Cornish Pixies - Thursday, 4 August 2011

I try to throw a Harry Potter reference in whenever I can and a visit to Cornwall makes it easy. Yes, I visited the homeland of Cornish Pixies and although I didn't spot any electric blue creatures flying about, I definitely felt a bit of the magic that makes Cornwall so special.

The first place we visited was the castle of Tintagel. This is supposedly the birth place of the legendary hero King Arthur. I asked why it was believed to be so and the best answer I got is that “it just fits the description.” I'll let you decide what to do with that. To get to the castle you had to walk down a steep ravine and then take a million stairs up along the side of a cliff, passing Merlin's Cave and cross over onto a small narrow peninsula. Once you are at the top you can see over the ruins, far out into a cerulean sea and down into some large caverns along the coast. The view was spectacular.

Merlin's Cave

The stairs

The view

The Castle

After climbing back down and then out of the ravine we were famished so we stopped at a delicious bakery and got the biggest pasties I have ever seen. They were bigger than both of my fists together. And I ate the whole heart-clogging, face-fattening, delicious thing.

We then drove to St. Ive's, the ultimate beach destination for Britain. We got there at low tide and I couldn't help but giggle at the sight of all those boats stuck in the sand waiting for the tide. St. Ive's was a little too crazy for me. The streets were packed with tourists from all over the UK but the shops were very cool. I just couldn't understand why people would want to sunbathe in cloudy weather. For Britain, I guess it was actually pretty warm weather but I definitely wouldn't have wanted to wear a bathing suit and play in the water!

After St. Ive's we decided to try a change of scenery and we drove into the moors to find some more neolithic sites. I loved trekking through the gorse and heather. Both are large coniferous plants with very sharp needles that look very similar but with very different flowers. The combination of dark green and yellow and purple was very nice to see but without the paths through the land we wouldn't have been able to hike to the sites. While we hiked I thought about the wandering Jane Eyre and the vengeful Heathcliffe because the scenery just oozed Bronte. 

The sites were very cool and the one I liked best was a large stone that hard a hole carved out in the middle. It was set upright on another stone and Tom likes to tell us that passing through it is a fertility rite and thus will increase your fertility. Yes, he was full of it and yes, we all passed through the ring. Another funny moment was finding the quoit at Chun Downs. We all piled on top of the quoit and danced around for a bit. Also, I just think that “Chun Downs” is the ugliest and funniest name for a place.

The very last thing we did was the worst and most exciting. While driving home at about twilight, we passed a sign for a Celtic Chapel. Tom of course pulled over and we all piled out and began walking on the marked path. The path steadily got creepier and creepier. The path was covered with stinging nettle and the trees looked like they were dying. Everyone was spooked but of course we kept going. At one point Tom walked off the path into a little hollow and then he bolted back out and tripped over his own feet he got so scared. But of course we continued on. Then we came to a tree that had strips of cloth and lace and glass shards tied all over its branches. By this time all of us were shaking and looking around nervously. But of course we continued on. The chapel was small and falling apart  and lit by the last bit of sunlight. We stayed for about three seconds and then we bolted back to the car as quickly as possible. We later found out that the tree we passed is a Wishing Tree that neo-pagans worship at. Apparently, there has been a history of violence between the Christians and Pagans wishing to use the chapel for baptisms and the tree for pagan rites. Cornwall has a long history of mysticism and paganism and a large number of pagan worshipers still live there today. All I know is that the trail and chapel were the creepiest places I have ever been. All of us were shaking off goosebumps for at least an hour after.

We spent the night in the Penzance hostel. I loved being in Penzance and thinking about and humming a little of Gilbert and Sullivan. It was a good way to shake off the chills and luckily, this hostel was much more comfortable than the one in Borth. I went to sleep very happy with the day's adventures and so excited for the next.

Susan is Super– 3 August 2011

I spent the whole free day we had planned in Cardiff running around town with Susan. We both needed to catch up with family and pick up a few things around town so while everyone else was sleeping (except Tom but I already told you he is a robot) we took off to the University and then down to Queen Street. Queen Street is the shopping district of Cardiff. It has a million shops and its mall goes on for blocks. I love it but I can get overwhelmed pretty fast too.

Susan has become a very good friend to me. She is quite a bit older than me and therefore we have very very different lives but I think our personalities match really well as do our music tastes (Beatles never die). I love to shop with her and sightsee with her because she gets so excited. She definitely helped me choose to spend my money on clothes! We went into four different stores of the same chain (Primark) to find a skirt we loved in the right size. Only Susan could get me to do that and be happy about it!

Now that she has left early (her first grand baby is due soon so she wanted to be home for that and left on August 9), I just have to publicly say how great she is. She planned this whole trip for all of us. She organized where we would go for weekends and for the big week long trip I've previously described. She booked all the hostels and contacted all the right people for the tours we wanted to take.  She is superwoman. Thank you Susan! 

Unimportant side note: I love Apple. The home button on my iPhone was malfunctioning so I brought it into the Apple store and they replaced my entire phone. For free. I love them.

At the Atlantic in Aberystwyth - 2 August 2011

To begin, the Borth hostel was weird. We shared a room with three other women, some who were very open with their personal lives. It was mildly dirty and the manager was semi-creepy. At least, this is what our group decided over yet another English breakfast. By this time I started to worry about what all these delicious breakfasts were going to do me. More specifically to my thighs. Don't worry, I decided I didn't care and kept eating.

The main activity of the day was exploring the seaside town of Aberystwyth. We started at the National Library of Wales. Those who know me well will know how excited I would be about a special library. It was huge! It also had some beautiful exhibitions. My favorite was one celebrating the 400^th Anniversary of the King James Bible. I saw some first edition King James bibles as well as some much older than that. They were exquisite to say the least.

We took the time to walk along the promenade and I got to see the Atlantic ocean up close and personal for the very first time in my life. I also discovered that skipping rocks on the ocean is much harder than on a lake. The promenade is bordered by the ocean on one side and rows of colorful hotels built sometime between the Victorian or Georgian periods. (I realize those periods are very different but I can't remember which is which at the moment.) At the end of the promenade is Aberystwyth University, which used to be part of the castle. The real castle ruins are there as well, situated on a very pretty spot almost completely surrounded by ocean.

Next we wandered through the town a little bit. Aberystwyth is a tourist town and therefore the shops are great. We stopped into quite a few charity shops and stopped at a local meat vendor for delicious shredded roast beef on whole wheat baps. A bap is like a large, softer hamburger bun minus the sesame seeds. While we were eating we watched some boys bring in literally one half of a pig at a time into the meat shop. It was disgusting and funny all at the same time.

 

Afterwards we called it a day and headed back to good ol' Cardiff. Even though we were dead tired none of us went to bed immediately. The joke was that even though we had been stuck in a car together for the last four days and now all we wanted to do was stay together in our tiny living room! I think being together so much – not splitting up for classes and meals and evening activities – forced us all to become even better friends. Tom, Susan, Neoma, and Hannah are all wonderful people!

What are Men to Mountains and Machines? – 1 August 2011

Monday came nice and late(ish) but only by through the whining of the girls.  Tom is a robot, in case anyone wanted to know. And because he is the driver he usually is the dictator of our group. (But a very nice one who listens when we get persistent enough.) We enjoyed a hot breakfast again and then bade Conwy a fond farewell. We began to head down the west coast of Wales. The theme of the day seemed to be Industrialism and Victorianism – these are two of my favorite things to learn about so I was happy all day.

Our first stop was in the town of Llanduno where we walked down a Victorian pier and watched all the candy, knick-knack, and carnival game vendors begin to wake up. I think the Victorian Era is so interesting because of its tendency to be fractured. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times sort of thing. This was the first time that people had leisure time and money to burn. As a result, works like the Llanduno pier were built for people to walk along and amuse themselves. This is also the reason the arcades in many large cities were built. (For those of you who don't know I am referring to arcades as in hallways lined with shops that went through buildings and crossed streets...not Nickelcade or Chuckee-Cheeses). I imagine 19^th century people sort of pattering around comparing their clothes to someone else's and basically just living for show. What's more, I don't know if I would like that existence. Also, in Llanduno is a great big hill that has been named the sleeping dragon. I, of course, then dubbed it Smog. 

Afterwards we drove to Trefriw Woolen Mill tucked high up in the hills of Betus-y-coed (Betsy's Wood), a forest traditionally known for elves, goblins, and fairies. I was jumping up and down with excitement because everything they were using and doing was a direct product of the Industrial Revolution. It was in the textile industry that machines were first put to work and I got to see those. Wales was one of the very first country's to be mechanized because their main resources were wool and coal. Both were very highly priced commodities, especially, at least at first, wool. The machines were loud, big, powerful and intricate. It was easy to see how people got hurt. Also, the products at the woolen mill were gorgeous. I bought some yarn to make something special with and to remember the impressive mill. 

We traveled next to the National Slate Mine Museum. The canyon was so impressive because it wound through real mountains. I liked to see the breaks in grass as jutted rock came out of the earth. It was dotted with lakes and with sheep – very picturesque. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me so I have very little pictures of the canyon and of the mine. I liked the mine museum because it was pretty to look at and well organized. I'm realizing professional management isn't really a Welsh talent. But the museum was laid out so well I was actually impressed. We watched a slate splitting demonstration given by a man who had previously worked in the mine. All the slate is still split by hand and it is a real gift that some say only the Welsh have. He can get a 16”x14” long piece of slate maybe 2 inches thick to split 16 times. Can you say, “Wow!”? Another cool thing the museum had were a row of miners cottages from different time periods to give you a feel of what it meant to live like a miner. I have never been in smaller living spaces – and I lived in Heritage Halls! I also really loved the wooden molds that were used to make iron tools and machinery. I'm always impressed by what people are capable of accomplishing without the aid of modern technology. I'm beginning to realize just how lazy (and blessed!) my generation really is.

From the slate mine we walked up and over to the village and castle at the base of Snowdon. Before going up the mountain we climbed up to Dolwyddelan Castle that was built by the Welsh in the 12th century and overlooks the mountains and valleys. It was so beautiful I just wanted to sit there awhile and breathe it all in. That was another thing I loved about Snowdonia. I could breathe freely! There was absolutely no pollution mugging up the air and it smelled so good and clean.

Snowdon is important to visit when you are touring Wales because it is the tallest mountain in the county. People from all over the UK really like to travel there to hike. It is a good hike (about four miles of  pretty steep trail) but you don't need the high tech hiking gear we saw some people hauling up. Tennis shoes, water, a jacket and some snacks will get you there just fine. As far as mountains go, Snowdon is actually really little. Regardless of its size, the small amount of hiking we did (about a mile) still made me breathe heavy and sweat a ton. Anyways, the beautiful views that surround Snowdon are simply breathtaking and by far my favorite part of Wales.

Ignore my nasty hair please

By the time we got back down off of Snowdon we were all rather tired. We stopped at Harlech Castle on our way to the Borth hostel to spend the night. I loved the Harlech castle because of where it was built. It was balanced on the edge of cliffs so that it was practically impossible to take the castle by force. The men of Harlech have always been known for their courageousness and determination. The castle really reflected the song Men of Harlech. Look it up. Give it a listen. You will like it. Or just watch the film Zulu - it plays at some point in the movie.

The Isle of Anglesey – 31 July 2011

One of the best ways to start off the day is with a big, traditional English breakfast. They eat hearty! Eggs, baked beans, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, croissants, toasts, yogurt, cheese, and as much juice, milk, and tea as you want. Don't worry, I'm not so much of a glutton that I ate everything in one meal. But it was nice to have a hot breakfast because it was my first one in a month! The plan for the day was to explore the Isle of Anglesey. If you look at a map of England and Wales, Anglesey is the island just off the North Western tip of Wales. It is also the home of many Welsh castles as well as the largest number of Celtic sites in Britain because the Druids were so highly concentrated here. The north is sort of a last hold out for the Welsh people. It is more isolated and less developed (except in tourism) and thus the language and culture lives one much more strongly.

We started the day by taking the Conwy wall walk. Conwy is an old medieval town that, because it is so north and out of the way, has stayed rather small and well preserved. Much of the large stone wall that used to surround the medieval town was still intact and it was the perfect way to see the city now. I couldn't help but hum “Chim-chimeney, chim-chimeny, chim-chim-cheroo” to myself.

Then we went to church. I love attending church because each time it is a reminder how things are different but in the Gospel they stay the same. The Colwyn Bay branch had lovely welcoming people and I really enjoyed the messages of the speakers that day. Partially because of what they said, and partially because of their accents. The one bad part of the meeting was when they asked if any of us could play the piano for them and I had to say no because the hymns were to hard for me to just wing it. I've never felt so guilty and I'm determined that is never going to happen again. Piano, prepare to be conquered when I get back.

After church we visited Plas Mawr and Conwy Castle. Plas Mawr was a great house of a local lord. I love to see things that people used in older times. How they filled the same needs that I have without the same modern comforts and blessings is very interesting. Plas Mawr was full of things like this. I have decided though that I am not a fan of medieval decoration. The restored fireplace was so gaudy it hurt my eyes a bit.

Conwy Castle was pretty as well. I liked this castle especially because it had so many huge and tall towers to climb up. The views were incredible! I could see all of Conwy, the gorgeous bay, and into all the lovely green hills of North Wales.

 Then we journeyed to Caernarfon Castle and Beaumaris Castle. Both towns were on the seaside and all of their houses were painted pretty bright pastel colors. Caernarvon castle was cool because this is where Prince Charles was crowned the Prince of Wales. The circle he and the Queen and other important people sat on is still there commemorating the event. Beaumaris was beautifully built, with a classic moat and square layout.

 Between visiting the two castles we stopped and saw a large celtic burial mound called Bryn-Celli-Ddu. I always have mildly guilty feelings for stomping all over the sites where many people were buried. But not enough to stop me.

Finally we made it to one of the things I had been looking forward to all day. We stopped in a tiny town that currently holds the record for the longest place name in the world. Most just call it Llanfair PG, but I like to call it by its proper name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Say that five times fast. Really there is not much to do there except take pictures underneath the sign, which I did.

 Then it was back into the car for more driving. I didn't mind this drive because I liked seeing the countryside. We said hi to Holyhead, Amlwch and a bunch of other towns before we got completely lost trying to find three neolithic sites all entitled Lliwgy. This is pronounced Th(with spit)-ee-oo-g-ee.  We all definitely said that word as much as possible. The sites were tucked away in some fields on narrow roads bounded by tall hedge rows. The GPS couldn't find them so we were left with just a map and the semi-accurate dotted paths marked on it. But find them we did and they were very cool. One was the remains of an old Celtic village where Tom and I turned cartwheels, even though the grass was wet and slippery. The other was a great little cromlech that we literally squeezed ourselves into. And last was a tiny celtic church that was cute but hard to appreciate because it was so late and we were all worn out. We were so tired everyone was getting a little bit loopy. We couldn't stop shouting out the Beatles and Welsh national anthem while cracking jokes about eating morons (carrots in Welsh) and loving Lliwgy. I think that is when we realized it was time to call it a night and head back to Conwy hostel. I think you can get a bit of the crazy vibe from my pictures.

I really can turn a better cartwheel than this but the picture was too funny not to put in. I got nervous because Tom was right behind me and I didn't want to hit him. So I fell over instead.

Croeso i'r Eisteddfod! - 30 July 2011

With the first month of classes ended it was time for some serious sightseeing. The plan was to circumnavigate Wales going up from Cardiff to the north and back down the the coast in the West. 

We started off by journeying to Wrexham to witness the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The Eisteddfod is an annual festival that celebrates the Welsh language, particularly through song and poetry. Thus, it is primarily a national competition between choirs, individual performers and poets. It lasts for about a week and then at the end is a huge awards ceremony where the chairing of the bard takes place. The poet who is judged to be best is proclaimed the Welsh Bard of that year and given a magnificent carved chair (they usually look like thrones). This makes the Eisteddfod sound like it should be a high class, well organized event but frankly, it wasn't. There weren't very many entertaining booths just mainly expensive shops and University of Wales information booths. It was a cross between a bad county fair, a high school college day and a local arts and crafts event.

Although the booths weren't that fantastic, the Eisteddfod is a perfect place for people watching. As we milled around and listened to people speak Welsh, I became very familiar with what Tom and Susan call “The Classic Eisteddfod Look.” Welsh girls from the country (and people attending the Eisteddfod are typically from the countryside) like to where brightly colored Wellies with short shorts and a rain jacket. Classy. Also, I finally saw some the Druids. This is a group of people who believe in Neo-Paganism. They wore long white robes and preached as well as sold their unique spirituality from their booth named Oaklord and the Gnome. I'm regretting now that I didn't go inside and buy something. So, all in all they are very special people. 

We ended our experience in a huge pink tent where we listened to an amazing choir. I'll give the Welsh this - they know how to sing!

After the Eisteddfod we drove to see...you guessed it. More castles and churches! We saw Rhuddlan Castle and the cathedral of St. Asaph. Both were beautiful and impressive (as castles and cathedrals always are). What made St. Asaph special was that it held one of the first bibles translated into Welsh by William Morgan.

We then made a quick stop in the town of Trelwyned. Besides being a beautiful town, this was the place that Hannah's ancestors came from. She was so excited to see the graves, parish church and just hometown in general of her ancestors. I think it was a very special and personal way for her to connect to her family history.

After that is was off to Conwy, a beautiful seaside town. I went to bed very early because of a massive headache so I didn't do anything else that night. After driving so much that day we all realized that we would have to be careful about rotating through the front and middle seats to help us all not through up in the car. The roads in Wales are much narrower and more winding so that even my stomach of steel (my stomach not my abdominals) was feeling queasy.