Friday, June 15, 2018

I'm back--Part Two

The second part of this year's trip to the UK was the Wild Wales Walking Tour. My daughter booked it, and I think she thought I'd be able to do some of the hikes. I hoped I might do one or two, but as it turned out, they were either too long or too difficult for this old lady. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Taff Roberts, the leader, was knowledgeable and always ready to share stories related to the places we visited.
I've been to Wales a couple of times before. When I was about twelve or thirteen, I visited my aunt and uncle and cousins in Swansea, staying with them for about a month, I think. Then, many years later, my husband and I drove through parts of the countryside, and another time travelled there by train. Just last year, February 2017, my husband and son and I took the train from London to Aberystwyth and had a couple of days there en route to Liverpool and beyond.
But this trip, was different. Catherine, my daughter, and I were in the company of Taff Roberts and two couples who actually knew him from their home town of Winona, Minnesota, where Taff now resides.
Our first stop was in Aberdaron. A little town on the tip of a peninsula way up north--but not quite in Anglesey. There we stayed in a modern styled bed and breakfast, and Taff's brother and sister-in-law joined us for a meal. We stayed there three nights. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the town by myself because the road was long, steep and windy. So I mostly stayed in the B&B and read the book I'd brought along for just such an eventuality. (The book, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, set in London, England--movie notwithstanding--an excellent read). One day, however, Taff arranged for a taxi to take me into town so I could attend a church service. Anglican. I felt right at home. Then, while there, before the taxi came to take me home to the B&B, I visited the local museum.

Our next village was Dalgellau, (pronounced dal-gell-ai, the double L doesn't occur in English, but it's not difficult. Just put your tongue for the letter L, but don't use your voice, just blow around your tongue. Try it!)

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