Wales

We went to Wales this weekend. Absolutely amazing.

I don't know exactly how to describe everything we saw. Every hill was lush green and white spotted with sheep. TONS and TONS of sheep. Every town was just as quaint as the last and every person had an interesting personality rooted in their pride of being Welsh. For example, our bus driver refused to turn around so instead he backed the bus up a hill. Which reminds me... We had a HUGE bus. There was only 22 of us total and the bus (coach) seated 61. We all pretty much had our own aisle if we wanted it.

I always do this. I start in the middle when I should really start at the beginning. Okay, so. The beginning. We took the train from Paddington Station (London) to Cardiff Central (Wales). We arrived in Wales and were immediately greeted by Welsh and English speaking people. After a 10 minute drive we arrived at the waterfront for a quick break to eat and to admire our surroundings (little did we know that it was only going to get better). Lunch ended and we met at the National Assembly of Wales building. Our tour guide was charming and loves his country. He bragged about how progressive Wales is and how their government works. We got to tour the building and see where they meet and in general admire the splendor of the building. After that we headed to Tintern Abbey. This is an 11th century Abbey. Pulling up was inexplicable. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the structure and all the small intricacies as well as how massive the whole thing was. It was beautiful. I felt so small in comparison. There was so much history in this country just lying about. It felt odd to stumble upon an ancient ruin after only being 3 minutes out of the nearest village. History was just everywhere there. After the Abbey we made our way to the hostel. The hostel was quaint and in the middle of no where. We got there and found out that we had to walk the remaining 15 minutes because the coach was too big and the road was too small to get there. The owner greeted us when we got there and their property had horses and was gorgeous. Our rooms had bunk beds and they provided us with a 3 course dinner. I, immediately after dinner, felt sick. Like, almost vomiting sick. That was an early night for me. After a few Advil and several hours of sleep I felt much better the next day.

The next day (sorry for the play by play, but its how I can remember it all!) we went to Big Pit. It is the only operating coal mine in Wales. We got to go underground! We put on helmets, head lamps, and belts with battery packs and safety gear and then headed onto the elevator that took us 300 feet below ground. We got to tour through where they mined and learn about the lives of the miners and what it would have been like down there. At one point we all turned off our headlamps and stood in the total darkness. Young boys, around age 6, would be in that darkness for 12 hours a day every day opening and closing the doors for the horses in the mine. Absolutely ridiculous. I cannot imagine living that life. All of the tour guides there are ex-miners and are absolutely hilarious. They have playful banter and kept trying to keep the mood light even though we learned that 246 people had been killed in that specific mine and we learned about the lives of the young children as well as the horses (they were only taken out of the mine for 2 weeks during the summer). Our next destination was Brecon. It was an adorable touristy area where the center of town consisted of a few pubs and an English/Chinese food restaurant. We visited one of the cathedrals and after that enjoyed a pot of Welsh blend tea and a few Welsh cakes (we were feeling Welshy). After that we headed back to the hostel for another night of a 3 course dinner (that luckily didn't make me sick this time). We ended up sitting around and talking and enjoying our last night there.

Our last day was spent visiting an ancient Roman Amphitheatre and bath. We also went and saw the Chepstow Castle. These were also amazing sites. The history, again, is just mind blowing. Nothing in America really even compares.

It would be easy to fall in love with this place. The beauty is astounding and the history is fascinating. The people are friendly, in the countryside, and love their country. Wales made me even more excited for Ireland and Scotland.

I'm enjoying every minute here, but as always... Missing home and UPS.


Cheers!
Kaitlin