I’m guessing there’s quite a few of you who haven’t yet finished your Christmas shopping, so I’m offering the gift of recommendations – none of which requires you to go to a busy shopping centre (that’s a gift in and of itself, no?). It’s also a round-up of some of my favourite places and things of 2012, so here’s hoping this will inspire some of you and also help out with your last-minute gift search!
The Gift of Eating Out: Asador Restaurant Voucher
This new Southside restaurant has everything: A beautiful, elegant but not-too-formal atmosphere, a stunning bar with fantastic cocktails and a great wine & beer selection, incredible food and hard-to-beat service. I recently had the opportunity do have a nice, long dinner there with a friend and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable meals I’ve had in Dublin all year.
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This Christmas will be my first here in Ireland, since last year I went home to Los Angeles to spend the holidays in my hometown. Though it will be a bit weird being away from home (come to think of it, this will be the first Christmas spent without my own family), I’m looking forward to spending it here with Mountaineering Man and his family.
I suppose in some ways it’s appropriate; ever since I landed here in March 2010, life has been all about embracing change. From adjusting to the cold wet weather to learning loads of Irish slang, I’ve come to realise the best approach is to just roll with it.
It’s been fascinating hearing about all the traditional Christmas foods my Irish friends are looking forward to this weekend – some of which are familiar, some not. Similar to Americans, the Irish love their ham and turkey as the centerpiece of their Christmas dinner table. But here dessert is all about Christmas Pudding, which isn’t what we Yanks know as pudding at all. It’s more like fruitcake, except instead of those hideous candied green cherries popular in the American fruitcake the Irish use raisins and sultanas and nuts. Most make their “puds” – as they call ‘em – about 2-3 months ahead of time because like American fruitcake, they’ll last practically forever.
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