Onward to Wales

Breakfast began at 4:30 am this morning but Elva and I restrained ourselves until about 7:00.  We were up a little before 6:30 and organized the last of our bits and pieces because today we begin the real part of the Wales trip.  Breakfast was served buffet style and was okay.  Back in the room we gave it a final inspection to be sure we didn't leave anything behind after brushing and flushing one last time.  That would be teeth and toilet, respectively.  Our bags were picked up at 8:00 , 8:15 we identified them to be loaded on the full size 'coach' bus, and wheels rolled, on schedule, at precisely 8:30.

It is another grey, rainy morning but the scenery changed noticeably as we entered Wales.  Definitely it is a part of the United Kingdom but it is not part of England!  Mark, our tour director, is Welsh and Sue, the trainee, is English.  A bit of a rivalry as they live in neighboring towns across the border.  Brilliant green hillsides are dotted with sheep and edged by either blacks stone or deep green growth of either vines or small plants.

We were only on the road about an hour when we made a Starbucks stop.  Much nicer than a gas station comfort stop.  We spent about a half hour then drove less than an hour and met Conway at Bodnant Gardens.  He is our expert on Wales and will be with us for a week until we head back into England and then home.

My Cousin Jack loves Bodnant Gardens and said not to miss it.  It was included as our first stop.  Such a wonderland of spring blooms I have never seen.  And the vistas are to die for.  Broad lawns sweep over the hillsides, in the meadow garden the sheep graze peacefully, and perennial borders, formal gardens, fountain and pond gardens all blend in  a harmonious assault on the senses.  I never would have planted deep red and then orange tulips together but now I can't wait to go home and do that in my own yard!  The rhododendrons of deep reds and oranges and even white balanced the delicate lavender azaleas.  Toddlers ran about or climbed on the 'big rock' by the Bodnant Cat graves or slept quietly on lawn blankets.  Young mothers pushing overladen strollers struggled to keep up with gleeful youngsters and middle aged men helped their even older parents to carefully step over the rough stone paths or guided wheelchairs over the lawns.  And yes!  We were encouraged to enjoy the whole garden, to walk in the grass and not stick to the carefully designed pathways.
 Here is more about Bodnant Garden.


My pictures, or at least a few of them.  I may add more later if you like.

 There is a head gardener, five or six full time assistants and fifity or sixty volunteers a week to work in thhis 80 acre garden.  

The lady I spoke with spends every Thursday doing whatever she is asked.  

Today she was on her knees hand trimming the browning leaves off of ground cover!

 Famed Laburnum Arch is running a little late this year.  

What is very unusual about a long tunneled archway is that these are trees not vines.  

Brides can't wait to have photo ops here every year!

 

 

 

 You can see our little green restaurant in the background here.  Beautifully and carefully planned garden design by a student, of a student of Capability Brown.

One sign in this case for each language since the message is longer.

 

Our two hours in this Welsh haven ended not too soon though as the weather was cold and grey.  I do think the weather actually showed off the stunning colorations perhaps better than a sun-distracted day would have.  We were glad to go into the garden restaurant for a pre-ordered lunch of classic  Welsh Rarebit. My Dad used to make this for us.  When I was a kid I always thought it was rabbit!  That made me said but this made me quite happy.  Thick brown bread with bubbly hot cheese was accompanied by and undressed salad.  Such a delight here to not always have to ask for there not to be dressing on a salad.  Dessert was a rich fruity cake, not fruitcake, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a proper pot of tea!..Yummmmmm!

Back on the bus we set out for the town of Conwy on the Conwy River and the Castle Conwy!  Clever these Welsh, aren't they!  Conwy , our guide, spells his name either the Welsh or English way.  Interestingly Welsh is no longer the first language of the people.  It ws nearly as dead as Latin or maybe more so since it did not even serve a scientific purpose.  Now it is required to be learned and mastered in school with all its fantastical spellings and peculiar sounds made by letter combinations that do not have all the same alphabet as English.  All signs are in both languages by law.

Here is a link to information about the castle and its triple walled fortifications.  Also about the time it was taken siege sort of by just two men.  Read and enjoy.  Our Conwy shared so many stories and so much information I could not do it justice for you.
Conwy Castle

Here are my castle pictures:

 Clock on the old monastery tower.

 Welsh flag with the Red Dragon of Wales and the white of the English flag 

and the green of Scotland.

 The river seen through the battlement archer's window.

 The view if you peak through the slit.

These stones are a part of the design called the coins.

When we had learned the castle history we continued on to Betws-y-Coed which means the little church in the woods.  Later this week we will see that but now it was time to make our way to the Royal Oak Hotel where our spacious accommodations are above the old stables.  Beautiful building and quite a large resort.  We settled into our suite, so to speak, with a very modern bathroom, wish there was a tub but what a fabulous shower! Step one, order our meals for the rest of the week, log on to wifi, unpack only what we need for tonight and tomorrow but what a bonus - we are here for four nights.  This village is the center of North Wales and from here we will go out to many sties of great interest.

 Serge, the bus driver, unloaded the bags, mine have polka dots.  

Sue passed out the keys on the bus and we made our way back 

to the rooms above the shop and bar you see.

We walked past people who had been perhaps hiking, or fishing, or biking today and were now enjoying a drink and perhaps pub food with their friends and even dogs.  Metal dog bowls were near every one of the outdoor tables.  There was a generous supply of wool blankets and shawls at the entrance for use of those braving the evening chill.  We made our way into a warm and friendly hotel bar and then on to dinner in the comfortable dining room.  Everyone was served generous portions of their preselected dinner.

Conwy then gave us a schedule of the upcoming plans and times to meet and the changes of the itinerary.  Back in the room we sorted out the plugging in of our electronics and I am trying to share my excitement of the day with you before I too tuck my exhausted self under the great comfortable that is beckoning me to my warm bed.

Good night!