Christmas 2025 saw us on an Adventure – Andrea’s friend was working at a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Slovenia, Hiša Franko, and we had the opportunity to join her for a dinner and some adventuring. We jumped at the chance, hopping a flight into Northern Italy before the drive out into Slovenia itself… with a few exciting adventures along the way.
Late December, 2025
Our adventures in Italy actually spanned three different adventures: Our first evening in town, a visit with friends, and then our final day before the flights home.
Our first evening was simple and clean – We flew in, found our rental place, and grabbed a lovely dinner with lovely drinks out in the town of Trieste. The next morning we had pastries for breakfast, wandered around the city a bit… it was calm, quiet, and a beautiful start to our Christmas adventure.
Our second adventure in Italy was to a small town on the border between Italy and Slovenia – Cividale del Friuli. There wasn’t really a big reason for us to go, aside from that it was nearby… and that it was absolutely gorgeously cute, especially then, with most shops closed and people home with family. The whole group of us went, wandered, and enjoyed the quietly beautiful architecture.
Our final adventure in Italy was a brief one – we aimed to get a train to the airport, and so got dropped off at a nearby train station… though we still had maybe 3 hours before needing to leave. So we wandered. Exploring the small town, appreciating the views, and just being happy that we were in Italy, quietly visiting and spending time on holiday together before flying back to Dublin.
Okay so it’s not technically the winter solstice. But it’s close!
I really enjoy observing holidays and festivals – whenever there’s the reasonable opportunity, it just feels fun. Connecting to something bigger than ourselves, aligning with the natural rhythm of the world… I appreciate the structure of it all.
This year, my friend Megan and I took the Solstice as a reason to explore some of the many pieces of ancient Irish history dotted around the country. Or at least, dotted around our specific area of the country.
Our adventure went a little bit like this:
We started at the Proleek Dolmen and Wedge tombs – neat little mini tombs, set on a golf course. Access was free, but felt a little bit like an afterthought… They were very cool, though, and I took the chance to fly the drone around the area a bit in the morning light.
defaultdefaultdefault
After Proleek (and a vain search for a supposedly fairy fort nearby) we headed onward toward the big one, The Newgrange Tomb Complex.
This is easily one of the biggest in the country – a huge tomb complex, with a whole visitors center and experience associated with it. Frankly, though, it felt a little… performative, maybe? I mean, don’t get me wrong! The tomb itself was cool, and the displays in the visitors center were good… but it felt poorly cared for, and almost like it had been built once, and then forgotten? It didn’t help that the folks at the visitors center made us buy a second set of tickets because we were 5min late for ours (the tickets are for 30min intervals, and there was absolutely no one there aside from ourselves)… but still.
Getting to go into the tomb was amazing, and the guides at the tomb itself were excellent. So that helped make up for it quite a bit.
Now, Newgrange is technically the whole complex, made up of Newgrange itself, Dowth, and Knowth. All of which are also known, traditionally, as Brú na Bóinne, or “Mansion of the Boyne”, since they’re right on the river Boyne.
The visitors center only controls Newgrange, it seems, with Knowth being closed to the public and Dowth being open for people to drive to and stand near on their own. So clearly, our next stop was Dowth.
We couldn’t go into the tomb, of course, since it’s just a walking thing (and I think privately owned? Maybe? It feels like these things are rather complicated, here in Ireland), but I absolutely adored the area and the views. Just the quiet serenity, really.
After Dowth, we headed South (hah, rhyming…) toward the Hill of Tara – an ancient meeting ground for the kings of the Irish clans. We grabbed a bite to eat at the nearby cafe, and walked around a bit exploring the area.
To be frank, this one was more than a bit disappointing. I mean, it’s this hugely significant historic area, and… there really wasn’t anything there. I mean, some hills and a standing stone? Some (very small) placards? A beautiful view of the sunset was nice, but then the herd of sheep grazing (and leaving landmines) to add complexity to the walk… I don’t know. I think I’m spoiled from the US, but I had hoped for a… I don’t know, maybe a walk? A map at the start, with a suggested path including placards and signposts focused on cultural preservation?
Well, the sunset was pretty.
From here, we’d planned on hitting two other tombs… but unfortunately sunlight wasn’t with us, and closing hours for the spots were fast approaching. The risks of Winter Solstice, coming through.
We headed for home.
We passed the Hellfire club, though unfortunately it was already closed by the time we arrived, and so we continued on toward dinner – a lovely Indian restaurant in Dalkey, as a beautiful end point to a lovely day of adventure.
In this case, a neighbor of ours had asked after a new spice rack – I’d shared the design and photos of the rack I’d made for our own kitchen, and was thrilled to have the chance to revise the designs and try out a few new tricks. Expanded alignment pins, clips to help secure the arms, that sort of thing.
So… I did! It went great!
That’s… that’s kind of the whole story. Simple, fun, and a great opportunity to do some more work in Solidworks.
