Nollaig shona dhuit!
Happy Christmas from Dublin...
This is the first time Debbie and I have spent Christmas Day away from family. It was more of an economical choice rather than a personal one. We dearly miss each and every one of you but we’ll make the best of our time these next couple of weeks together.
By the time you guys read this we’ll hopefully be back in the USA for a holiday visit. The IRS will cut our time short but we’ll make the best of it including meeting our beautiful granddaughter, Colette, for the first time in person.
A Tennis Trip to Mecca
During December I had to make a business trip to London, again. This time we stayed over the weekend and took advantage of the time to make a visit to tennis mecca… Wimbledon!
This was an incredible experience that Debbie and I hope to have again in July with Kate & Mike if we get selected in the ticket lottery. Some of you guys know we started playing a year ago so we could get some “couple time”. It has turned out to be a lot of fun, even with a brief “break” in time for me. Our decision to join the local lawn tennis club continues to pay dividends. Debbie recently won a smoked salmon as a consolation prize in the annual Turkey Tournament. She is continuing to hone her serve and net game so Alex and Michael better watch out!
While we were in London we got stranded by the snow storm. We made the best of it by revisiting one of my favorite restaurants in the the city, the OXO Tower. Usually this place offers one of the most magical views in London but on this occasion the weather forced us to focus on some lovely steak and wine…..oh the horrors!
Our trip also included a lovely stage experience at the Gielgud Theatre to see Matthew Modine in To Kill A Mockingbird. It happened to be the same night that Morocco beat Spain to earn a spot in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals. We had to work our way through an exuberant crowd at Trafalgar Square to get to the theatre. It was madness to say the least.
A Tourist in our (temporary) Town
We have been waiting for that special moment for the tourist to leave and start visiting some of the famous Dublin tourist spots. The Guinness Storehouse was on that list and so on a cold and rainy day we bought our tickets and took the plunge. It is definitely a place to visit to learn more about the history of Ireland and Dublin. The beer isn’t so bad either.
To top off our holiday experience we booked a table on Christmas Eve with a local pub-turned Michelin Star restaurant. We found this place by accident and in now on our list of places to go back to again and again. Spitalfields, not to be confused with the amazing neighborhood in London, is an old, old pub where pints have been slipping down quietly for decades and is now an amazing eatery. Next to the food, by far the grandest thing in Spitalfields is the staircase. It’s wide and gleaming with a sheen, like something designed for a barracky country pile rather than a pub on a corner of the some residential street.
Finally, you can’t wrap up Christmas in Dublin without a stroll down the iconic Grafton Street. We attempted to find some famous entertainers pretending to be local buskers but the heavy rain kept most everyone off the street this Christmas Eve. We ventured back on Christmas Day to capture a few memories for our Irish Adventure.
We hope you will consider joining us in 2023 for at least a smidgen of Europe.
Happy Holidays and Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit (Happy New Years)!
Ken & Debbie
Well looks like you are both having a blast - you are working right Ken? Have a great time with the family.