WINTERVAL: WOODY HARRELSON, FLASHING LIGHTS AND A CAROUSEL

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I'm sitting here, Saturday the 29th of November, absolutely furious. This is simply because the great Woody Harrelson (yes think True Detective, The Hunger Games, Zombieland and Now You See Me etc) is in Waterford for the Winterval Festival in Waterford City. Of course, with my luck I end up going on the Friday. But enough of that. I went yesterday and the city always improves drastically when Winterval comes around. Be it the Tall Ships or Spraoi, Waterford City is actually a great location for festivals and events.

John Robert's Square with fluorescent lighting

 There are so many reasons why Christmas is people's favourite time of the year, for me it's the atmosphere. I am always fascinated with children's reaction to Christmas time, they're so excited. It makes you think of when when you were once four or five and you counted down the "sleeps" until Christmas Eve. As soon as we got to the old bridge I could see the lights strewn along the street, giving off a warm glow that makes you wish that Christmas was next week rather than next month. The ice rink was crammed full of people hanging on to each other for dear life and others gliding along like professionals. Beside Waterford Crystal there was a mini ferris wheel, I couldn't believe how busy the place was so late in the evening. At the Clock Tower I could see John Robert's Square filled with bustling people and the carousel transforming the familiar place into a literal winter wonderland. The pavements had snowflakes spray painted on them. Beside the cathedral they had a little grotto and the stable with the statues of Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. I was very impressed with the attention to detail.

 It was painfully cold when I got out of the car, yet to take photos I had to take off my gloves. Where there's an opportunity to take photos I am willing to sacrifice even the feeling in my hands to capture a moment before it's gone.
Every shop window was filled with toys, tinsel and of course Father Christmas. The square was alive with music, people chattering and the music playing from the carousel. I will put my hand up and say that I have been on this particular carousel on many occasions with my friends, I'm not going to lie. We enjoyed ourselves. It's beautiful, there's an archaic look to the carousel and it actually fits in with the whole set up. There was a lovely little train carrying children around the city, it's actually not that expensive. I'd like to point out that there's something for people of all ages, and there's going to be events going on for the next three weeks ( 21st of November to the 23rd of December). Last year there was a carriage being drawn by huge beautiful shire horses.
A slightly creepy Santa Claus statue in the
Book Centre.
To escape the cold we went inside the Book Centre which is the best book shop in Waterford by far. It's an architectural masterpiece in my opinion! There's five floors of books, magazines, cafés and dvds. There's such a homely feel to the shop. You can buy beautiful Belgian chocolate, sit with your coffee beside the little fountain and read to your heart's content.

 There's such a nice feeling, sitting down in a nice warm armchair with books all around you and hearing Christmas carols being played all over the shop, I would have stayed there for hours.

 Winterval is something you should totally go to if you're in the local area and if you're willing to travel!

 For more information go here: Winterval.

 Thanks so much for reading!
The building that the Book Centre is situated
used to be a theatre, it's structurally so beautiful!
The art in the background is where the stage was.
This photo gives you an idea of the floors, and
just how many books are crammed into this space.
It's literally heaven!


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1 comments

  1. Unknown4 December 2014 at 15:16

    you make me home sick sometimes you know that Miss Walsh?
    Can't wait to see you in 2 weeks and go to Winterval and the book centre again! Get those hands ready to embrace that chilly air again!!

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