So This is Christmas

Eli took today off work, and we visited the Christmas market at Dublin Castle.

We rode the green line Luas tram to St. Stephen's Green and then had about a 12-minute walk to get to the market.  I had never been through that part of the City Centre before, and it was quite overwhelming.  Tattoo shops, pubs, eateries, donut shops, grocery stores - just store after store after store.  Some of the places were basically a small hole in the wall where people could walk up and get pizza or a snack.

And there were so. many. people.  We had to weave our way around slower walkers or people who just decided it was a good idea to park themselves in the middle of a narrow sidewalk.  Many different dialects and languages floated around us as we made our way to the castle.

Once there, we had the "rat in the maze" experience of doing that switchback waltz as we moved through the barricades they had in place to contain a large queue - there was no queue today but considering it was around 1 p.m. on a Monday, that wasn't surprising.

This was the entrance into the castle courtyard.

There were vendor booths set up with all manner of handicrafts - candles, jewelry, handmade wooden puzzles, clothing - as well as a handful of food vendors.  Nothing says Christmas in Dublin like one cart selling churros and another one selling corn dogs.

There was a carousel set up in the center of the courtyard.  Of course I rode the carousel.  My trusty steed's name was Robert.  Eli was next to me on a horse named Codi, and the horse on the inside rail was named Dylan.  Who named these horses?

We took a tour of the State Apartments, which are part of the castle.  As you might imagine, this place was very opulent.  Lots of huge paintings on the walls, velvet couches, the whole nine yards.

We also visited the Chapel Royal, which is right outside the courtyard.  It boasted soaring arched ceilings, lots of stained glass, and a humongous pipe organ.

After we left the courtyard and before visiting the Chapel, we got a drink from one of the vendors and stood beneath a small shelter, sipping our hot chocolate and listening to the Christmas music being piped over loudspeakers:  Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney), All I Want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey), The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole), White Christmas (Bing Crosby), Happy Xmas (John Lennon and Yoko Ono), and Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Bruce Springsteen) were just a few of the songs we heard.  I was certain they were going to play "Last Christmas" by Wham and I'd get Whamageddon-ed, but it didn't happen.

Hot chocolate:  How it started vs how it ended

Adventure complete, we headed back to the tram stop outside St. Stephen's Green, past the busker singing in the Centre square and the man feeding a huge flock of pigeons,  accompanied by a light mist that never fully blossomed into all-out rain.  Feet tired from walking on cobblestones, it was good to sit and let the tram take us home.

(If you want more information on Dublin Castle - including learning the names of some luminaries who have been entertained within its walls - go here:  History | Dublin Castle )