Ventures and Adventures of a Vermonter Abroad

Note: I have a lot of Easter break stuff to recap. Here's some stuff I forgot to include in my York posting: Nantwich when seen from a train looks a lot like Privet Drive. And somewhere along the line from Manchester Piccadilly to York, there exists a school with a TARDIS parked outside it.

Also, Easter Vigil happened. That was pretty awesome. I arrived at church and saw people gathered around a bonfire. We sang and processed inside, grabbing candles on the way in. I also got to see a baptism and confirmation. It was such a great experience, even though I had some wax dribble onto my fingers, ouch!

Me inside the smallest church I've ever seen!

Sut mae! I am learning the difference between North and South Welsh, among other things.

From April 1-3, I visited my relatives in the Colwyn Bay area. I got off the train at Llandudno Junction and was greeted by a crowd! I wore my Wales/Cymru scarf so that Cousin Brian, his wife Julie and their kids could pick me out of the crowd (Not that Llandudno Junction is a bustling, gigantic train-station). As we drove from Llandudno Junction to Colwyn Bay, we stopped at Rhôs-on-Sea to see St. Trillo's. It is a church by the seaside that only seats six!

Altar

Outside

View from the door

This was quite the change from the soaring churches I am used to seeing!
I stayed with Brian's cousin Peter and his wife Judy. When we got to their house, we all had lunch and talked. I thought my mother was chatty! Guess it runs in the family, haha. I got to speak with the younger kids for a little bit too.

Peter, Judy and I went to The Queen's Head for dinner. I got to try out a little wine pairing! I had duck with plum sauce and a glass of Shiraz. I felt so fancy.

The next day, Cousin Brian and I went to Conwy.

Palm trees still manage to grow here. I am so confused.

I dubbed it "The Conwy Palm". Feel free to make it a tourist attraction.

I saw the smallest house in Great Britain!

The lady in charge of it is wearing a traditional Welsh costume

Only four people were allowed in at a time. The ground-floor shots were basically me standing in place and rotating.

Ladder to the first floor

Shot of the bedroom

The last inhabitant was a 6' 3" fisherman. He apparently slept with his feet out the window!

We walked the length of the city walls afterwards.

"The English invaders lived inside the walls, the Welsh lived outside".

The walls were a little uneven and hazardous, but well-worth it. The views were incredible.

Conwy Castle in the distance

Snow! It does exist here!

So scenic!

A cross-shaped arrow slit!

Rail tunnel

The art in the tunnel to get back into town was awesome.

We went into Conwy Castle. When I was packing up my student ID, I heard an American accent and saw the flash of a navy blue and golden passport book. The girl I met was from Iowa, but studying abroad at Birmingham Uni. She was planning on visiting Cardiff, so I recommended some things for her to do.

I don't think I'll ever get used to being able to trapse around medieval castles. That could just be the American side talking. All our history is recent compared to Europe. My house was built in 1817, which is antique by our standards. Here, not so much...

Can you spot the kid's face in the window?

If Edward I knew that his castle would one day be proudly flying a Welsh flag, he'd have a conniption

I found some not-medieval stained glass in the chapel area.

Seagull!

After that, Brian and I got some sandwiches and walked around Conwy a little more.

Best name ever for a clothing shop? I think so!

We got some nice pictures of the castle and the mountains.

We then took a quick trip to the isle of Anglesey, home of the train station with the longest name. Say it with me now, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Need a little help? Cousin Brian sent me a link to a song that teaches you.

In case you can't read the translation, it means "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio by the red cave".

Understandably, this station is abbreviated as "Llanfair PG".

It took me four separate pictures to capture this beast of a name!

Phonetic at the bottom of the sign.

I also got a couple pictures of the eponymous St. Mary's and the surroundings.

I did a lot of walking! When I got back to Peter and Judy's, I took a well-deserved nap.

Before dinner, I was telling Peter and Judy about how I did Irish Stepdance back at SMC. I gave them a little demonstration. They dug out a DVD of Riverdance and watched some selections from it. It was so cool.

We went out to dinner again, this time to Pen y Bryn. The atmosphere in there was just so lovely. I felt incredibly British. As for the food, I figured since I was near the sea, I'd try mussels. Unfortunately, they had just run out. Our waiter let me know of some alternatives, and the gnocchi peaked my interest. He said that it's one of his favourites and that if I didn't like it then he'd have it and get me something else. Peter replied "Yeah, at my expense!". Cheeky guy, that waiter (not that bad-looking either...).

I wanted to try a British dessert, so I got sticky toffee pudding with ice cream and toffee sauce. I asked Peter what it consisted of, and he gave it the very eloquent description of "Brown". When it arrived, it certainly was brown. I enjoyed it quite a bit (for a non-chocolate dessert). It was ridiculously rich and filling though. After dinner, we watched a documentary on Barry John, a famous rugby player from the 60's and early 70's.

Peter, Judy and I talked about a diverse set of topics: Rugby, Monty Python, classism, the NHS, the Taffia (shady dealings going on in Anglesey), Scotland (their son went to Glasgow for Uni), what it was like when my Nana and her relatives came to visit, and strange things that America does (these shoes fit me well vs these shoes fitted me well), and much, much more.

It was with a heavy heart that I packed up for Cardiff again. I loved being able to spend time with family, especially when I usually spend Easter with family back in VT. If I have any free time between the end of exams and when my visa expires, I'll try my hardest to go and visit again!

Cheers!

Back from my spooky trip to the most haunted city in the UK.

I met up with my friend Liz from SMC (my uni back at home). She's been studying at St. Andrew's in Scotland for the entire year. We decided to meet up in a city that neither of us had been to, so we picked York. Little did we know what was in store...

Our hostel

The hostel was a renovated 1752 Georgian-era townhouse. It was gorgeous. Our room was down in the basement, in the servants' quarters. Very Downton Abbey. When Liz was out of the room, I was watching some TV. Out of the corner of my eye, I see this humanoid shape (like seeing a person through a thick fog) go through our door and walk through the wall. Initially, I didn't really understand what was going on, but upon reflection I realised that I'd seen a ghost. Yikes!

Liz and I explored the city, no specific destination in mind. We wandered into clothing shops and marveled over the fashions of the UK.

I had a proper Steak and Ale Pie for lunch

We had dinner at an Italian Restaurant. It was awesome. I had Gnocchi for the first time in ages. I had chocolate cake for dessert. So decadent!

The next day, we had breakfast in town at Bagel Nash (We slept through the hostel's breakfast). After, we went to the York Castle Museum.

Daily life through the years exhibit

They even had a Chinese exhibit!

They have a street-size recreation of Victorian York shops. It oscillated between day and night. It was such a treat to walk through.

Pseudo-Victorian Alleyway

Is it weird that the undertaker's shop was the most brightly lit?

The other half of the museum had some more recent history...

I feel like I'm looking at the Iron Throne

WWII-era uniforms

There was even a 1960's exhibit!

The original Doctor Who!

Restraints from York Prison. Some were alleged to have been used on notorious highwayman Dick Turpin.

After the museum, I went to Clifford's Tower.

Memorial plaque marking when 150 Jews were killed in a pogrom in 1190 after seeking safety in the tower.

York Minster

We met up with one of Liz's friends from St. Andrew's (Zoe) as well as a friend of the friend (Abby). We hung out in a coffee shop and talked about York (since the two friends are from there). They were very interested in our ghost story! We even asked the guy sweeping the floor of the coffee place if he'd had any ghost experiences. He said that he used to work in a pub that was apparently haunted by a ghost cat. Spooky! We continued our adventures. Abby had to leave early, but the rest of us continued to explore. I tried proper British fudge (not chocolate-flavoured!). I also continued in my quest to find a milkshake like the ones at home (the ones I've experienced so far have been just milk that shakes! Nothing quite as thick and brain-freeze-inducing as ones in the States!).

Candid shot of Liz, haha.

Unfortunately, we didn't go into York Minster. It was crazy expensive, even with a student discount. You also had to go with a tour group, no wondering around by yourself.

We finished up a solid day with a trip to Nando's! Neither Liz not Zoe had been there before, so I got to show them the ropes.

Mango-Lime chicken pitta with garlic bread

Liz (L) and Zoe (R)

We walked Zoe to where she parked her moped. She let us each take it for a spin in the parking lot!! It was so cool. I'd never done anything like that before. What an awesome experience!

Liz and I left the next morning, bright and early from the York train station.