Tenby - the west coast of Wales
Wales and welsh
Since I last "spoke" you'll be glad to know I recovered my phone. I called the restaurant repeatedly and finally got through and most luckily for me it was there and in safe keeping. The rest of Friday was spent packing a small bag for my trip to Wales. At midday I went to my "usual", Apostrophee for a coffee and quiche then I headed off into town. This time I was going to walk (with the day pack) all the way to Paddington Station, picking up my phone enroute,
Surprisingly I made amazingly great time. On the way took lots more textural and graffitti shots around Hoxton and then all the way to Holbourn.
Wandering through Chinatown I was reminded of a Tony Parsons book I just read recently " One for my baby". Covent garden was next and then finally i was knocking on the door of the restaurant and hoping for my phone. (Thanks to Ed, the owner, there it was).
I continued on my trek. Down to New Bond Street and finally to Marble Arch. With more than an hour and a half to kill I decided on a quick bite in Selfridges. The waitress who served me was fantastic. When she realised that I couldn't pick up the tube in marbel Arch as the Central line is still down post the derailing 2 weeks ago, she helped to organise me so I could get a bus to Paddington to meet Emma for our train ride to Newport.
Yumy olives and fetta later I found myself hugging Emma profusely and piling onto our train. Thank goodness she booked seats. Standing up for the 2 hour journey would have been a little dull!
2 Trash magazines and lots of gossipy catching up later and we were pulling into Newport. Amidst the Welsh station announcements Mim and Dave appeared. We spent the night chatting, eating and looking at all the photios from all their amazing overseas trips ( Morocco, Colorado, France, Spain, Scandinavia, etc etc etc) I will be bugging her for more and more help I can see. Mim and Dave are living in a room in a nice ladys house and she let Em and I sleep in the lounge that night. WQe were all wrapped up in some feather sleeping bags by 11pm!
Road trip
Up a little late we had eggs and mushrooms prepared by Dave for breakfast. All piled into the car we set off for Caerphilly castle, our first pit stop on ourt trip to Pembrokeshire in the west of Wales. It was a bitterly cold day (esp for me) so all rugged up we met up with Sally, Nick and Anna, The rest of the road trip crew.
The castle was gorgeous. It was Gilbert de Claires Castle, and apparently the largets and most fortified castle of its era in Wales. With an amazing double moat system it was extremely advanced in design. The sky was grey, the clouds rolling in and we explord the ins and outs of all the towers. Just as I have before I had a myriad of feelings in that castle. Some rooms conjured up images of great fests and festivities but when I walked into the two guard houses. Entering with Emma into the high ceilinged, windowless room I got a cold werid feeling all over. I have had this before. Actually in a castle not far away, in Wales a few years earlier. All I can imagine is that something not so pleasant happened in that room. Perhaps prisoners were kept there. Perhaps somebody died. All I know is that I could feel it. Needless to say I left there quite fast.
Tenby for lunch
Sitting in the front ( lucky me) I helped to navigate to the beautiful coastal town of Tenby for lunch. Bypassing Swansea we parked the car and wandered around one of the cutest seaside towns I have ever seen. Set high up on the cliff tops with huge wide beaches below and tiny widy pub crammed streets Tenby would be a beautiful place to visit in summer. That said it was good fun in winter too. We did eventually find a pub prepared to serve us lunch (it was after 3pm). It was a very cute and cosy pub and felt like it was pretty much reserved for locals. I had a great Steak and ale pie (yes more good UK food). A walk later took us down to the beach. It would have been a shame not to walk along the beach. The wind was blowing a gale but it was so beautiful and rugged with the huge cliffs rising above us. The wind grew stronger and the clouds got darker and we still had a long way to go to get to our accomodation for the night.
Staying in St Davids?
With the weqather turnin on us we thought best to get moving. Travelling in 2 cars we arrived in St Davids. The other car thought we were stayng in St Davids but when we headed out ouf town where the roads got skinnier and the number of street lights was reduced to none, I could tell that the other car was "concerned". Eventually after one small wrong turn we pulled into an extremely remote looking house.
As we got out of the car the rain was pouring fiercely and the wind whipping up a frenzy. A harried bearded man met us at the cars and apologised profusely for the weather that was totally out of his control. We were all a little worried, but when he opened the doors to what looked like some stables we all breathed a sigh of relief. The refurbishment that they had obviously done was lovely. Warm brightly coloured rooms with bunk beds and a community room with full facilities made us all very very happy.
A decision to shop for supplies saw the girls off at the filling station. Wine, pasta, vegetables, chocolate. All the requirements for a great night in.
We cooked, we played cards (which I lost badly!!!) and we crashed amidst the ducit tones of some drunken welsh guests singging "titty ditties".
Up late for another day on the road
Breakfast done we rushed to enjoy the uncommon cloudless sunny sky.
The Cathedral of St Davids was brilliant. I strongly recommend it. All the pillars are wonky due to age and a possible old earthquake. The crypt had tombs dating back to 1215 each with what at first look seemd to be defacings scrathcd into the. But after a little research I found out that these scratchings are almost as old as the tombs themselves and were made by the swords of respectful knights in days of "yore".
This time was we drove back through the beautiful coastal towns of Solva dn Newgale we stopped to tkae photos of the "surf". Apparently this is a huge surf zone. I was amazed to think anyone could bear the cold. It reminded me of Simon thinking South Australia was too cold at Xmas... Actually I was thinking of Simon a lot and thanking my stars I was with Miriam and Dave and not alone or I would be too sad. I am missing him very very much.
Home via the Brecon Beacons
Driving through the valleys of the Brecon Beacons (after an ugly lunch of gelatinous Potato and leek soup in Brecon) I was both amazed at the symmetry of the box like houses and saddened when I wondered what life in these crammed little towns must be like.
We drpopped emma at the station, went back to Mims and cooked Chicken for dinner and then went out to the movies to see "catch me if you can".
Midnight? rolled into bed...
What a great weekend. Thanks Mim and Dave :)
by
jen
at 12:24 AM
The Welsh Countryside - with blue skies
No more blue today
Today its just as I would have expected London at this time of year. Drizzly and a little miserable.
Still its nots so cold out so I am braving the elements on a little trip to the Design Museum and KensingtonHigh Street.
Actually it took me the best part of an hour to get here... choosing to go westwards on the circle line was a dismal mistake!
Tonight? perhaps a quiet dinner back in Hoxton ( a game of pool?) Do I dare venture out alone? Well I'm going to have to at some stage aren't I!
Perhaps not in big bad London :)
by
jen
at 10:34 PM
