aroundtheworldwJudy: September 2015

We lost and found our way continually, sometimes even heading off in exactly the wrong direction.

We used 4 maps, each listing different villages scattered between the few big cities, plus an occasionally-working GPS – and still we stopped to ask directions at the gas stations (with varying success).

We sometimes circled several rotations of the roundabouts before shooting off to either the correct vector road – or the wrong one….. again!

Dylan Thomas' home at Laugharne, Wales

Laugharne village "5 minutes away"

Dylan Thomas - Wales' premier poet

Dylan Thomas' writing shed

Quaint, charming, lovely and kind – these words spring to mind in describing southern and central Wales of today.

In the cities and villages, narrow (and unmarked) lanes are now designated one-way to accommodate the modern hustle/bustle of vehicles. There are very few signs: commercial and public buildings seem only to have flush signs above the doors.

Dylan Thomas lived a life from hand-to-mouth to fame and fortune ... always with heavy drinking which finally killed him. His alliterative writing is magical, nonetheless.

The Laugharne Castle by the village

After years of experience in Ireland, Louise handily manages the left-side
driving (and alternately, Judy masters the stick-shift cars, driving on the right).

Airbnb led us to stay with Louise and Clive in their rambling Victorian in Leominster England
which is just across the border from Wales. Clive was a master at parking the BIG car we rented out behind the house -- surely we were considered easy (American) targets by the Hertz rental guys to unload the LARGE car they "kindly" set us up in.

Splashed of color along the main road beside a private drive.

Narrow roads, bristling hedgerows, and lush sheep-speckled fields are ubiquitous in the rural landscapes of Wales. There are breathtaking vistas of greens and golds in the national park and in the agricultural regions of southern Wales

The Welsh road signs are confounding because the language seems to have way too many consonants and double consonants with way too few vowels. With great hilarity we ‘slaughtered’ the names of towns and villages…. Yikes!

(We did learn later that both ‘y’ and ‘w’ are vowels, but that was little help in finding our way).

Here's a headline off a newpaper I bought: "Galw am fwy o addysg feithrin cyfrwng Cymraeg"

Meaning ????

Devil's Bridge

The Devil's Bridge is actually 3 bridges, each constructed above the earlier bridge.

The Devil's Bridge spans a deep and slender split in the rocks,
centuries deep in the narrow gorge.

St. Govans Chapel

St. Govan's chapel was mostly constructed in the 13th century
but part of it was started as early as
the 6th century. The building is
reached from the clifftop by climbing down 52 stone steps, though legend has it that the number of steps differs between going down and going back up.

Another legend suggests that the chapel was flung into the rocks by big waves and "special" magic

Carreg Cennan Castle

Wales has stark and dramatic coastlines, brilliant candy-colored houses interspersed with timber-crossed Tudor buildings, Victorian houses, stone buildings, and a few ‘modern’ buildings.

The River Melte Falls, the first and most accessible waterfall among many in the
Brecon Beacons National Park

Aberglassney House and Gardens

Aberglassney House

Aberglassney House and Gardens are mentioned in 1541 as “nine special gardens around a master house”. The buildings and gardens flourished under a Bishop’s ownership, then declined and fell to ruin under his heirs’ oversight. Within the last century an American benefactor supported the restoration and reconstruction of these colorful and historic garden spaces.