Trip to Wales: Arriving and Day 1

Two Wednesdays ago, I checked the weather forecast for Wales. "Torrential Rain" for the next two days, and we were supposed to leave the next day. I called Ethan at work and told him that I thought we should consider canceling our trip. But, when we looked into the details of our room reservation, we would have lost all of the money spent on the room. So, come rain, sleet, or sunshine, we were headed to Wales.

It turns out that the weather was actually beautiful, and we had an amazing, AMAZING trip!

Driving to Wales was a breeze. It took a little over three hours. That didn't even require a potty break, which is a feat in itself.

For our trip, we wanted to see Northern Wales, so we stayed in the Snowdonia region, which is in the middle of the northern peninsula, if that makes any sense. We made a reservation at the Meadowsweet Hotel, a Bed & Breakfast in a town called Llanwrst. (By the way, I totally do not get the Welsh language. Thankfully, most of the Welsh people speak English, so communication wasn't a problem. What was an issue, was pronouncing the towns we were trying to get to. There are lots of double-consanants, like double-Ls, which are actually supposed to make a "Cl" sound... kind of.)

Anyway, when we got to our Bed & Breakfast we were greeted with a lovely, spacious room, which we were so grateful for, being a family of five. There was a beautiful view of the mountains outside the front door, complete with a horse and geese. We ate dinner at the restaurant, and couldn't have stood out more as Americans... we ordered a pizza, salad, and cheeseburger! We also struck up a conversation with the man running the B&B and restaurant. His accent sounded familiar, so we asked him where he was from.

"New York," was his answer. Ahhh... I can't tell you how comforting it was hearing that NYC accent. It turns out that Nelson grew up there, and served as a NYC firefighter for 10 years. He met his wife Mary, who is from Wales, when she was visiting New York. They married and returned to Wales to run this Bed and Breakfast. Hearing his story was one of those moments where I just knew that God had orchestrated my internet search for a place to stay. It was a delight getting to know Mary and Nelson during our stay, and they couldn't have done any more to make us feel welcome and comfortable.

Each morning, we had a wonderfully delicious and filling breakfast. Freshly made omelettes and French Toast. Yumm! A couple of mornings, Ethan went with the Full Welsh Breakfast, consisting of eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, mushrooms, baked beans, and a grilled tomato. Indeed, it was a full breakfast.On our first full day, the weather was a little overcast, so we planned on hitting a couple of indoor attractions. We first went to Trefriw Woolen Mills, which was very close to where we were staying. The mill has been in business for 150 years. We were able to see the turbines working to create the energy to run the mill, as well as the machinery they used to process fleece into beautiful fabrics. I loved watching the electric loom (although it was loud-- turn the volume down first before watching this). It's no wonder the men working in the factory wear ear plugs! Can you see the wooden shuttle going back and forth?

I bought myself a lovely set of woolen placemats as a souvenir. Of course, they are "Dry Clean Only." I guess I will be saving them to use on special occasions (and will not let the kids rest their chocolate milk anywhere near them!).

After our time at the Woolen Mill, we listened to our GPS, and took a scary back route through the mountain, on a curvy road only big enough to fit one car... towards our next destination: Penrhyn Castle. This castle belongs to the National Trust, which we are members of, so admission was free!
Penrhyn Castle is called a "Fantasy Castle" because it really isn't a castle at all. It was built in the mid-1800s for the Pennant family, who had made a bundle from Jamaican sugar and Welsh slate. We were told that during this time, it was very fashionable to build your mansion to look like a castle, which it did. No battles were ever fought over this property, but it was noteworthy enough to be visited by Queen Victoria and other royalty.We were able to take a tour of the inside, which was just stunning. There was so much beautiful carved stone! There was even a billiards table made completely out of slate! Can you imagine trying to move that? Besides seeing the majestic library, dining room, and bedrooms, we also got to see the Victorian kitchen with all its "appliances" and cooking tools. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside. The only one I could find on-line was this dated one of the library. It gives you an idea, at least.After our tour, we enjoyed a lovely stroll along the grounds. The views were beautiful! They had a walled garden, which was full of new-Spring life. The kids were fascinated by the hundreds of tadpoles that they found in the fountains. The children also enjoyed spending time at the outdoor playground area and seeing a train exhibition.We finished up our day with dinner at a local pub, and were thoroughly grateful to return to our Bed&Breakfast for some much-needed rest.