Finally... I'm posting about our tour of the U.K. last spring...
as we continued through the beautiful country of Wales.
as we continued through the beautiful country of Wales.
We had a delightful home cooked Welsh supper with a local couple in their home in Caernarfon, Wales.
They hosted six of us from our tour group and served a delicious Welsh meal that included mushy peas.
Afterwards we had a lovely chat with them and their two teenage boys as they entertained us by speaking the Welsh language and telling us about life in Wales.
We met the owners of an art store in Llangollen and had a nice long conversation with them regarding the Welsh influence in the USA, particularly in the Philadelphia area with the establishment of the women's college, Bryn Mawr (here).
The phase "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh.
The phase "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh.
And we enjoyed an excellent lunch at The Buttered Crust in Llangollen.
One of the hotels we stayed at in (Caernarfon) Wales was the Celtic Royal Hotel.
Queen Victoria stayed here too.
The rooms were huge!
The rooms were huge!
That's an ancient castle in the background in Caernarfon, Wales.
And here's a closer view of Caernarfon Castle.
Signs are in both Welsh and English.
Signs are in both Welsh and English.
Much to our dissapointment we didn't have time to tour the castle.
How about a neat train ride through the Snowdonia National Park?
We are having fun!
And the scenery was beautiful.
And the scenery was beautiful.
Our tour continued on to the village of Portmeirion, Wales.
Have you ever watched "The Prisoner", the British Spy TV Series, with Patrick McGoohan, that was filmed in the 60s?
This little village in Wales is where most of the exterior TV shots were filmed.
Patrick McGoohan, a co-creator of the series, starred as a former British spy agent who resigned and was imprisoned in a remote village where the leaders tried to find out why he resigned.
Villagers had no names and everyone was assigned a number.
Patrick became "Number Six" and was always trying to escape the island.
Patrick McGoohan, a co-creator of the series, starred as a former British spy agent who resigned and was imprisoned in a remote village where the leaders tried to find out why he resigned.
Villagers had no names and everyone was assigned a number.
Patrick became "Number Six" and was always trying to escape the island.
We have the TV Series on DVD and we must watch it again!
I found this tour of the village on YouTube and it shows how hilly the village is.
I always remember the huge white bouncing ball (i.e., The Rover) rolling across the sea whenever anyone tired to escape the village.
We had lunch at the hotel by the sea in the village.
The hotel was the old folks home in the series.
It's so funny to visit a place that we watched as teenagers and now we are visiting it as seniors!
I never knew the show was filmed here in Wales.
Luckily we were able to escape the village!
Your trip seems like it was a long time ago, although just this past spring. Looks like a step back in time, great photos, how nice to have these folks host a luncheon for you. Bryn Mawr, isn't there a college (or town) in PA named this? xo
ReplyDeleteYou had such a great time on this trip. I'm hoping you are planning another one next year? We are planning to go to Italy if all is well and the money holds out.
ReplyDeleteWales looks beautiful. How fun to eat and visit with a local family in their home.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed your trip to our beautiful North Wales.I live about 30 minutes from Llangollen and an hour from Snowdonia.We consider ourselves very lucky to live in such an outstanding area.I speak a little bit of Welsh!
ReplyDeleteGreetings, I just stopped by from Gingerbread Crumbs & Co blog. Oh my, you are bringing back happy memories of the all-too-quick two days we spent in Wales on a tour of England and Wales with Rick Steves' tour company in 2009. Our guide, in fact, lives in Caernarfon and knows all about the castle of which we had a very thorough and fascinating tour. He also taught us the proper way to pronounce Llangollen in Welsh! Those double "l's" are tricky! Sadly, that is all we saw in Caernarfon; how lovely that you were hosted by a local family.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy! What a marvelous time you must have had! I love all of the lovely scenery and the train! We love trains! Our daughter and son in law lived in Otley, UK, for 2 years and we visited a couple of times. We loved it. I may have told you that! :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, hope you're doing well.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Sandy, this looks like a totally fun time! Such a lovely place to visit. How nice of you to share with us. England is on my bucket list to visit someday..well, the whole UK.
ReplyDeleteYou asked what kind of sewing machine I use. I have a Janome and LOVE it! Have fun sewing your runner. Sounds like fun...broken needles and all.
hugs!