Killorglin ~ Saas Fee
Caragh Lake Walk
Christmas eve was a blustery day in Kerry. Nevertheless, our brave heroes decided a trip to the hilltops overlooking stunning Caragh Lake was in order.
Caragh Lake always reminds me of something out of the Lord of the Rings. A stunningly beautiful mountain lake with wild green hillsides spilling down into pristine fresh water. The Caragh Lake Yacht Squadron (consisting of half a dozen ~20 year old dinghies) plies its waters during the long summer evenings, and a few hardy souls venture out in the winter months.
We went climbing with Irene and Stephen, their sons Kevin and Ronan, as well as auntie Geraldine and cousin Nina, who is a particular favourite of Aisling’s.
Beautiful forest paths on the way up and a chance to swing our way along.
At the top, sweeping views of the lake and in the distance the town of Killorglin, where if you know where to look you can see our house (very slowly) taking shape.
Charles was nearly blown off the top of the hill! If you look carefully on the tree behind him you can see a few Christmas baubles installed by the inimitable Pa Brown to add some holiday cheer up high…
Christmas in Killorglin
Wonderful to have Christmas with family. Lots of cousins on hand and Santa found us in Killorglin.
Lots of presents all around, even for Cooper the dog. Time to celebrate the one day of the year we get coco pops for breakfast…
The weather served up the usual breathtaking views over the Reeks…
While Irene and Niamh cooked up an amazing feast for Christmas dinner, with the extended table running out of the room and nearly out of the house.
Traditional Irish Christmas fare paired with a traditional Aussie “slab pav” dessert by Niamh:
To work it all off, the boys headed out for a boxing day expedition – a day out at a Leinster – Munster rugby match with Stephen, Ronan and Hugh.
Fantastic pub lunch before the game, which was played out in brisk conditions to say the least! Leinster ran away with the first half before a Munster comeback which unfortunately wasn’t good enough to carry the day. Great day out all around.
10th and 100th anniversaries
December 27th was the twins’ 50th birthday, so a 100th celebration was in order. It has snowed overnight, serving up a particularly beautiful and atmospheric dawn with snowy peaks on the Reeks:
Rainy and sleeting day in Killorglin pointed to indoor activities. We started with some corridor balloon tennis, then headed to the local cinema for a showing of Ferdinand the bull.
Charles overcome by the excitement and succeeded in mating the two halves of different jackets on the way out.
Wonderful celebration dinner with the twins for their 100th with guitar playing and singing into the evening. In honour of our impending 10th wedding anniversary the next day, Irene even donned her bridesmaid’s dress one more time…
The 28th saw snow lingering on the mountains and atmospheric landscapes:
Simon and Niamh moved into the Killarney Park hotel for a night for their 10th wedding anniversary.
Being back at the scene of our marriage photos brought back wonderful memories of 2007 when so many of our friends and family made the trip to help us celebrate our wedding.
Wonderful anniversary dinner with family, including a flaming croquembouche in honour of our wedding cake, and 10th anniversary medals presented to both of us by our lovely children with a bit of help from Irene 🙂
Au revoir, Killorglin, bonjour Saas Fee
Time to leave family behind for a while, as we head off for our skiing holiday with Nerida, Roger, Alex and Amy. Early start from Kerry International Airport in light rain to fly to Dublin and connect to Geneva.
Early start makes for sleepy kids. Won’t these bags EVER come out? When they finally do it provides a great place for a nap…
First ride of many to come on a European train. Great fun had exploring up and down and catching up with our friends.
It gets dark before we reach the Alps, but we’ll have a better chance to see the beautiful mountain views on our way back next weekend
Made it to Saas Fee! Snowing lightly and the whole beautiful village covered in white. Forecast is for lots more snow on the way.
Tired but excited crew catch a quick dinner then catch some sleep before first day of skiing on Sunday. The resort goes up to an impressive 3600m so altitude might take some adjusting to. We’ll have to adapt our balloon tennis shot selection accordingly…
