Christmas in Ljubljana.

I was chatting with a friend on MSN and she jokingly suggested I write a short story entitled "A Child's Christmas in Ljubljana," a series of vignettes about a man recollecting his childhood memories of spending the holidays in Slovenia. Of course, the narrative would be an utter lie but I suspect I'll make millions before the public catches on. Watch for it in your local bookstore!

But, the holiday is encroaching on us and as usual everyone we know, and ourselves included, are incredibly busy preparing for the Big Day. That doesn't just mean buying decorations and presents and other sundry items. No, like all responsible adults we are desperately finishing projects so we have little to do while we nurse our holiday hangovers. Lisa and I made it to the Lighting Ceremony awhile back and we've been taking in the local ambiance as much as possible (read: mulled wine and roasted chestnuts). First, some gratuitous cat-blogging:

As you can see, our cat adores Slovenia. We discovered he's fond of Italian cuisine.

The giant Christmas tree in Prešernov trg.

This year's theme is Macrocosms and Microcosms, hence the massive floating DNA and galaxy.

Vendors line the sidewalks along the Ljubljanica River.

Lighting up Kongresni trg.

We had some snowfall last night and we're expecting a little more in the coming week. I think that's all I got at the moment. More later, I'm sure. All photos by Lisa!