After a very intense weekend of "Our Story Goes On", we staggered home and decided we’d better sleep in and start for Wales whenever we were up to it. It was the right call. We had a pancake breakfast and got out the door by 10:30 I think! It was nice to get packed, fed, and dressed without stressing. We drove straight to an ADORABLE little town called Dolgellau, where Sariah threw up all over herself in the back of our car. Poor thing didn’t have any warning. I smelled something and turned around and she said “I think I’ve been sick.” We pulled over and Pete and Alex cleaned it all up. We proceeded to have a wonderful time exploring the town, grabbing hot chocolate and a bite to eat at the “Saucpan”- a little pub/restaurant where they used to take the convicts for their last meal. Absolutely charming! Also, whilst pulling cash from the machine, someone yelled to Pete and Paul “Eh BOYO!” Very Welsh.
Next stop was Llan-y-Ffestiniog. It’s a very depressing town. Always raining, and the buildings are all grey. Even though a lot of Wales is like that, there seems to be something heart-warming and cheery about the people. I suppose they have to be that way to combat the gloom of the weather? Anyway, this town is crazy. It’s surrounded by mountains made entirely of scraps of slate. We hiked up a little mountain of slate to find some slate structures-because what else would you do with mountains of scrap slate in the middle of nowhere Wales? We made up stories about how the people of the Slate lived on that mountain and terrorized the people in the village below, and now they’re coming for us because we all pocketed small pieces of slate as souvenirs. Oops!
Side note: The kids did not hike up the mountain. Alice stayed at the bottom by the sheep and yelled at them. “SHEEEEEP!” “BAAAA!”
Next stop was Betws-y-Coed which is like the Park City of Wales. Full of little designer shops and very charming. We took a beautiful stroll along the river where Rachel did her first ever “nature potty”. (Sorry-TMI. I was ever so proud.) We made it back to the car in time for both girls to fall asleep as we caravanned to Rachael Pratt’s home up in Rhyll! The whole Pratt family was there to greet us except for Ben (so sad!), and Rachael made us a delicious chicken dinner. After getting the kids to bed, we had fun chatting, but I was exhausted and went to bed early. Everyone else stayed up watching “Bridge of Spies”.
ST. DAVID’S DAY! We grabbed a daffodil from Rachael’s front yard in honor of St. David, and we thoroughly appreciated the fact that all castles were free for the day! Conwy Castle was FABULOUS! You have to drive through a little hole in the giant wall surrounding the castle/city. It’s absolutely stunning. Then, the castle itself is in ruins, but you can still climb the towers and explore a walk around the top. The views of the water and the surrounding mountains (hills) are stunning. I especially loved the private chapel.
Next was Caenarfon Castle which is HUGE. This is where they had the ceremony crowning the “Prince of Wales” which is a lame tribute to the Welsh, but somehow, it’s fine. I loved the giant open courtyard with a sort of stage in the middle? There was a cool bridge across the inside of one tower, and the old fashioned doors kill me every time. (Plus Sariah and Rachel made up this pose on the spot. HOW CUTE IS THAT??) I snapped one more shot down a nearby alley with tons of flags and banners flying for St. David’s day.
Side note: Rachael Pratt sent us with a picnic of pulled pork sandwiches which we thoroughly enjoyed! She saved the day!
After that was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerylllgogogoch. HA! We had fun looking around the amazing touristy shop near the train station. Alex and Pete gave us a little piece of slate that says “Go on and give us a Cwtch” which means a full on hug with a little fist on the back. Of course, we took a video with all of our feeble attempts to pronounce the town name. (Impossible. It’s like someone was trying to speak a sentence with something hot in their mouth. Four ‘L’s’ in a row? That’s just excessive.)
We had tons of fun, but it was definitely a rough day on Alice. The kids were zonked in the car (including Jess!) as we drove down south through some of the most picturesque little towns and valleys I’ve ever seen. Snowdonia is worth the drive! Someday, we’ll go back and stay a night in Beddgellert. We didn’t even stop for a picture, but the view took my breath away!
To be truly Welsh, Pete insisted that we listen to Cymru Radio all day. It’s ALL in Welsh. We loved it, especially all the singing, but we couldn’t understand a word. I started making up translations just for fun. Ha!
We were supposed to visit the town of my ancestors, but there wasn’t enough time. We were SO tired and late getting to Pete’s mum’s home in Bridgend. Of course, we stopped at a chippy for dinner, and I gave Paul a few options and said to order for all of us. He usually does a great job, but after a day of eating meat and carbs, I guess all I really wanted was a piece of fruit or something. So when we got in the car and he handed me a burger, I about lost my lunch. HA! And the whole car REAKED of chips/French fries. Luckily, Alex gave me an apple, and we survived the final 2 hours to Bridgend where Margaret (Pete’s mum) and family welcomed us. We somehow put two travel cots (Alexander and Alice) in the room with Sariah and Alex on the double bed, Rachel and me on the bottom bunk, and Jessie on the top. Pete and Paul slept on the floor downstairs, and we all survived the night. I love that we fit that many people in one room, and the house was packed with everyone sharing a bathroom! Whew! I just love being crammed all together-it makes us feel like family.
Pete and Jessie graciously offered to go with me on a crazy trip to Llansawell at 6:30 am to find my ancestors-my own “Godric Hollow” experience. It was well over an hour to get there, and while the rest of the trip was mostly sunny but cold, this little town hailed and rained on us pretty much non-stop. A true Welsh experience! Llansawell has 3 churches, 2 pubs, about 20-30 homes, and not one grocery store. We hunted around all the cemeteries and took pictures of any “Evans” or “Jones” since they’re all related somehow. Pete made sure I took plenty of pictures next to all the old looking buildings. A man came out of one while I was standing by his front door, and he chatted to us a little about the town. He was fairly new and didn’t know much of the history, but he said we could find out at the “Angel Inn” when all the regulars come for lunch. We couldn’t stay, but it sure was fun to have a look around and hear his Welsh accent.
Anyway, we got back to the house, gathered the crew, and took off on an epic day of sightseeing. Started with Coity Castle where Paul’s ancestors are from. Pete grew up playing games and climbing all over these ruins! WHAT?? Who does that? I couldn’t get over how cool the moat is as well as the fact that there’s no entry fee, no real guard or anything! Just walk on over to the castle…
Next was St. Fagin’s park which is a collection of old homes from across Wales that have been relocated to this little patch of land. Pete gave an impromptu sermon in the old Unitarian church, an old man lectured Alex on how women today are too soft, and we later found out he’d been given a copy of the Book of Mormon by President Hinkley! WHAT?? So random and awesome! Rachel and Sariah loved listening to Pete talk in his Welsh accent, tell them what needed doing, and then yell ‘TIDY!!!!’ It’s our new favourite word.
My favourite part of the day may have been visiting St. Donat’s Castle which is also known as Atlantic College. It’s an international school for 16-18 year olds, and Alex Mackenzie Johns was a student there a few years back! She gave us a sneaky tour of some of the castle-the girl’s bathroom was straight out of Harry Potter. Then, we walked through the gorgeous gardens down to the beach where Pete and Alex recreated their first kiss!! Two kids later… :) The school really was incredible. I was geeking out the whole time. How cool to live on the grounds and go to class, take tests, eat meals, play, study, etc in A REAL CASTLE??? If only I were 16 again…
We did a quick driving tour of some towns where Paul’s ancestors are from. “Monknash” was a personal favourite. What a great name! We took a quick “beach break” at the rocky beach of Southerndown. It’s basically carved out of the hillside with a castle in the distance and a stone wall down the side. GORGEOUS! The wind about killed us, but the view was worth it.
Lastly, Pete insisted we see Ogmore Castle which is again, just a bunch of ruins with hardly a fence around it. But it overlooks a little river from the sea, and there’s a moat. With sheep. COULD IT BE ANY MORE WELSH?? Pete told us how he would bring Alex to these ruins for late night chats. :) We also stopped by the Priory of Ewenny which was incredibly old and lovely. We couldn’t see much of it in the dark, but if we ever go back, I’d love to revisit that Priory.
The plan for the evening was takeaway, put the kids to bed, and stay up late chatting. What actually happened: Pete and Paul had a cultural experience at the leisure center whilst waiting for the takeaway, we feasted, the boys put the kids to bed and fell asleep, the girls stayed up chatting, the boys came down, and the girls went to bed… except Jessie who stayed up arguing about Star Wars I think?
We all left fairly early on Thursday morning. The Johns had to catch a flight from Manchester and Jessie had to get to Gatwick to meet them in Jersey. HA! We drove Jessie to the airport and then dropped her suitcase with Charly and baby Bea! So fun to see them! We tried to see the Cotswolds on our way home, but we got lost in some horrific London traffic. Oh my. It was awful. We all had to go to the bathroom, we all needed food, and there was nothing nearby! The satnav kept sending us to places that didn’t exist, and we all about died. But we eventually bought random snacks from M&S, ate in some forbidden café, and slowly made our way home to crash in our beds and dream of castles, hot chocolates, and long words with no vowels.
We love Wales. It’s part of our history! “I’m very Welsh, Captain Jones!”
I can't even begin to say how much I love this! What wonderful adventures you're having!
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