Still in Conwy

Turns out that we love Conwy so much and there's so much to do from here that we've decided to spend the rest of our Wales time here. Hooray!

The scene: Conwy lies at the mouth of an estuary, its medieval castle perched on a rock above the river. It was a walled city back in the day, and much of the wall has been restored and is still walkable today. To the west along the coastline lies the ocean. To the south lies the rolling hills and mountains. The colors are deep blue, vibrant green, and intense purple.

The first day we were here we walked along the town walls and all around the little town, along the promenade, onto the grounds of the cricket club.

The second day we walked along the river/coast to Llandudno (pronounced Cthlan-DID-noh), around that town and back again.

Day three took us along the Conwy side of the estuary/coast walk to the Conwy marina and beyond to a rocky shore.

Day four we hiked up Conwy Mountain on turfed paths among the sheep and rabbit dung, the foxgloves and some other beatiful purple flowers growing out of low bushes. The sea was on our right, the mountains on our left, the sky was cloudless and bright blue, the colors of the grasses, flowers and water were unreal. We couldn't imagine a more idyllic walk in Wales than this.

Day five, yesterday, we took the bus to Trefiw (pronounced TREH-view), checked out the Woolen Mill store, walked across a field to Llanrwst (CTHLAN-roost), walked along a creek to a tea house that had been recommended to us, ate a homemade currant scone with strawberry jam and whipped cream and butter, caught another bus to Betws-y-Coed (too complicated to explain pronunciation) where we took a walk along a river across a field dotted with sheep and through a wood. Was also a good food day, as the placed we lunched at in Betws-y-Coed and our dinner place here in Conwy cooked us probably the best meals we've had so far.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Mom and I joke to each other that it's a good thing we experience Rhyl first so we could really appreciate where we are now.

I admit I'm getting tired of the sunshine and of having to slather on the 50 SPF every day, but the good news came this morning that we're supposed to get a thunderstorm this afternoon. Woohoo!

Tomorrow or Sunday we'll head to Ulverston, where our Lake District walk begins. If it's anything like our Conwy Mountain walk, it'll be gorgeous and perfect.

alive & well

We did in fact arrive in England more or less on time, and we are well (some sunburn aside).

Evidently public libraries are the places to get Internet access, but we only figured this out a day or two ago. But here we are!

Since we only have a few minutes for free on the computer, I'll just stick to the highlights:

Manchester is gritty, gritty, gritty. Not super pedestrian-friendly, though now that I think of it so far everywhere we've gone people have been driving like maniacs. Had some good food and some not so good food in MAN. Friend P. picked us up from the airport, showed us around, nice time had but wouldn't recommend MAN to the masses. Lyme Park nearby, however, is definitely a must-see.

Then there was Prestatyn and Rhyl. Oh. My. God. Miles of arcades and kiddie rides and tacky. Nice walk by the ocean between though.

We're in Conwy now, which is PERFECT. Exactly what I imagined our trip to be: quaint, picturesque, lots of nice walks, history to see, beautiful rolling hills on one side and the ocean on the other. Lovely scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream yesterday helped too.

Walked to Llandudno, which is where we're using the library. When we started out this morning it was raining lightly and looked cloudy for miles, but about halfway around the estuary the sun came out and burned my face. Again. Only on the days when I'm not wearing sunscreen, of course. Boo.

But to sum up, we're now having a brilliant time and loving it...though based on our energy levels after two days of walking we are worried about our ability to walk the Cumbria Way without collapsing from exhaustion at the end of each day.

More when I can. Pictures will be posted when we get back to the States.

Next Up: England & Wales

The last time I went to England was two autumns ago. I went to Nottingham to visit my friend Sam. The immigration officer who gave me the third degree as I came into the country was quite rude (as usual); 2 tall mochas at Starbucks cost $10; the Robin Hood exhibit at Nottingham castle was disappointing in the extreme as it was based on a new TV show airing in England at the time; I attended a real English pub quiz (at a church) and multiple people of various ages let me video them saying "she's a ho, fo' sho'" in their English accents; and I generally had a fantastic time bumming around.

The time before that my mother and I spent two weeks on what I called "The English Major's Geek Tour." The trip was a present when I graduated from LC with a B.A. in English. We started in London and drove in a big circle, hitting things like Jane Austen's grave, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, a few parts of the Lake District, Edinburgh, York. On that trip Mom and I discovered that we travel remarkably well together...except when driving is involved.

This trip there will be no driving, just a lot of walking, some train-riding, and perhaps even a little busing and ferrying. We intend to spend about 8 days, with no schedule or reservations, meandering along the north coast of Wales (bore da!) and then another 8 days (with schedule and reservations) hiking the Cumbria Way, from Ulverston to Carlisle. I am very much looking forward to coming back with a new body. =*)