Ah.....Ireland: Waterford to St. Patrick's Cathedral to Brazen Head Pub

Beautiful place, the Waterford glass factory. We took a tour of how Waterford Crystal was produced from start to finish. The artists were amazing. They are apprentices for many years before they can work on their own. Sandy and I bought some crystal because....."we thought we should say hello". We stopped at an old pub for lunch, Munster bar. Then we drove back to Dublin to dump the car. The guys were so happy to get rid of it. No scrapes or accidents but very scary at times. City driving is very scary, especially when everything is on the wrong side. Sandy needs to be acknowledged for all her skills with reading the map. She was a huge help. We also had Vanessa, our GPS which gave us heartache many a times but did pull us through some sticky areas. We returned to the Brook's Hotel which was a welcoming site and felt like we were coming home. If you ever go to Dublin, try the Brook's Hotel. It is centrally located in the Temple Bar area and they were so helpful taking care of us. I can't say enough about this hotel. The doorman is named Connor and he was in his 50's and talked to everyone in the hotel. He got a kick out of pronouncing Izdebski. Then, we went on foot to St Patrick's Cathedral which was beautiful. We went to a service that was just starting that was 1/2 hr. The men's choir sang through the entire service and their voices were stunning. Then we walked a bit of a way to the Brazen Head Pub where we had a night if, "Food, Fairies, and Folklore. There was an Irish woman who told about the history of the Irish, their beliefs, why the grew potatoes, potato famine and all about fairies. She had a beautiful voice with an Irish lilt that you could listen to for hours. One thing she said was, "promise me when you get home, you'll turn off your TV, cell phones, computers, I-pads and sit with those you love and tell stories". That is what they do in Ireland because in the 1900's the country was so poor, they could not afford the arts so the sat around and told stories. It was a wonderful night and a wonderful end our trip to Ireland.