Monthly Archives: July 2026

Jul28

Christmas in Slovenia – Slovenia itself

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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.


The end of December, 2025

Throughout our adventures, we had opportunities to explore and enjoy Slovenia itself – aside from the specific towns and restaurants, there were just so many cute spots and beautiful views for us to take in.

It was relaxing – calm and quiet, after a year of Master’s courses, projects, chaos, job applications, and uncertainty. A bit of an oasis, where we did our best to disconnect from the world and reconnect with each other and our enjoyment of travelling and exploring.

Jul27

Christmas in Slovenia – Gravner vineyard

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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.


Monday, 22-December-2025

One of our first adventures of the trip was a tour of a vineyard sitting right on the border between Italy and Slovenia. I hadn’t heard of it previously, but I quickly learned the error in that lack of knowledge – Gravner is a cult-classic, a vineyard making amazing traditional orange wine in the Georgian style – storing them in massive amphorae stored underground until they “come of age”.

Our tour was unique – Andrea’s friend was able to get us in as a favor, from a recent visit she’d been on… and let me tell you, private tours of vineyards are pretty freaking awesome. One of the many cool fringe benefits of Andrea’s connections into the world of fine wine and finer food.

We toured, learned a bit about the history of the vineyard, and I stood awestruck at the sheer amount of work that goes into the wines… and the absolute beauty of the landscape itself. We checked out the aging cellar, tried some of the wines, and I got to feel more than a little bit fancy.

Jul25

Christmas in Slovenia – Italy

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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.