On the 1st of December I discovered a gorgeous Christmas tree and Santa Claus post box in Dublin Castle. This was the start of the season...
Mr. FFID and I adopted a kitten in December, his name is Sushi and this video shows the first time he played with our other cat Yoda. They both destroyed our miserable, fake Christmas tree by the way.
I loved when Mr. FFID and I baked gingerbread men while drinking mulled wine in front of the TV. So Christmassy!
I felt like Santa Claus when I posted all the gift vouchers for my French food tours and thought of the people who found them under the tree on Christmas morning.
Powerscourt centre was the place in Dublin city centre with the most beautiful decorations.
The fairy lights at Dame Lane's Christmas market were so pretty, even in the rain.
I drank so much mulled wine and ate so many mince pies during the month of December.
I remember an evening while I was walking on Grafton street, the weather was awful but I didn't mind because the atmosphere was so festive.
I found a French baguette in my Christmas stocking one day when I got home... Santa is a little cheeky, isn't he?
I loved this festive beer in L. Mulligan Grocer and had a great lunch there, have a read at my blog post if you missed it!
On Christmas eve, Mr. FFID made this delicious Brussels sprout dish following Lovin' Dublin's recipe. We loved it, it was cheesy and creamy plus there was tons of bacon in it, yummy!
After lunch, we headed to Stephens Green as we're big fans of Glen Hansard. Every year on Christmas Eve, he busks with some of his friends to raise funds for the Simon community. I've never had the chance to see them because I have always been either working or away. This year my wish came true, I stood in front of him for two and a half hours. If anything I was a little too close to the front as, I had his guitar pretty much in my face the all time and was even scared he'd poke my eye with the strings.
This was without a doubt the best gig I've ever seen. Mr. FFID got to sing a verse of the Auld triangle with Glen but my phone had no memory left for me to record it. Glen played and sang with his talented friends (Mundy amongst others) and I was surrounded by so many Irish, cool, talented, bearded men that I felt in heaven (that includes Mr. FFID of course).
Damien Rice was there too and he sang one of my favourite songs, Volcano. I was stuck between him, Glen and Mr. FFID at some stage, that's why I'm so close to the camera.
Then there was a chap you might have heard of, his name is Bono and he sang 2 songs and left. The body guard realised I wasn't the hysterical kind of gal and let be stand right in front of him. I know lots of Irish people dislike the man but I just remembered how much I listened 'With or without you' and 'One' when I was a teenager in France and couldn't believe I was standing in front of one of the most famous singers in the world.
The next morning, I woke up in county Wicklow in the house of Mr. FFID's mammy and there was a mountain of presents. I got very spoilt, including many foodie presents.
We drank Buck's fizz on Christmas morning like we do every time we spend Christmas in Wicklow.
In the afternoon, we ate a traditional Irish Christmas dinner and I was so full that I pretty much passed out on the sofa for the rest of the day.
I somehow managed to find some room for my Laduree macarons. I'm so glad Santa read my Christmas gift list blog post and got the hint.
On Stephen's Day, I was enjoying my pressies and having a look at My Vintage tea party book sitting in front of the fire. Pure bliss!
The same morning I ate a full Irish made by Mr. FFID and inspired by Donal Skehan's One tray artisan full Irish recipe.
I definitely spent a very Irish Christmas this year and one of the best ever, I'm a bit sad the festive season is almost over. I'm already looking forward to next Christmas but it will be a French one hopefully just to be fair to my French family.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, enjoyed some quality time with your loved ones and ate lots of indulgent food. I took a little break from blogging for a week but I'm back now and hope to entertain you in 2014 with this little blog of mine.
By the way, if starting a blog is one of your new year's resolutions you might want to join my 'Blogging for beginners workshop' on Wednesday 22nd of January in Ubode Lifestyle cafe in Temple Bar, you can purchase a ticket here.
What did you do for Christmas? What are your plans for New Year's Eve?
