Scott, Lindsey, and our trip to the North

The Cunningham's are our good friends from California and we were bursting with excitement to have them stay with us.  We took in the familiar sights of Kinsale and Cork, ate amazing food, explored new places in Belfast, and enjoyed tons of live music in Dublin.

While Josh and Scott were working the days away, Lindsey and I took in a cooking course at Ballymaloe Cookery School.  We learned how to make bread, wings, chicken dishes, sauces, and meringues.

"When you step through the little wooden side gate and into the courtyard of Ballymaloe Cookery School you enter a different world.  A world where the whole emphasis is on food - growing it, preparing it, cooking it, eating it and, crucially, enjoying it."

This is the view from an adult tree house Lindsey and I discovered in the gardens, which over looks a life size hidden chess board.  The Ballymaloe gardens were like something straight off the pages of Alice and Wonderland.

The chef was inspirational as he managed to prepare multiple dishes at the same time.   I am most excited to recreate homemade brown bread. 

We also visited the English Market, one of the oldest markets of its kind.  The market was brimming with fresh produce,  artisan bread, meats, and delectable cheeses.

The market was packed with local products as well.  

This is one of the first castles we came across on our tour of Belfast.  Interestingly the North is still under British control.  We learned about the civil war that has been raging, and essentially tearing the North apart.  "The Troubled Times," as they are appropriately referred to, is a political and religious dispute that only recently has been resolved.

Gorgeous views of the Antrim Coastline.

Josh and I on Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.  

From this angle you can see the the bridge is over 90 feet high.  With icy winds gusting, the four of us plodded over the ravine to reach Carrick Island.  The skies briefly opened for us to see across the "pond" to Scotland.

The Giant's Causeway.
The Causeway was formed millions of years ago and is a product of volcanic ruptures.

Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn McCool built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight the Scottish warrior, Benandonner.  Realizing Benandonner was much larger then he, McCool and his wife, Oonagh, hatched a plan.  She laid a blanket over her husband and pretended he was her baby.  When Breandonner saw the size of the "infant," he assumed that the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed.  Therefore the Scottish warrior fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway to prevent being followed. 

  The Causeway was breathtaking. 

Back in Dublin...
the gang in the Guinness Tasting Room.  The factory is the best place to get the freshest brew beer. 

The boys in heaven at the Guinness Factory.  

Scott found a leprechaun! 

We were Dublin during their Trad Fest (Traditional Festival).  Every pub had drinks flowing and live music pumping.  Lindsey and Scott were asked to sing Molly Malone, lyrics include: crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-o.

We absolutely enjoyed our time with the Cunningham's and had a fabulous time discovering new parts of Ireland with them!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Everything about Christmas is perfect.  Lights strung up, festive music playing, Christmas trees stuffed with ornaments, delicious cakes and breads, and of course spending time with friends and family.  This year Josh and I over indulged in Christmas and enjoyed every minute of it.

November 26: This was our first annual Thanks-mas (Thanksgiving and Christmas) celebration.  Per Wesling tradition Josh and I made pumpkin pancakes and egg bakes.  Per Thompson tradition our simple little celebration took to the streets of Kinsale and didn't end until 1am.

December 3: You may recognize this picture from our Christmas card.  This was taken at the beginning of our ugly sweater pub crawl, which started with delicious food at our friends Mike and Maire's and ended with the lot of us singing "When the Saint Come Marching In" at the Grey Hound.

You may notice we are the only ones dressed up:)

December 10: Christmas in Killarney National Park.  Loving Bing Crosby's "Christmas in Killarney", Josh and I have made a Christmas tradition of visiting this beautiful area.   

When Josh and I first were married, we were given good advice to establish our own traditions.  Christmas in Killarney has quickly become one of our favorites.  You can probably see why we love it here so much.  The scenery is beyond breathtaking.  We had a perfect day of hiking, eating amazing food, and wandering the decorated streets. 

December 16: Christmas Markets in Germany.  This year I visited the Frankfurt Christmas Market with my friend Carrie. The streets were lined with stalls packed with either aromatic local delicacies, treats, handmade crafts, or mulled wine!  Mulled wine is a hot spiced red wine and was the perfect libation for keeping us warm.

The Frankfurt Christmas Market is among the oldest dating back to 1393.    Local artisans offer only the finest handicrafts, carved toys, and sweets.  While there we also tried schnitzel and bratwurst, everything was so delicious.   

One of my favorite stalls.  If you look closely you will notice that mushrooms are used as decorations.    The mushroom symbolizes luck in Germany.

The Christmas Market by day. 

This was a Jewish Holocaust memorial.  Ann Frank and her family have stones honoring their memory here.  I was told that the Germans believe flowers are for the living and so when they visit these memorial pieces, they place rocks on top of them. 

Carrie and I relishing in our last night in Frankfurt.  We had an amazing time and I was very thankful for the opportunity to have this experience.

December 24: Christmas Eve.  Brooklynn and Chandler love playing with their uncle Josh.  Christmas Eve was filled with a church service at Flatirons, a delicious meal made by my parents, and PRESENTS!

The next generations Christmas enthusiast 

We got the girls cameras for Christmas!  I never imagined how entertaining this would be.  They snapped shots of the tree, the oversized Santa, each other, all of us, the table, their feet, the ground ... you get the picture (pun intend). 

Say Cheese Santa.

On Christmas we spent time with the Thompson's (unfortunately my camera died Christmas Eve).   While in Colorado we spent time with friends over cocktails, cigars, and Mexican food.   Loving our time in Colorado made it hard to say goodbye.  Josh and I are very lucky to have two families that love us so much and we miss them terribly.



Next up:  Scott and Lindsey visit!

Chris and Paul come to town!

In late October, when the air was cooling,  Josh's mom and Paul came to visit us here in the Emerald Isle.  Chris had a Fall Break from school so it was the perfect time to come and experience Ireland in all its chilly wonderment.  We visited astonishing historical sights, gambled in a pub, indulged in local cuisine, and sampled refreshing libations.

Chris and Paul at the Rock of Cashel.
The pair are standing in King Cormac's Chapel, which was considered one of the most sophisticated structures during the 1100's in Ireland.

The town of Cashel.
I love that behind the wooden sheep cut out, were tons of ... cows.

The Rock of Cashel is also known as Cashel of Kings because it was home to the Kings of Munster.

Hore Abbey.  
You can't help but laugh when reading the name of this structure.

Despite the chilly air, the three of us enjoyed exploring the ruins of this dilapidated Abbey.  Most intriguing are the eroded graves dating back to 1105.

It isn't a trip to Ireland without a stop to Blarney Castle, one of Ireland's greatest treasures.  

Paul kissed the Blarney Stone and was given the gift of eloquent speech.  Most don't realize that the Blarney stone is actually perched off of a high ledge.  You have to lie on the ground and lean backward just to reach it.  But not to worry, the man in the blue is there to ensure your safety - if you tip him! 

The land around Blarney is breath taking.  My favorite time to visit the landmark is during Fall when the leaves are changing color.

During this time the three of us were navigating our way through Rock Close, a  fairy glade that dates back to prehistoric times.  The glade included wishing steps, a hermit's cave and a Druid sacrificial alter.

Can you see the Witch of Blarney in this stone?  The hole as her eye?  Then there is her long nose.  It is believed that she is the one who told the king of the power of the Blarney Stone.  

Later in the week, we packed up the very tiny car and drove directly South to Mizen Head.  Mizen Head is the lesser known but equally impressive version of the Cliffs of Moher.

Mizen Head cliffs are also known as the tear drop of Ireland because of the way the coastline jets into the Atlantic Ocean and it was the last port of call for those immigrating to America. 

During their time abroad, Chris and Paul also visited London and Paris.  I met them for a day in London.    We took the Hop on Hop off bus to get the history of the sights we were seeing.  We also drove by the beautiful cathedral where the Occupy movement had camped.  And we walked through the gorgeous Hyde Park that sits just beyond the Buckingham Palace.  

This bridge is often confused for the London Bridge.  This is the Tower Bridge designed to allow passage of taller ships, whereas the London Bridge was once used as a place to hang traitors.

The London Eye

We learned that this building isn't actually called Big Ben.  Big Ben is the clock bell.

Also, included in their visit was a dinner at our friends Thomas and Frances' house in Kinsale.  They made a delicious South African meal complete with pumpkin fritters.  

We really enjoyed our time with Chris and Paul and are grateful for their opportunity to visit.  We were disappointed to see them go!

This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!

Josh and I love Halloween.  This holiday was one of our very first celebrations together where I went as Marilyn and Josh as Beaker from the Muppets.  Halloween isn't a big holiday in Ireland, which made it very difficult to find decorations or costumes. The more important date is November 1st, All Saints Day, a day that celebrates those who don't have a specific day of remembrance.  Jokingly, a radio DJ stated that he felt that the Americans were taking over the holiday, that things should go back to the earlier times of children hunting for coins.

Here is an interesting fact about the origin of Halloween costumes during the Celtic times: On the special night, when the living and the dead were at their closest, the Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits and devils in case they encountered actual devils and spirits during the night. By disguising they hoped that they would be able to avoid being carried away. This explains why witches, goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes. 

Josh and I enjoyed being creative with festive treats for our event and were pleased to see friends sharing in our affinity for this colorful holiday.

This year I was a pumpkin and well Josh went with, maybe I should just leave you with your own guesses...

The girls

The boys

Deviled eggs.  We actually made the eggs look like little devils :)

The spread complete with a hummus graveyard.

These eyeballs are basically like buckeyes, just made with white chocolate.

Josh and I love carving pumpkins.  This was the first time, for two of our friends ever carving pumpkins.

Kinsale Mad Hatters

When Josh and I first decided on moving to Kinsale, we were told that it was the culinary capital of Ireland. Kinsale chefs pride themselves on unique cuisine infused with local produce.  Each year Kinsale hosts the Mad Hatters party, which is a celebration of all the culinary delights that this town has to offer.  During this time folks retrieve their zaniest hats and parade through the town, drinking and sampling delicious morsels from the town's fabulous restaurants.

The whole gang: Hernan and Carrie who just moved from California and Thomas and Frances who we met in Kinsale.

The Mad Hatters is an Alice and Wonderland themed party.  We were lucky enough to follow the Mad Hatter himself.

In the spirit of Halloween, my hat had spiderwebs and was crawling with bedazzled tarantulas.

Josh went as an Irish tourist.  His hat was covered with patches and Irish trinkets.

This was the start of the party.  We began with a champagne toast at Actons Hotel, followed by delicious samplings at the Trident Hotel, on to a local pub for desserts, and ending with a dance party at the White Lady.  By the end we were crawling through the streets of Kinsale.

We are survivors of our first Hatters party and can't wait for the next!  Here is a link showcasing the event:
http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1123234
Watch around the 3:30 mark and just know in my defense there was a lot of wine and my hat was a bit big for my head :)