Wuthering Lights: May 2014

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Llandudno - and the last trip post!

To finish off our week-long adventure we planned a day in Llandudno,

a popular Victorian seaside resort town.

With ties to Lewis Carroll,

the longest pier in Wales,

and known as Bill Bryson's favorite seaside resort,

we experienced a delightful sunny day.

We took a tram up the Great Orme

(Norse for sea serpent)

and had wonderful views of the ocean and surrounding lands.

The boys enjoyed the playground -

complete with the longest slide they have ever seen!

Friday, May 23, 2014

PORTMEIRION

An eccentric Italian-inspired village in North Wales,

Portmeirion was on my

"I want to see it but have no idea what to expect" list.

Designed and built by architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis

between 1925 and 1975,

it felt a little bit Disney, a little bit like an artist colony,

and a little bit like SIAS, the school I taught at in China.

We arrived early and got to explore the colorful buildings,

gaze at the misty high tide,

and, most importantly, ride the "forest train"

without crowds.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Castles!

We stayed in Cardiff and didn't even go to Cardiff Castle!

We went to two others instead...

Castell Coch

(Red Castle)

This is a 19th century Gothic Revival castle designed by William Burges for the

3rd Marquess of Bute.

Built on actual 13th century ruins,

this "vacation home" of sorts is truly what fairy tales are made of.

Caerphilly Castle

Built in the 13th century, this is the second largest castle in Britain.

It is famous for introducing concentric castle defenses to Britain

and is considered by some historians to have

"the most elaborate water defenses in all Britain."

The town of Caerphilly is also known for Caerphilly cheese

a salty, crumbly, cheddar-like delight!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Reason

And this here is the reason for the trip:

(look at this happy guy rocking his new custom made guitar!)

Instead of joining Aaron on a 4 hour round trip drive,

the boys and I went to a farm park.

It was great - animals to meet, milking and shearing demonstrations,

playgrounds, digging pits, bouncy hills...

we had some smaller happy guys!)

Benji is our animal lover

Isaac is our playground lover

and I was loving the sunshine!

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