So back we fought, only to find that door bolted. So we tried to get out through the smoking area - dead end. We ended up asking a lovely member of staff, who lead us upstairs, through another door, down other stairs and out. How crazy! It was impossible to exit - lord help them if there is ever a fire in there!
Second piece of mayhem - which was also magic - was the 'older', character drag queen's right 'breast' came adrift and she was trying to find it and put it back in place during the Bohemian Rhapsody finale, causing great hilarity everywhere!
It was an early-ish start this morning as we had a long day ahead. A last coffee in the beautiful foyer and a farewell to our home of the last three nights, around to the car park, load up the car, head out of Dublin and down to Ireland's Ancient East.
After even just a couple of days in Dublin, it's lovely to see roads like this...
First stop is Glendalough, a most picturesque spot in the Wicklow Mountains, we had a stroll through the old monastic site...
..before stopping for a coffee/scone breakfast.
The drive through the Wicklow Mountains is extraordinarily beautiful and ever changing - one moment rolling green hills, the next, more rugged and no trees, and there were sheep wandering around!
The weather was ever changing too - from light rain to sprinkles to blue sky and light cloud.
Next stop - out of the mountains and to Waterford to the House of Waterford Crystal. I hadn't wanted to book a tour as I wasn't sure how it would all work out time wise, so as we went in we asked about a tour and there was one starting in five minutes - perfect!
We start in a room with some fabulous pieces. David, our guide, explains that there are four areas you can work in here - I think they are a cutter, moulder, engraver and blower. It is a five-year apprenticeship and then a three-year master course. At the end of this eight years, they have a test to make one of these pieces, properly and within a certain amount of time. If they fail, they can try again, but that's it - if they don't pass, out they go and the eight years with it!
Clock...
We then go into a big room where they play a fantastic video all about Waterford crystal, there are mirrors all over the place so the video reflects all over - this sort of shows it...
Then we head into the factory itself where the craftsmen are right there, working away, so close, it's amazing.
The moulds for some pieces are made with beech wood and they only last a few goes before the heat of the crystal destroys them. Every piece is handcrafted and no two are exactly the same - this is why they cost a bit!
This is the blowing room.
Then into the carving room where they have to cut the pattern into the item at just the right depth - too deep and they go through the glass, too shallow and the pattern doesn't work.
Next to a section of special items - some amazing pieces, including a piano...
And here's my actual People's Choice Award!
Past the engraving section and then out to the showroom.
Great tour!
A quick lunch and coffee and the back on the road for another two-hour drive! Went past some lovely villages.
..before arriving in our stop for the night - Cobh, pronounced Cove - a perfect little seaside village with an amazingly steep road on the way in.
And our hotel for the night.
Time for a quick explore around this quaint village...
..before we head to the old actual ticket office of the White Star Line where the Titanic stopped to pick up 123 passengers (and drop off 7 lucky passengers) before heading off on her fateful trip.
On arrival, we were all handed a boarding card of one of the actual passengers.
I was Ellen Corr, age 17 and in third class - so my hopes of survival are not high.
Alison was Daisy Minakan, age 33 and in first class - so she should be okay.
Then we go through and into a tender type seating arrangement and have a short video about how the 123 passengers were taken by tender out to the Titanic - obviously different for first and second class and third class - who went with the mail.
Here is Captain Smith on the pier before sailing.
And the pier - known as Heartbreak Pier as it's where many immigrated to the new world from, thus causing heartbreak. Slightly in disrepair now...
Then inside to a scaled down version of what life in the third class was like. White Line was very keen to have it as luxurious as possible for the third class so they had bunks and recreation areas. They had running water and electricity - which a lot of passengers there didn't have at home.
They also provided three meals a day - unlike other lines where they had to bring (and protect) their own food for the journey. Here's a sample menu...
In comparison, here's a cabin and menu from first class.
They got a lot of these details from one of the seven passengers who got off in Cobh, a first class passenger who had taken a lot of photos. Those photos were used all over the world after the ship sunk and James Cameron used them to create the sets for the movie.
The last section was a lifeboat, and they played a video of the ship wreck so it was like you were sitting in a boat, watching it happen - pretty realistic! Then they showed a video of a 'sailor' from the Carpathia, the boat at went to the rescue of any survivors, describing his experience and what happened that night from their perspective. This was really powerful.
And then into museum - great museum where you could listen to interviews, listen to transcripts from the inquiry, smell the smells from different sections, do a quiz on your Titanic knowledge, love stories from onboard, some items that survived, and so much more - very interesting.
They also had what happened to our characters and I was very glad to see that Ellen survived. Daisy did too, as did most of the first class women.
Another great tour.
Dinner and bed, it's been a long day!
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