Unit 5 Escaping to Ireland for Christmas 【TO escape the commercial and familial hoopla of the holidays, my husband and I like to take our children to faraway places for a different kind of celebration位的经验和传统，我们最看重的，我们创建的遥远的地方。Traveling at Christmas is part of our general inclination to set out against the seasonal tides.在圣诞节旅行，是我们的一般倾向对季节性潮汐载的一部分。We go north in the winter (but not to ski), south in the summer; we stay home to work on weekends and slip out of town on a Tuesday; and when it begins to pour, we don layers of raingear and head for the most mist-enshrouded beaches or for forest trails, glowing with colors the rain unfurls.我们往北走在冬天（但不滑雪） ，南部在夏天，我们留在家里，在周末工作，并滑出镇在星期二，当它开始倒，我们没有雨具和头部的层最薄雾笼罩的海滩或森林小径泛着颜色雨中的推进。】
【I confe that avoiding gridlock and extortionate rates are the real motives behind this behavior, but our contrarine stems not so much from what we don\'t find at the end of these odd journeys as from what we do find: Mont-St.-Michel sparkling and deserted under steely January skies; a spontaneous candlelit dinner with the owners at a snowbound Vermont inn one winter weekday; two turns on any ride and a front-row spot for the Christmas parade at Disney World the week after Thanksgiving; the elegant gardens at Siinghurst in England, tangled and fading on an autumn afternoon; the beach all to ourselves and some great blue herons during the hot lulls between thunderstorms on Captiva Island in September.我得承认，避免僵局及敲诈率是这种行为背后的真正动机，但我们作对与其说是源于我们没有发现什么奇怪的旅程结束时，这些从我们发现：山圣\'\'Ireland in December?\'\'“爱尔兰在12月？\'\'especially at Christmastime尤其是在圣诞节these are only some of the cultural observations our children reported, as each evening we would put together the day\'s puzzle of \'\'samenees\'\' and \'\'differences.\'\' 在爱尔兰足球卡取代棒球卡，硬币可以区分动物（鸟，马，牛，鱼） ，长时间的一天，电视上几乎一无所有like Clew Bay Blue (somewhere between teal and aqua) or Connemara Hills (a smoky purple-blue).例如，在一次旅行，全家密谋绒线满足我的癫狂，这是否意味着停下来观看羊斗僵硬的腿在马路对面，探索一个废弃的毛纺厂，其巨大的水轮音乐还活着，归零纱存储在每一个城市，或一起决定未来毛衣的颜色，我们更名为提醒我们，我们会一直的地方though it may be a mere branch stuck in a bucket of rocks, propped up in the corner of a rented cottage.我们的庆祝活动取决于圣诞树上的we ruled that everything within our budget had to be made in Ireland我们排除一切都在我们的预算之内必须在爱尔兰 - 目的了突袭到梅奥的市场城镇：西港，新港， Castlebar和波丽娜。这些访问购物和观光结合，总是日下午4点，沿着蜿蜒的街道和河岸圣诞灯火辉煌时，突然黑暗中给我们带来了初冬，我们乐此不疲的探索从农村开始的，即使在雨中。】
【Suitcases are natural limits for gift-giving, and the overlapping of Christmas presents with souvenirs inspired us to make careful selections.箱包送礼，是天然的限制和重叠的圣诞礼物与纪念品启发我们做出慎重选择。New rubber rain boots and thick wool socks gave us a sense of invulnerability as we tramped through muddy fields to explore a megalithic tomb or strolled a beach at low tide, the stark white sand a brilliant swatch against stormy seas and dark hills.新橡胶雨鞋和厚厚的羊毛袜给了我们一个刀枪不入的感觉，因为我们通过泥地里跋涉探索巨石墓，或漫步沙滩在退潮时，鲜明的白色沙滩惊涛骇浪，一个辉煌的样本对黑暗的山丘。Toy cars with right-hand drive, comic books Irish-style, pocketable books about Irish birds and place names, a whole smoked salmon from nearby waters, and an array of fine whiskys gave tangible shape and local color to longstanding paions.右手驱动的玩具汽车，爱尔兰风格的漫画，爱尔兰鸟类和地名，附近海域的整体熏鲑鱼，以及一系列精细威士忌的袖珍书籍给有形的形状和颜色本地长期存在的激情。】
【Shopping for holiday meals to pack into an under-the-counter refrigerator became a challenge when we realized that in Ireland, shops, banks and offices close at Christmas for three days.购物节日餐装入下的非处方冰箱成为一个挑战，当我们意识到，在爱尔兰，商店，银行和办公室收于圣诞节三天。Some restaurants and most bars open again on the 26th, or St.Stephen\'s Day.一些餐馆和大多数酒吧在26日再次打开，或圣斯蒂芬节。】
【Winter is the steeplechase season, and televised races become the focus of those quiet, lazy days after Christmas: attending a meet at Thurles to witne the ancient rituals of betting brought this national sport to life for us.冬季是栏板赛季，电视转播的比赛成为关注的焦点，那些安静的圣诞节后，懒散的一天：出席满足瑟勒斯马投注，见证了古老的仪式为我们生活带来了这个国家的运动。 Even looking at the world through local newspapers yielded a special insight into Irish life, as writers grew reflective about the year just past and prospects for their country\'s future.即使通过当地的报纸在世界上产生了一个特殊的爱尔兰生活的洞察，作为作家增长反思刚刚过去的一年为自己国家的未来和前景。】
【It is easier to be reflective and to savor such small moments when one is far from home, and the winter weather and short days can shape rather than limit the experience.这是比较容易反射和品尝这种小的时刻，当一个人远离家乡，和冬季的天气和短天可以塑造的经验，而不是限制。At home this year, we\'ll be dreaming up another holiday trip, as we plunge into the round of seasonal activities with enthusiasm renewed by memories of Christmas in Ireland: the drive through those smoky purple-blue Connemara hills on Christmas Day when ours was the only car on the road; jamming a turkey into the cottage\'s tiny oven and burning the only cranberries in Ireland; a country and Western singalong with the holiday crowd at McNamara\'s Bar, the yellow gorse blooming on shadowy hillsides in a January storm.今年在家里，我们会做梦了另一个度假之旅，我们陷入一轮的季节性活动热情再起爱尔兰圣诞节的回忆：那些烟熏紫蓝色康尼马拉山的车程，通过在圣诞节时，我们唯一的汽车在道路上，干扰到山寨的小烤箱的火鸡和燃烧唯一的爱尔兰小红莓;一个国家和西方上口麦克纳马拉的酒吧，的黄色金雀花盛开在一月风暴的阴影山坡上的度假人群。】
