A Lost Day in Wales . . .

First, the ale thing. I alway surprise myself when traveling because I drink beer. At home, unless I am with buddies chatting, I rarely drink beer -- so I pint is quite a lot of beer for me in one sitting. Before you think "me thinks she doth protest too much," I'll move on.

I was looking at my photos an know that I forgot to mention a couple of places. On my trip around the Llyn peninsula, I saw a sigh for a place called Hell Mouth, and ever interested in things related to hell, I took the turn. It was a beautiful and wild semi-circular beach.The wind was stiff and the surf was high. People were out on surf boards in their wet suits. It was awesome. There was even a tea vendor at the parking lot.

One thing that I found different from the US is that all roads have frequent parking areas, and many of the parking areas have lunch wagons that seem to do a brisk business with locals and drivers.

I moved my headquarters in Wales from Caernarfon to a hotel about 15 miles inland from Aberystwyth on the Cardigan Bay. One day I headed toward the south coast town of Tenby. There were a few places that looked interesting to see, and all of the photos I saw made the town look charming. I cut across country climbing up and sailing down mountains and hills patch worked in greens and speckled with sheep. As I passed through coastal villages, the stone gave way to stucco and the row houses were each painted a different pastel color: peach, beige, celery, sky blue, pink, and yellow. Very cute. Tenby is a charming little town with cute shops, a host of eateries, and several places to visit. I wanted to visit a National Trust property, a Medieval merchant's house. It was positively opulent compared to the farm house I saw earlier. The ceilings were high
And the windows were glazed. All of the rooms had fireplaces - the builder was apparently wealthy. Off the shore of Tenby is a monastic island, and I was tempted, but my tendency toward seasickness and schedule did not permit.

From there I went into Pembroke to see the castle, but it was closed for the first time in memory for a shooting of a BBC version of Richard III - " A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Drat! I stopped at Manorbriar Castle, owned and occupied by an individual. The inner Bailey had been transformed into a garden which was very lovely with the ruins and all. Gerard of Wales, a 13th century church man who was a contemporary of Becket, was born here. A favorite. Seeing this castle made me want to read one of my old favorite romance novels Roselynde by Roberta Gellis. I drove from there out to Saint Davids, a very picturesque and historical town.

As I was driving, I saw a sign for a tomb, so I turned off and followed roads which narrowed down to sing track - a frequent occurrence in Wales. I arrived at a dolmen on the top of a hill. It was called Pentre Ifan. A dolmen is a collection of upright stones with a large cap stone. The were burial chambers once covered with earth, but now with only the stones remaining. Pentre If an dated back to 3000 BC. It's weird; these move me more than the pyramids. Last stop for the day was a recreated Iron Age Village near Cardigan. It was very interesting.

Great day!