Croeso i Llandudno, Cymru!

Warning: Mild Language. Viewer discretion is advised.

Every year I struggle to figure out what I want to do with my birthday. They say that the older you get the more your birthday just becomes another day. Well I say fiddlesticks and poppycock to that nonsense. You're allowed to celebrate any day you want with gusto and I just happened to pick my birthday as one of those days! I love holidays and birthdays are holidays in my book so as your party planner your event will never be dull!

This year was a particularly special year for me as I was leaving the roaring twenties and swinging in to the rough-n-tumble thirties! I suppose one can yearn for youth the same as they can yearn for Twinkies and Ben & Jerry's but, honestly, in the grand scheme of things my twenties royally sucked monkey arse and I've no intention of repeating those years ever again. How many years did I waste pleasing other people, not knowing who I was on the inside and just doing what was expected of me because of social and societal conventions? I know I'm a rough one to get along with and damn did I spend way too long trying to change who I was so I was more well-liked and boy did that suck.

Welp, not that some magic wand magically erases all my deep-seated issues or anything, but as some would say, "You are born with a finite amount of fucks to give and by your mid-thirties, give or take, your supply of fucks to give is just about run dry." I'm sure by my forties I'll be a real charmer!

Now, on to the crux of the story! For my 30th Nameday celebration I was back and forth about what I wanted to do simply because I've got a verifiable pick-a-mix of options before me living in the United Kingdom and with Europe on my doorstep. 

At first I wanted to explore the Jurassic Coast and meander around the beaches picking up trilobites and Megalodon teeth (fingers crossed!) but the trains to get down there were damn well ridiculous and I would have been miserable being on trains for so long. So, nixed! 

Then I thought how easy Wales is to get to by train, and that technically it's considered it's own country, so I thought what the hell, lets go to Wales!

Our adventure begins Monday, June 8th at not that early in the morning. We'd somehow packed the night before pretty well so we meandered to the bus stop and somehow managed to cram ourselves on the already pretty-full up bus. We got to the train station with plenty of time to kill and waited 'til the next train in to Nottingham rolled up.

Pretty much nothing of interest happened on our journey to our first stop, Manchester.

When we got in to Manchester we got lost several times looking for the hotel and when we found the hotel we of course found ourselves on the side with endless stairs. 

When we finally got to the check-in desk, despite us being there only an hour early they told us the room wasn't ready yet. Maybe I've been overly spoiled in my days but I'm pretty sure they just kept us waiting for the hell of it. They offered to keep our luggage for us which always freaks me out to some degree but since mine was all locked up tight I relented.

We had a small wander around the area, looking fruitlessly for a Burger King that simply didn't exist, and then headed back. On the way back we came across a sign that indicated the street our hotel was on was a part of the "Gay" district. I could definitely see that. It was by far the cleanest street I'd seen in Manchester.

When we finally were able to get in to our room, it was literally the room across from the reception desk. While it was a decent enough room, it felt a bit anti-climactic coming to this particular hotel, a rather swanky establishment, to be lead to the room five steps from the reception area. 

Regardless, the room had air conditioning so hurray for that. After we relaxed a bit and cooled down we set off to do some more exploring.

I would have happily paid the exorbitant fee to ride this London Eye wannabe, however the ride was shut down. Frankly, on closer inspection, it looked rather forlorn so perhaps it was a good thing it was shut. Across from the wheel of death was what looked like a park, or what was supposed to be a park, if it weren't for all the birds, trash and bird crap. It was truly pitiful to behold. Truly the whole city was covered in a fine layer of bird excrement, rubbish and homeless people. I wasn't particularly impressed.

I'm really rather shocked this statue isn't covered in white poop. Everything else seemed to be.

Later that same evening we met up with one of my old high school acquaintances that just so happened to live in the area. What are the odds that two people from the same high school that actually know each other would live across the ocean just a couple hours away from one another?

We talked and drank and the time just flew by. Before we knew it it was getting dark and they had a train to catch so we bid farewell and parted ways.

The next day we checked out and made for the train station. We got there decently early so we stopped and had "breakfast"at good ol' Burger King. I felt rather bad for the pigeons in the train station. They all seemed to have malformed or scarred legs and I postulated it could be from a rampant avian parasite or perhaps prolonged exposure to pollution and C thought maybe it was because the birds often attacked one another for food. I hate pigeons but even I thought it was a horrible life to have. 

Anyways, the train ride from Manchester to Wales was infinitely more interesting than from Nottingham to Manchester. The countryside opened up and for the first time I got to see the postcard-like scenery so many were familiar with, The horses above were in a large open pen quite a few yards away but I used my amazing zoom to capture them grazing. I also have a great photo of one urinating like, you guessed it, a racehorse, but I didn't think anyone cared to see it. If for some reason you do want to see a horse peeing, PM me.

I thought this land-locked cruise ship was pretty fascinating. I've no idea what the little blue cartoon character is supposed to be but he appears to be a pirate with a little sword. I wonder if anyone still lives on there? What an interesting conversation piece that would be! 

I snapped this after we got off the train in Llandudno station. For those of you getting tripped up by the double 'L', it's not like Spanish at all. The double 'L' actually makes a 'Thl' sound. And if you wanted to sound like some of the Welsh we came across, you'd pronounce it "Thlan-did-no". 

Oh and if you didn't already guess, Cymru is Wales. If you wanted to sound Welsh you'd pronounce it "Come-ree".

This is the outside of our absolutely fabulous bed & breakfast, the Adcote House. I can't possibly speak highly enough of this establishment. Mike and Diane, the innkeepers, were absolute gems and I know our trip was further improved by having them as our hosts. They gave us great recommendations of restaurants in the area plus they were so lovely and accommodating that although I frequently tell establishments that "We'll be back", this rare instance I truly do mean it. My love for Wales only increased after staying at the Adcote House and I could not recommend them enough. 

It wasn't the largest room I'd stayed in but it was comfortable and very quiet except for the occasional haunting cry of the seagulls on the roofs above. The small oscillating fan they let us borrow really improved things the second and third night.

The only bad thing I'd say is I wish the room had had air conditioning. However since they provided a fan upon request I found the room much more comfortable. I always forget how humid it can get near the coast! That fan was a life-saver!

We didn't spend much time chilling out in here but I definitely could have. The dining parlour was to the left of this picture and to the right was a large piano.

I was so ready to hit the beach. We'd barely put our bags down in our room and we were out the door again. Our B&B was so close to the beaches and yet just far enough away to not hear the crowds or the traffic. This picture is from North Beach. The view from every angle was absolutely delightful. Everything I saw I just had to drink it in.

The other side of North Beach. You could walk seemingly for miles along the beach had you the inclination.

This view was achieved whilst walking down the city pier. 

Another view from the city pier. I love all the different shades and textures. In the background the highest point you see there is the Great Orme. Interestingly enough, Llandudno and especially the Great Orme is the UK's third most likely spot to witness a UFO. 

This was the dedicated fishing platform that was at the very tail end of the pier.

This photo was taken the following day when we went up to the Great Orme. There are a few ways to get up there. You can take the tramway which you can see the track to above. You can also take the cable cars, which is the option we chose. Lastly you can schlep it. 

This little area had a restaurant, tourist information centre, gift shop and museum all in one. To one side was a restaurant and pub and to the other an ice cream parlour.

Opposite the visitor's centre on the other side of a small hill was a small farm. I had to zoom in pretty far to get these gals. We found them fascinating because when they moved, they walked in almost bird-like formation. They never strayed far from one another and they stayed very close to one another. I couldn't begin to explain why they moved in such a way but they appeared to feel safer walking in one giant cow-clump.

This BMF is a metal representation of a Yautja from the movie Predator. Personally I wouldn't mind a couple of these statues for my home but I suppose one step at a time. This guy was in the visitor's centre in a room dedicated to UFO paraphernalia. They also had a Millennium Falcon composed of traffic signals.  

Here we have the cable car that takes you up to the Great Orme.

The town of Llandudno atop the cable car.

Here we have some of the Kashmiri goats that I was thrilled to photograph as they can be a bit elusive.

The entire sea-side of Llandudno is dedicated to Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland. Apparently Llandudno was the home of Alice Liddell back in the 1860's.

Keeping with the tune of the Alice in Wonderland theme, here we have a Knickerbocker Glory from The Looking Glass Ice Cream Parlour. Yes, it was just as delicious as it looks.

"Off with his head!"

The view from West Shore was just as amazing. The beach was sandier and had more travel-sized rocks and shells to peruse. 

The tide was out but quickly coming back in. These barnacles and sea kelp seem dried out and dead but I'm fairly confident that with the addition of water, they'd spring right back to life. Aren't they fascinating little critters?

On our last full day in Wales we ventured out to neighbouring Conwy and toured the castle.

I like this shot because not only do you have the amazing Welsh language on the sign but the Welsh flag in the background with the towers. 

Any minute now you'll see some "French" soldiers lean over and begin to taunt the English. 

"Your muzzer was a hamster, and your fadder smelt of elderberries!"

"Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!"

Just FYI, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was NOT filmed at Conwy Castle, not even close. But it's still fun to imagine.

Some of the seaside succulents atop the castle.

The plant life atop the castle was actually the most interesting thing to me. I found so many different species up there just clinging to the stone walls.

The view of Conwy from atop the castle.

At ground level across the street.

One of the few shots of the Welsh flag.

Village below the castle. Had some really neat shops.

This shop was our favourite as it was a medieval weaponry shop that also included a huge case full of different types of mead. Needless to say we brought back a lot of mead.

Inside the shop. The weapons were pretty impressive but funnily enough they had quite a few family crest items such as key chains, coasters, flags and many other things. Each family crest was different almost entirely so really it's hard to believe that the crest you see before you is THE crest of your family. A bit of a let down.

Well that's it for now with regards to Wales. I absolutely loved our trip and I wait in anticipation to go back. Future trips will be few and far between for a while so you'll be subjected to a few "Top 10" posts coming up.