Christmastime in the City

Outside Merrion Square.

Carolers in Farmleigh

Dublin truly does come to life during the Christmas season. From the Peace on Earth lights to Grafton street to the overly ornately decorated pubs, to the endless amounts of mulled wine, mince pies (fruit, not meat), and holiday parties the Irish know how to do Christmas. Cathal and I each attended about 6 Christmas parties - for work, fundraisers, and the craic (Gaelic for fun, pronounced like the 'crack' - lots of good puns there).  A highlight was perhaps my supervisors Euro-vision themed Christmas-party. While some went as Dana and Johnny Logan, Cathal and I went a bit more contemporary - Jedward. 

The Lovable Jedward,
as dressed for their hit
performance of Lipstick.

Just off Grafton Street.

 Lorcan and Lindsay were able to make it home for Christmas, which was great. We spent lots of time hanging around the house, playing spoons, drinking wine, and watching classics like Home Alone. Christmas Eve in Ireland involves not only a nice dinner at home, but an evening out at the pub catching up with everyone who made the trip home -- or in my case meeting old friends of the Kearney family. 

Yes. We stopped for
cokes and hotdogs and
ate lunch outside, mid-mountain.

The Views! 

After Christmas, Cathal and I headed off to San Anton, Austria for a ski holiday with Cathal's brothers, their partners, and Mary's (Seaghan's wife) sisters and partners. We were 10 in total. It was the first time I've skied in Europe, and the Alps truly are spectacular. The conditions were okay - but the views from the tops of the mountains were unreal. We were able to take a lift up to the 'Valluga' - a view from 2811m/ 9222ft. I also enjoyed 'off-piste' skiing; it's not like in NE where that means through trees and sketchy areas, it just means ungroomed. It was like skiing on powder, but there was also the real potential of losing your ski in 3 feet under snow.  

We also celebrated New Years in San Anton, which involved a visit to the Krazy Kangaroo -- a bar that is 90% of the way down the mountain, but closes at 8pm, because things there are Krazy from about 12pm -- and a street party in the main street of San Anton. The one major downside to the trip was poor sister-in-law Mary had a fall and tore her acl, on the first day of skiing. She wasn't doing anything crazy at all. The poor thing. She was such a good sport and tried to make the best of the rest of the week. 

Valluage at 9222ft.