I am writing this last entry after arriving home from our trip. We got back last night after a 12 hour flight from Heathrow; a very nice flight even though it was so long. We went to Plymouth after Waterford, but frankly it was cloudy and raining in the morning and to visit Plymouth involved a tender ride of one half hour in each direction. So, we stayed on board and enjoyed the amenities of the ship. Nonetheless, I want to describe our visit to Waterford, which involved only the tour of the Crystal Factory and Showroom. I say only, but it was much more than only would suggest.

So we arrived at the Dunmore East pier,

  and saw two of our new friends made on the ship, Bill and his daughter, Chris, from Seattle.

 

The bus ride from the pier to Waterford took a bit longer than expected because we passed a film (pronounced filum) crew filming (pronounced filuming) a TV series. That required us to stop for a few minutes before proceeding. One notable sight on the way to Waterford was a workman re-thatching the roof of a pub.  

Soon enough we arrived at the Centre and got our entry tickets. We had no hesitation in paying the fee for this entry because it was the highlight of this stop for us and one that we had been looking forward to. The exhibit began in a room containing examples of crystal and explanations.

Next, we moved to the moulds department and learned about the materials moulds are made of and details about moulds.    

We then entered the Blowing Department where they fire,

 

shape, 
 

and blow the crystal,

 

and then put it in the cooling kiln.



Next is the quality department where they remove the shaped crystal pieces from the cooling kiln after they have been cooled overnight. The excess crystal at the bottom of each piece is sawed off.   

The cutting and sculpting departments are next where each piece is stenciled with the pattern for cutting and expert (and apprentice) workers meticulously cut each piece. Each worker spends five years as an apprentice and then works for three more years to attain the rank of master. So qualifying to work in each station within the production facility takes 8 years. We never did find out how much these workers are paid, but we hope it is a lot because this looks like very demanding work.

The final step is the engraving department, where pieces are engraved with special inscriptions. One example displayed was a piece dedicated to a particular NY Fire Department Company commemorating 911.  

Thus, our trip to Waterford concluded and we thought it was definitely worth it.