a door (and it was chilly). There was a heavy curtain in the doorway to the room we were in, but it didn't help much. The city wall is in the building, which was pretty cool. Their website says they have 6 bars but we didn't walk around.
 |
| The City Wall inside of The Reg |
The next night one of the ladies picked out
Geoff's. It was a short walk from the hotel. The restaurant is large; it seemed like it just kept going and going! Service was slow, but the food was excellent and we had nothing but time. I will definitely search it out the next time I'm in Waterford.
 |
| Geoff's |
 |
| Geoff's |
Great atmosphere...even on the ceiling!
 |
| A festive walk back to the hotel from Geoff's |
Where We Drank
After going to the mall to look for some contact solution and cough drops, one of my sisters & I needed a toilet break. We knew we'd be able to find one in a pub (plus the added bonus of glass/pint). We stumbled upon what is the oldest operating pub in Waterford. J & K Walsh is not the oldest pub, but that one was undergoing renovations so it's not operating. What a find! The charm, the history, the snug! We enjoyed the ambiance and the conversation. These pubs are the best: the ones you stumble upon!
 |
| Original bottles. The clay ones that are on its sides (straight on) were used to mix the spirits. |
 |
| The backroom used to be a barber shop. |
 |
| Great conversation with a local and the barmaid. |
 |
| The Snug |
 |
| Inside the snug. A friendly Irishman told us to get in there so he could take our picture. |
 |
| The pass through in the Snug |
 |
| View of the pub from the front door |
The other pub we visited is around the corner from the hotel. TIP: Don't go to a pub on the main street. Find one on a side street. That's where you'll find locals and the best conversation! Another one of my sisters & I were looking for some "Trad" music and found just what we were looking for at
Katty Barry's. As soon as we walked in we were told that this was where you get the best Guinness in Waterford. We had some drinks and listened to some locals playing. We stayed for a few songs and then decided we'd better go hit the hay.
 |
| We found authentic "Trad" music |
The cafe is a great place to get some seafood chowder to help you warm up. And the views are breathtaking:
 |
| The Graveyard of 1000 ships |
The Hook Lighthouse is the oldest intact operational lighthouse in the world. In the 5th century monks used lanterns on the shore to warn ships of the land. William Marshal built the first lighthouse in the 13th century. It is very much worth the time to go out of your way to see both Tintern Abbey and the lighthouse.
One of my sisters opted to spend the day exploring Waterford. When we returned to town, another sister wanted to tour the
House of Waterford Crystal. (She highly recommends it.) Another sister & I were interested in a new museum in town:
The Irish Wake Museum but it wasn't open the day we were there. We walked around for a bit and then went back to the hotel. There are plenty of museums in Waterford that look excellent but we had our hearts set on that one.
Waterford deserved its own post. I think every one of us voted Waterford as our favorite place. I'd love to go back and see the things that I missed.
The other pub we visited is around the corner from the hotel. TIP: Don't go to a pub on the main street. Find one on a side street. That's where you'll find locals and the best conversation! Another one of my sisters & I were looking for some "Trad" music and found just what we were looking for at Katty Barry's. As soon as we walked in we were told that this was where you get the best Guinness in Waterford. We had some drinks and listened to some locals playing. We stayed for a few songs and then decided we'd better go hit the hay. 
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love comments; however, if your comment contains a link it will be marked as spam and will be deleted!