Tour de Wales

We interrupt this craft blog to give you some images from my recent 10 day trip to Wales. I think a lot of people are unfamiliar with Wales so I'm hoping that you will enjoy a little cultural geography from me. First stop: St. David's. The cathedral is named after the patron saint of Wales. It lies in the adorable city of St. David's. The city lies within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.All of those windows are beautiful stained glass. The inside is so much more beautiful than the exterior.It is still at active church. They are having a Handel's Messiah Christmas concert next month. I bet that will be amazing. Back up. On the way to St. David's, we passed a sign that read, YMCA Camp 1 1/2k. I had to check it out. And, I happened to be wearing my YMCA thermal. This Y was awesome. They go kayaking, surfing, rock climbing. I almost applied for a job there.

Here I am with the huge ropes coarse/rock climbing wall in the background. Super fun. Next stop: Castle Carreg Cennan. This is my view out the window as we drive to Castle Carreg Cennan. The castle lies along the Black Hills on the border of the Bracon Beacons National Park. Before going to the castle, you have to stop at the farmhouse. We had a traditional Welsh soup called Cawl served with buttered bread and a slice of Welsh cheese. Our version was vegetarian. I tried to take a really cool foodie picture but the cloudy scenery out the window wasn't cooperating. There is a hike up to the castle with lots of sheep along the way. I'm goofing off in this thingy. Here's the view from the castle. Underneath the castle there is a long, natural cave. I explored it alone. Spooky. Next stop: Tenby.

Tenby is an old seaside village in south Wales along the Pembrokeshire Coast. On the way we made a detour in the town of New Hedge to shop at a county market. I took this picture of the Heather they were selling for 1 pound 99. I also had the yummiest almond croissant of my life and bought two loaves of bara brith.

This is the harbor at Tenby. Tenby has beautiful beaches, great shops, lots of B & Bs, and restaurants. The homes and shops are very colorful. The whole town is surrounded by a stone wall.

Here I am standing against a wall, overlooking the beach and a couple of islands. Another view of the beach at Tenby. I don't know what this is called but I thought it was pretty. I did some shopping in Tenby at the 1 pound store (think 99 cent store.) I stocked up on silicone baking things. I also found a Cancer Research thrift store. I love a bargain.

This is Tesco, a place I where I spend a lot of my time in Wales. It's like Target Greatland. I think I went there 5 times while I was over there. I stocked up on the Welsh version of Airborne.

One can't do Britain without a little culture. We saw a ballet/modern dance at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff (the Welsh capital.) During intermissions, the Welsh eat ice-cream. Welsh ice-cream is very creamy and thick. Mmmm.

So, needless to say, I came home with some extra pounds and I'm not just talking about currency. Wales is a beautiful country. The people are very friendly. The food is yummy. I love it.

Thanks for letting me share. Have you been to Wales?