Hi everyone! Time for the first post of 2013! Hope you all had wonderful, special nights wherever you might have spent it.

I was in Dublin for New Years and, as my last posts suggests, I spent it eating tapas in a cute and lovely restaurant in Cabinteely called Las Tapas, which I thoroughly recommend if you’re ever in South Dublin.

Despite being full to the brim, Tiernan and I gunned it into town. We decided to drive even though we thought it would be a challenge. We were mistaken. There was hardly anyone on the roads and we got a free spot right in the city centre. This, I might add, never happens to us. So we were well chuffed with ourselves.

The goal had been to meet up with some friends who had come up from Cork to celebrate, but this fell though. Generally because some members of the party had started drinking too soon and determined to head back to their hostel before the count down. So Tiernan and I had a lovely stroll around Dublin city, along Grafton Street, the Liffey and up O’Connell Street. This is when the most entertaining part happened – someone tried to drive the wrong way up O’Connell Street! Although it was hilarious in its danger the Gards sorted it out and let them on their way – it’s New Years after all.

Second most fun was watching girls in too high heels try to navigate the cobblestones of Temple Bar. There was one magnificent fall and since there was no damage done rather than wounded pride I felt OK with the slow clap.

The New Year’s concert on College Green was sparsely attended and it was all a very mediocre time. This prompted Tiernan and I to get back in the car and make for Dun Laoghaire. We started a trend of curbside parking and eventually a crowd of people showed up on the waterfront in anticipation of fireworks.

Gathering crowds

After a scattered countdown with people all counting at different rates the explosions started and we were treated to a ten minute display in the chilly air. Kids seated in the boots of four-wheel drives and running about on the grass, cheers from the house parties across the street.

And it begins

Lovely experience, but not one of the New Years hotspots… not like say, Sydney. But it’s more about who you spend the evening with than how many millions went into the pyrotechnics.

Happy New Year