On the Road Again

Another day, another country.

When planning our journey into Wales this morning, we realized that we had two options: one through the big cities and one about 15 minutes longer that went through the borders of Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. That decision was fairly easy.  The first time Jessica and I traveled together was about a week into our year abroad when another Fulbrighter graciously opened her home up to the two of us and two more fellow Fulbrighters in this same area. I was immediately blown away by the remarkable countryside and eager to bring my parents back to this beautiful spot. Though we didn't go into either area, driving amongst the green rolling hills, separated into a quilt by stone walls was an excellent diversion. Crayola would struggle to create all the greens we saw today!

The weather, unfortunately, took a turn for the worse and much of our drive was in the rain, but it was not a difficult drive and we have now arrived into another country: the beautiful Wales.

The town of Conwy, built in the late 13th century, is one of the oldest, still in tact walled cities in Britain. The castle and walls took four years to build, starting in 1283 (as Jessica pointed out, 700 years older than us). Our adorable Bryn Derwen B&B is just outside the city walls, so we walked along the walls back into town to the castle. Conwy Castle is incredible, absolutely perfect for the kid in all of us who wants to climb steep spiral staircases, stand at the top of tall towers and imagine yourself in the ballroom. The castle is huge and although most ceilings and inner walls are missing, a large part of it is still in tact, along with the eight different towers that you can climb up and look out from. Views of the harbor and surrounding countryside were lovely from the top of the towers.

We strolled a bit around town tonight, to find dinner and then to wear off our dinner. The little bitty town reminds me of York with its wall surrounding the town, narrow roads throughout and beautifully old structures throughout. The water in the harbor obviously had a large tide, as when we went back after dinner, many of the boats we had seen were suddenly trapped on the sand out in the harbor.

We are only here in Wales for a few days, but we are excited to be back here for some more adventures!