26-Dec-2023
Having got Christmas Eve more than slightly wrong, we were almost nervous about our Christmas Day plans.
Our goal was to climb Mount Srd, which looms up behind our accommodation. Good views, good exercise -- the perfect lead-in to Christmas lunch, we thought. But after Sunday's debacle, we started to worry that our mountain would suddenly feature as the route for a Christmas marathon or live TV show or some other crowd-drawing event...
But all was well. It was a really enjoyable trip:
The path zigzags up past the Stations of the Cross
And the views get better and better as you climb
Finally, the top
Fort Imperial, built by Napoleon's forces in 1806. It was later strengthened by the Austrians
Really nice up here. A different world
Trudge, trudge, trudge back down the mountain. Scamper, scamper, scamper down the now routine flights of steps. And we're back home, and it's time for a Christmas lunch that extended through most of the afternoon. Here are just bits of it:
A casserole fit for Santa: Tomatoes, beetroot, roast capsicum, onion, rosemary sausage, and tapenade
Christmas wines. Two varieties that were new to us: Grasevina (lovely), and Babic (OK, but I don't think we had the optimal experience with that one)
All in all, a good day.
Today, St Stephen's Day, we took an Uber out to Mandrac Beach, and walked back:
It was obviously Santa bike rally day:
And this was the view when we arrived home:
It would be hard to imagine nicer festive days, I think.