Plan…Travel…Repeat

Today started with another castle that is part of Edward’s Iron Ring, Caernarfen. It is one of the largest that we have visited so far and several accessible towers are be even by elevator which was a nice touch. It also has a royal connection. Edward I and his Queen Elinor of Castile stayed at the castle in 1283. They returned in April of 1284 and the future Edward II was born here. He was declared the Prince of Wales of the newly conquered country. Also starting the long tradition of the Kings oldest son and heir being titled the Prince of Wales on or around his 18 birthday. In 1911 future Edward VIII received is investiture of Prince of Wales at the castle. Prince Charles followed suit in 1969 amid a growing anti royalist Welsh population. Insight to recent times the palace did not hold a similar ceremony for Prince William to avoid protest and anti royalist sentiments. It seems the Welsh are still a proud people and not in favor of Britain’s control. Caernarfen sits deep in north Wales where the Welsh language is prominant and traditions are strong.

The castle itself was glorious. It again sits right on the Irish Sea and high towers and battlements provided great views. we climbed the towers and did the open battlements. It had an elevator to one of the battlements so everyone could enjoy the views.

We learned that the English would cut off the fingers of Welshmen when captured so that they could not continue to use their long bows.

After touring the castle we went out and walked around town. Across the river provided great views of the castle.

We had a bit of time to wander and grab a quick lunch. It was a cute town with several shops and it was pretty enough for ice cream which makes a great lunch.

From Caernarfon we headed to our next stop. Along the way we drove by the lake the Welsh associate with King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake myth. Having a niece named for the lady of the lake we were quite interested in the site.

Next stop was Gwydir Castle. It is actually more fortified manor house than castle. The oldest part of the castle was built in the 14th century by the Cotemore family. They supplied welsh bowmen to both Agincourt and Poitiers. Around 1500 Gwydir was obtained by the Wynn family and was rebuilt as a Tudor mansion. The castle was abandoned and fell into complete disrepair. It was acquired by a young couple, who have taken on the task of bringing it back to its original glory. Much of the work had been done and it was a lovely place to visit. Turns out that when the prior family went bankrupt the interiors were sold at auction. The Hearst family bought several of the paneled rooms. The panels were removed and stored. the current owners were able to find one set of them at the metropolitan museum in New York. It appears the Hearst never used them and donated them to the Met. The museum also never used them but they would not loan them back to the house so the family purchased them. They are still looking for the other room.

The wall paper above the paneling is leather and original to the house. It had been stored with the paneling. The house had settled some and the fireplace and door frame just barely fit. Then Prince Charles came to the Gwydir when the dining room restoration was complete.

They are desperately trying to find the other room and feel certain it is still in one of the many warehouses owned by the Hearst family.

They did get back on the Gwydir table that had been sold in the auction. The table had the wyn family motto.

In the 1570 Katherine of Berain referred to the mother of Wales and cousin to Queen Elizabeth called Gwydir home. She was married 4 times and had numerous children. Her oldest son was executed for treason for involvement in the Babbington Plot. The plot to kill Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne. It was what got Mary to executed as well.

Gwydir comes up as one of the most haunted house in Wales and it is not a recent issue. Through the years a servant woman has been seen in one of the rooms. It is said that she was involved with the young son of lord of the manor. She became pregnant and the son killed her and left her in the priest hole.

The current owners believe a ghost/spirit was wreaking havoc on them by causing multiple accidents and injuries. One event included a spade that was on the floor of a second floor room that needed some roof repair. However the spade found its way to a hole in the ceiling and struck the current owner on the head and shoulder. The wife said she could feel it happening but couldn’t and didn’t want to move to try and stop it. They now both avoid that room in the house. She also feels the presence of Katherine or Berain near on of the period doors and she always stops to say good morning before descending the staircase.

The couple had 2 dogs and about 20 peacocks. Everywhere you turned another peacock would pop up. There were even multiple sets of baby peacocks.

After touring the house we had tea and scones out on the terrace. It was a lively afternoon for it and the scones were delicious.

This was our last stop for the day and we headed back to the hotel. Val and I decided to venture out for a fish and chips place named Enoch’s. It was about a mile and half and not too bad of a walk there. The fish was amazing and we really enjoyed dinner. When we headed back all was good for a few minutes and then it started raining. I tried to get us an uber but never found anyone to take the drive. Stood around for about 10 minutes before decided to give it up and walk back. We had barely gone 100 feet when the rain got considerably worse. By the time we got back to the hotel we were like drowned rats.

Wet and tired we called another day of our trip over.

Today we move to northern Wales. I had no idea Wales was so long or so pretty. If you are not including Wales on your England trips you are missing out. It is absolutely stunning.

However it did make for a very long day on a bus. We had a few stops so not horrible but it was still a long day.

Before we got on the bus this morning I walked back over to the Bishop’s Palace. It had been such a lovely spot and I wanted to see it again. With just me and the birds it was a lovely quiet start to the day. These trips our so busy and I just needed some time by myself.

We stopped for lunch in Aberysrwyth, which is a fun Welsh word to say and one of the few I could pronounce. It is a seaside town with some castle ruins overlooking the sea. There is also a nice war memorial. It wasn’t really a significant castle. I think it was just where we were at lunch time. We did have a nice lunch with sea views and then we wandered the castle on our own before getting back on the bus.

Back on the bus for another 2 hours on our way Harlech Castle. This one was much more significant and was part of the Norman Ring of Iron. Their castle put up to subdue the Welsh.

Harlech was built by Edward I from 1282 to 1289. Another James of Saint George designed and constructed project. He was rewarded this time by being made the Constable of the castle. He withstood a siege by Madog ap Llyweln in 1294.

It took the Welsh a while but in 1404 Harlech fell to Owain Glyndwr and the Welsh held it until 1409 when Henry V took it back.

During the War of the Roses Harlech was held by the Lancastrian side for most of the conflict. It was where Jasper Tudor landed with French reinforcements in 1466. This however caused Edward IV to send a major force to take back the castle. The much smaller welsh force held out for a month and a popular Welsh song the Men of Harlech was written in their honor. Claire Jones played it for us on her harp that first night of the trip. Julian, on of our historians, sang it for us on the bus but I have to say the harp version was much better.

The castle was quite large with great walls and ramparts to walk on. We wandered our way in round on the ground and wall and it was a great break from the bus ride.

Once we arrived at our hotel (thankfully we are staying here 5 nights, I am really tired of packing up) we had a dinner at the hotel. Val and I sat with Nicola. It was a good night but everyone was so tired we didn’t linger.

Today started with a nice breakfast at our hotel then a short walk to the Lamphey Bishop’s Palace. The Palace is in ruins but set in lovely surroundings. It was much larger than I was expecting. For some reason Bishop’s Palace seemed more not house than castle but I was wrong. It was quite large with multiple buildings.

Bishop’s Palace is where 12 year old Margaret Beaufort and somewhat older (at least 10 years) Edmund Tudor honeymooned. It is also where the historians believe Henry Tudor was conceived. Within a a few months Edmund Tudor was captured and died while being held in Carmarthen Castle before the birth of his son. Once learning that Edmund had died Margaret turned to her brother in law Jasper Tudor and left Bishop’s Castle for Pembroke.

The ruins are quite secluded and seemed very peaceful. Both Nicola and Mike spoke about Margaret and her time there. Even though it is only ruins I really enjoyed the stop.

From the Palace we headed out to Carew Castle. It was built in 1100 during the Norman conquest. It took the Normans many years to capture Wales and they would build a Norman style keep to hold their territory. Carew came to the Normans through marriage. The wales Princess of Deheubarth, Nest ferch Rhys brought the land as her dowry to her marriage with Gerald de Windsor. At some point I will provide some background on Wales Princess and Princessas but not today when I am trying to catch up. It is really interesting or at least something I want to remember. Also by the way “ferch” means daughter and “ap” means son. Also a topic for later on how welsh names evolved.

Anyway back to the castle, Gerald’s son William built into the castle but soon lost it to Rhys ap Thomas so the welsh have reclaimed the land. Rhys ap Thomas helped Henry Tudor defeat Richard, after swearing loyalty to Edmund and Richard both to be able to hold the castle. But he couldn’t resist helping a Welshman gain the throne. He was also prominent in Arthur’s upbringing and included HenryVIIs, Arthur’s and Catherine of Aragon’s coats of arms over an inner doorway that can still be seen today. Sadly his grandson fell out of favor (or was seen as a rival from the Welsh point of view) to Henry VIII and was executed for treason.

There was also a cross at Carew that dates to sometime before 1035. It was likely a gift from the church to Mardudd ap Edmund who along with King Margiteut ruled the kingdom of Deheubarth in south west Wales

From here we went to Pembroke for lunch and then to visit the castle. The town was pretty cute so Val and I wondered a bit for grabbing a quick bite. While looking around the town we walked down by the river and there were a bunch of swans. Not sure if that is a gaggle like geese or if they have another group name. Regardless they are used to being fed. They swam right up to you and soon as you walked down on the path. Well actually a few came quickly then a second wave tried while all the others sort of ignored me but were watching and inching closer in case I started throwing bread.

After lunch we went to Pembroke Castle. Pembroke is a well preserved castle but still a castle. It was never modified to be a modern family home. We had a great guide who had been a high school history teacher and was very passionate about the castle, who lived there and what went on in and around it.

The location was home to an early Roman settlement, which gave way to Welsh settlers and eventually a Norman castle in 1093. In 1189 William Marshall known by the English as the greatest knight that ever lived ( and an invader by the Welsh) married Isabel de Clare and the castle to him. I thought I had already given a bit of his backstory but couldn’t find it so if this is a repeat I am sorry. Anyway he was held as insurance for his father’s good behavior, who then said he didn’t care he could sure other sons but his captor treated him more as a ward than prisoner. He then went off on the tourney circuit and became a favorite and was soon knighted for bravery. He served under Henry II and was assigned to train the kings heir. Other than a brief falling out with the young Henry when Marshall was accused of having an affair with his wife he traveled and fought with him until the young Henry died of illness. He joined the crusades to fulfill young Henry’s vow and there joined the Templars. He returned from the holy land and again supported Henry II and his new heir Richard. Once Richard was king Marshall was left in charge while Richard went off on his crusades. He was also involved in King John’s reign and was a big part of gaining support for the Magna Carta.

Enough of history now back to the castle Marshall built the castle in his retirement more as a status symbol than for protection. He built the large round keep styles after what he had seen in the holy land with a stone ceiling. He also added a large bailey. The castle is built on a promontory of a tidal river and had a large limestone cave underneath in which the castle could receive supplies.

Back to history and the Margaret connection. Jasper Tudor was given the castle and the title from his half brother Henry VI. When his brother Edmund died, Margaret turned to Jasper for support and left Bishop’s Palace to join him at Pembroke Castle. It is here that she gave birth to Henry VII. Sadly the tower in which he was born was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell but it has been rebuilt on the site and includes a Disney like set up to make sure you don’t miss its importance.

We climbed to the top of the round tower. It was a steep spiral staircase but we made it. The view was nice and not too scary.

Nathan took us around to the statute of Henry VII which he had helped fundraise for. Wasn’t the best light for the picture but it was a very nice statute.

I also walked down to the William Marshall statute at the base of the castle. It was not as well crafted as the Henry VII but still a nice statute unless of course your Welsh then you don’t care for it at all.

We returned to the hotel and I had a few drinks in the bar before having fish and chips at the hotel restaurant. It was a great day and I will be sad to leave Lamphey Hall.

Today is our last day in Cardiff so we had to get up early and get our bags out for the bus. It is always a hectic morning but I am still in work mode and not really sleeping in so I had plenty of time to stuff everything back in. I am sadly going to need another suitcase before the trip is done.

First stop this morning is the Cardiff castle. It sits right in town not far from our first hotel. We had seen it from the outside but I was quite surprised with how big it was inside the wall. We had a tour of the very ornately Victorian decorated manor house portion of the castle. The Third Marquess of Bute was very fond of the medieval origins of the castle and had it elaborately remodeled in a very romanticized style. It is way over the top.

The smoking room also known as the time room was all images of seasons, zodiac signs, sun and aging.

The children’s play room was done in fables and fairytales. but not all of them seem to be child friendly.

The long hall was also over the top but it didn’t seem so jarring. Wales has hosted several dignitaries in this room, including Obama.

The Marquess bedroom was in the same style. It did have an attached bath which was quite a luxury back in the day.

The tower also had a garden. Sadly it had to be removed when the water started coming in the rooms below.

The old part of the castle the round keep was built in the 12th century when the welsh were finally subdued after the Norman conquest. The outer walls were built and changed throughout the medieval and Tudor time periods. Up until the Marquess of Bute obtained it and then his son went crazy with the Victorian renovations.

The castle was also a bomb shelter during WWII. It wasn’t really tunnels but the walls had an undercroft so people could shelter in the walls in the castle. They say that 1800 people would come in during bomb raids.

After we left Cardiff we headed out to St Fagan’s National Museum of History. It had both museum pieces and buildings that had either been moved to the facility or constructed onsite to resemble primitive structures. The structures went from the ice age up until mid 1900s.

We primarily focused on Rhys ap Thomas’ bed. Rhys ap Thomas is believed to have struck the killing blow to King Richard thereby opening the way for Henry Tudor to become King. The bed was made for him and it is carved with his military successes. The killing of King Richard is in the foot of the bed.

Wandered through the museum for a moment then went out to see the structures and grab lunch. Supposedly there was a fish and chips stand but after navigating our way to it sadly it was closed. We were on the far end of the park so we went in to see the structures in that area- the Tudor church, Tudor merchant house and the Viking long house. The church was painted as it would have been in the day but that always makes it look a little Disney. There was a wall painting of Jesus with all sorts of tools around him and an Irish harp. Not sure what that was about but it looks like some of the tools are torturing him. There wasn’t much to the merchant house but the long house was pretty good.

We made a quick stop in Carmarthan to see the gatehouse, which is all that is standing of their castle and a merchant meeting and court room that is over a local bar.

Carmarthan is where Edmund Tudor, Margaret Beaufort’s husband and father of Henry VII died. He was taken captive by the Yorks in August and was being held at the castle when he died November 1, 1456. The Yorks say he died of the plague but he was a potential Lancaster claimant to the throne so there is a high probability that he was killed. Nathan are resident welsh historian is pretty sure he was.

On our way back to the bus we stopped at the merchant meeting and courtroom. Julian who had talked about the Welsh military had spoken of one of Wellington’s majors who had turned out not to be a great person and the only commander to not get a title after Waterloo and he was connected to this town and the merchant guild so it had his portrait on the wall.

After the brief stop we headed off to our new hotel. We had dinner in the hotels dinning room. We set with Micheal and discussed his early guiding career and about him working with Phillippa Langley on finding Richard III’s bones. He helped her write her book and worked on the movie The Lost King. I had spoken to him about it on the last tour because I thought she came off a little crazy in the movie but she was happy with her portrayal. The university not so much and they sued the film company. Suit has been settled so he was happy that was all over. It was a nice dinner and a good way to end out the day.

You know I love a castle so seeing 3 in one day is a great day. Now these were all ruins but there was enough still standing to really get the feel of the places

Tretower Court and Castle was our first stop of the day. Tretower was more intact manor house with castle ruins out back. The castle was started around 1100 by a Norman invader named Picard. The tower from which the castle got its name was not completed until 1250. Picard built in a valley so it was not a strategic stronghold more of a status symbol.

The manor house was built in the 14th century it was updated in the 1450s by Roger Vaughan who was given the property by the Earl of Pembroke (also his half brother). Roger Vaughan was a Yorkist who executed Owain Tudor, grandfather to Henry Tudor, and then was executed himself by Jasper Tudor (Owain’s son and Henry’s uncle). Vaughan’s execution was at Chepstow castle that we visited yesterday.

Back to the castle, before all the war stuff Vaughan “modernized” the manor home by adding a second story including a solar that was becoming all the rage in comfortable 15th century living. Then current house is set up as it would have been in the 1500s with replica wall hangings that depict Vaughan and Edward’s battle histories. Be sure to enlarge the last photo to see the Vaughan’s battle insignia – the snake choking the man. It is rather strange.

The castle sits behind the manor house. There is not much to it but the round tower. There are some cute goats that live on sight to protect it.

From the castle we headed into Abergavenny for lunch and a brief stop at the Priory Church of St Mary’s to see several Herbert tombs and a large statute of Jesse, King David’s father. Carved in the 15th century out of one solid piece to wood the statute originally between 20 and 30 feet tall with tree branches depicting all of Jesse’s descendants.

The church either anticipated Arthur and Katherine of Aragon’s attendance or wanted to honor them with seats in the quire because there were pomegranates carved in one seat and a gryphon in the other.

Val and I wandered the town and got a quick bite at a bakery before heading back to the bus. The town was pretty cute and had a few shops and several lunch options but nothing really exciting.

Next stop Raglan Castle. Again the castle was in ruins but they were substantial. Raglan castle was originally built after the Norman conquest by the Earl of Hereford on a strategic hilltop. The Bloet family held it from the 12-14th century (possible early days of the Blewett family). By 14th century William ap Thomas a lessor son of a minor Welsh family took over the castle and through good marriages and local offices he built the structure we see today. His son dropped his welsh style name and became William Herbert and rose in prominence under the house of York. He was later executed after the battle of Edgecote in 1469.

Of major importance Henry Tudor was made a ward of William Herbert after Jasper Tudor fled Pembroke castle in 1462. Herbert took Henry to Raglan where he was raised with the family and appears to have had a similar to other children of his status. In fact once Henry became King he brought Herbert’s widow Lady Anne Devereux.

Margaret Beaufort visited her sone at Raglan Castle when she was 24 and he was 11. It was one of their few meetings before he defeated Richard III at Bosworth.

The castle itself is quite large and there were many areas to explore.

I climbed to the top of the tower- narrow circular staircase

From raglan we headed to Goodrich castle. It was much smaller. It had been one of the last holdouts during the civil war. The parliamentarians had pretty much one the war but about 60 men were trying to hold this castle and the surrounding area. The Royalists would sneak out at night and raid the Parliamentarians and they eventually got tired of it and brought in Big Bess.

It couldn’t take down the walls but did destroy the roofs and made living there dangerous so they surrendered. King Charles had already surrendered so this was basically the end of the Civil War. Of course it started up again a few years later when Charles son wanted to take back the thrown but that is a story for another day.

This was our last castle of the day and it was back to our hotel. Dinner was on our own so Val and I headed out to find a new place for dinner. We ended up at a pub on the bay that had live music. I had a lamb burger and it was delicious Val’s chicken sandwich not so much. Still not A bad night as we walked back to our hotel room get everything packed up to move on tomorrow.

Today is the official start of the Alison Weir Tour. The tour is starting in Cardiff and venturing all around Wales.

Although we are already in Cardiff we had to change hotels which required us to pack up our purchases. Sad to report my suitcase is already pretty full so I really need to curtail further shopping. I doubt that is possible but I am going to try. We did get everything zipped up so we were good to go.

Before we headed off to the new hotel we went back to the food market to get some welsh cakes. We had seen them yesterday but the line was super long so we decided to pass. However we thought we would see if they were as busy before 9 and luckily they were not. I am not sure how describe a welsh cake – somewhere between a scone, a biscuit and a pancake. They cook them on a flattop like a pancake but are about the size of a flat biscuit but more crumbly like a scone. They came in various flavors so I tried the chocolate chip, caramel and the jam and cream. They were all good but the chocolate chip was my favorite. The caramel was too sweet and the cream was a little too rich. Unlike at home they didn’t gouge you and we got 6 for under 5£. I wish I had taken a picture but I forgot. I am sure I will see them again. I don’t want you to think they are huge and I ate 3.

After our Welsh cakes breakfast we moved our suitcases down to head to the other hotel. Moving our suitcases in this hotel was an adventure. It takes 2 elevators and at least 4 steps and maybe more depending on which door you come in to get to the 3rd floor. We came in the wrong one and it was up about 6 then down about 10 before the first elevator across the lobby and down the hall to the second then on the floor after a few turns and fire doors there were 4 steps to the hallway our room was on. So on the way out we avoided the extra stairs but still not easy getting out to the uber.

We arrived at the bay front hotel, St David Spa and Resort well before the tour started. We met up with several people we knew from previous tours and caught up while we waited to begin.

Alison brought in a new historian with a Welsh background for this tour and he gave us an introduction to the Welsh history and taught us a few Welsh words. Nicola then explained the flag and its origins. We had a light lunch then headed down to the bus.

There was a bit of an issue with the bus so we were delayed a bit but we finally got on our way and headed out to Chepstow. We had several talks on the bus about the people and lords who passed through Chepstow castle. One being William Marshall who often in tight places seemed to live a charmed life. His father handed him over to King Stephen as insurance on an agreement when he was five years old and then refused to honor the deal. The king decided not to kill him and instead made him a ward of the castle and eventually Henry appointed him tutor in arms to his son. He goes through several scrapes before being removed from the kings service but then later marries a heiress and becomes the 1st Earl of Pembroke.

It was raining when we arrived at the castle which are in ruins so our tour was a little messy. The Chepstow Castle was built on the cliffs of the River Wye at a natural bend where it is still a tidal river making access to the castle very easy for supplies and to defend.

This castle was built in three parts the upper and lower barbican, lower bailey. It was the first castle to have two towers overlooking the gatehouse and still had a set of the wooden doors from 800 years ago. The cellars, kitchen and original reception room was still standing and there was one garderobe pretty much intact. It was a few steps up off the main hallway on the water side. It had a stone seat that overhung the outside wall with basically the middle section removed that went strait down to the water. Probably room for four or five people to sit side by side.

There was only a wall left of the Tudor portion of the buildings but you could see the fireplaces that they had added.

We were touring through with Micheal who can get into his storytelling and we ran out of time before getting up to the upper barbican area. There was quite of bit of it left standing so we quickly walked through so we could at least see it all. Nicola was taking a group down to the church so we wanted to do that so we had to rush.

The church was small but was the final resting place of Elizabeth Browne who gave a deposition during Anne Boleyn’s trial. Her testimony was not recorded but Alison believes she was part of the group that implicated Anne’s brother. Her tomb was a bit different than most as it is painted. I assume it has been restored since the colors are still so vibrant.

We returned to the hotel for dinner and drinks. Tonight we had the previous Royal Harpist, Claire Jones play while we gathered for dinner and then she and her husband did a presentation/performance after dinner. as Royal Harpist she played for 180 Royal events. Primarily she played for events hosted by Prince Charles but also all the big events that were hosted at Buckingham Palace. Her big event however was playing at William and Kate’s wedding.

She and her husband were at our table for dinner so we got a bit of her story before the presentation. Turns out she was still in college when she became the Royal Harpist, who must be from Wales and speak Welsh. She said she had to audition in front of a panel and then competed against 3 finalist for King Charles. It was supposed to be a 2 year job but she ended up getting an extension and doing 2 more years. She talked very highly of both Charles and Camilla. Even saying that anytime she played at Hargrove, Camila would give her a bottle of Highgrove champagne to sneak out in her purse. She made them sound very normal. But she knew him well enough to plan a surprise for him for his 60 birthday in which she arranged 60 harpist to play for him during his birthday event.

After we ate she played songs that she tied to different events such as what she played for King Charles’ birthday, what she played at her audition and what she played for the Queen when the Queen was the only audience. Her husband is a percussionist and a composer and he wrote several pieces for the harp and percussions for them to play together and they both performed a couple songs. She on her beautiful gold harp and him on a box drum. The music was lively and they were both charming and personable so the night rates up there with some of the best AWT dinners I have done.

I wish I would have recorded one of her more classical pieces but this one was fun.

Cardiff is a busy little town. It is a port city that has grown and falter over the 1000 years people have been calling it home. It had its modern heydays back in the late 1800 early 1900s as a coal town. It is now a major port for import and export of goods from Wales.

The area is full of pedestrian streets and Victorian arcades which are basically alleys or small streets with roofs and shops. We shopped our way through several and found some great stuff. I had been all worried about losing my luggage and yes I would have hated to lose the clothes I had but I would have had no trouble finding a complete wardrobe in Cardiff.

After returning to the hotel to drop off our purchases we went to visit the church. It is right in the middle of town. It had a very lived in feel to it. You could tell it was old originally built in the 12 century with various add ons for ver the years. There was some major damage in the 1400s so mainly rebuilt during then and the early 1500s. The size was increased in 1860s and from them mainly the same. A lot of these old churches feel more like museums than places of worship. This seemed like a church.

The organ was massive with two sets of organ pipes. I now see why the could find a mummified cat in an organ pipe in dublin.

After the church we stopped for lunch at the Botanist. A really good Mediterranean place. They had a lunch special for 9 pounds and it was delicious. It was so good we plan to go back for dinner. I had the lamb kabobs, sweet potato fries and the hummus.

Cardiff surprisingly has a number of Mediterranean and eastern restaurants. We have passed some good looking gyro places.

From lunch we went in the Cardiff City Museum. I had read that it was pretty good but it was more for kids than adults. I did learn some fun facts about Cardiff but for the most part nothing really spectacular. There was a really nice tiled hallway that was the entrance to the old city library. It was very ornate in a distinctly Victorian style. It had likely survived because the library was too small and the new addition moved the entrance to the other street so the hallway was not used past the first few years.

We piddled around some more which of course included more shopping. Val might need to buy another suitcase. So far all my purchases are fitting in my bag but I do need to slow down or I will be right there with her (and we haven’t even gotten any books yet). I did buy some cute things and I am very happy with them all.

Took a short break to get everything organized for our move tomorrow before heading out to dinner. We did go back to the Botanist. This time we shared the surf and turf kabob. It was steak and shrimp again with the sweet potato fries. It was just as good as lunch so we were happy that we did a repeat.

And yes that is a bowl of mayonnaise. I guess for the fries, I’m not sure. We didn’t eat it.

We just walked back to the hotel after dinner and called it a night. Tomorrow meet up with friends and join the tour at 11. Even though it will not be an early morning we don’t want to be late.

And just like that I am caught up on my blog. I doubt I will stay caught up but it is nice to be on the right day at least once.

Today we headed back to London on our way to Wales. We had an early flight so we were packed and out the door at 5:40. Everything went fine through checkin and bag drop off this time. So all was good until I thought I had lost my heart locket bracelet. I noticed it missing right after security. I remember thinking I shouldn’t wear it through the airport but did it anyway so I was really mad at myself. I reached out to the uber driver and hotel to look for it and then stopped to go through my purse. It wasn’t in the bottom of my purse but I did find it later in a small pocket of the purse. How it got there I do not know. I would not have even written anything about this if I didn’t also almost lose a ring on the flight. It was a short flight and I slept most of it. As we were getting ready to exit I noticed my ring was gone. I knew I had during the bracelet fiasco but didn’t remember it since then. I looked round my seat and on the floor but gave up when it was our turn to exit but once we moved from the row it was stuck between mine and Val’s seat. I expect to lose my earrings that get tangled in my hair especially with the backpack on but rings and bracelets not so much. So I guess I am going jewelry free the rest of the trip.

We landed in London and trained into the city on the Heathrow express. Much better way into town than a cab. It is a bit of a walk from the terminals but there are a lot of signs so very easy to do.

Once on London we stored our bags so we could run by the Fortnum and Mason Winnie the Pooh window display. Baggage storage at paddington station is a little sketchy. We were a little worried about leaving them behind but we didn’t want to drag them through London so we took the chance. Spoiler all went fine bags safe and secure.

Took us a bit to get to the right metro line and off to Piccadilly but we eventually made it. It was a bank holiday and the Caribbean Carnival which is the largest street festival in Europe. We were caught up in huge crowds of people heading to the event done up to the nines in their festival outfits. Most of the crowds we saw were Jamaican (they were carrying or wearing the flag) and those women can carry some colorful outfits.

We finally made it to Fortnum’s and the window was super cute but questionable if it was worth the trouble. I am glad I saw it and would have been disappointed if I missed it so I am glad we went. Fortnum’s is always a good stop so we shopped some, mostly window shopping since we didn’t want to carry it but we did get some cookies and a slice of the Winnie the Pooh cake.

We also got bagel sandwiches downstairs. They have a small food court and I highly recommend the bagels. I don’t know if by the time we ate them I was so hungry or they were that good but they were better than any I have had in Austin.

The train went smoothly a bit of a delay when something had to be cleared from the track but we had seats and are our bagels so it was all good.

We arrived in Cardiff around 5. Our hotel was only about a block from the station so we didn’t need a cab. For the first two nights we are staying in the historic center and will move out to the bay on Wednesday to start the tour. Our current hotel is not great but it is fine. It is a nice big room and the air works really well so I think we will survive . It is close to all the sights, pubs and shopping so we will be able to make the most of our time.

We got out and walked around some before heading to get dinner. We decided on pizza which wasn’t the best but we weren’t that hungry so it worked out well.

After dinner we continued to stroll through town. We went by the castle which we will see as part of our tour but the light was nice so I took a few pictures.

It was still relatively early so we hit the pub across from the hotel for a few beers. Rogue Mary had a pretty nice lager and it was happy hour until 8 so the first one was only 3 pounds.

It had been a long day so we headed back to the room to have a bite of the Winnie the Pooh cake and called it a night.

I had prebooked our tickets for the Book of Kells at Liberty College at 9:30. I had it my mind 9:15 so we were a bit early. We thought we would find somewhere for breakfast during the walk over especially since we were around a college but no such luck.

Trinity college was not what I was expecting. It is the oldest university in Ireland but it had a pretty modern feel. I will say it was hard to get in. They keep it locked up at night and don’t open the gates early in the morning. We had to walk around from the street to find a way in. Once in we walked around a while before we thought it was time to line up. They ended up letting us go in with the 9 group so we got started a little early.

I had brought my headphones so I was able to play the guided tour as u walked through. It was a nice addition to the experience. You could have read all the information on the walls but hearing it allowed you to go quicker and not worry about people in your way.

The Book of Kells is an illustrated manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament with some Celtic texts added in. It was written around 800 AD. The book was written either partly on the Isle of Iona and finished in Kells County Ireland or all at one of these places. Some think it might have been done to mark the 200 year of the passing of St Cuthbert who was one of the topics of my last tour and founder of the monastery at Lindisfarne. Others think it was a preservation of the Latin language after the fall of the Roman Empire. Regardless it is a beautifully illustrated manuscript.

Trinity College has been the owner of the book since 1654. Soldiers under Cromwell took the book from the church in Kells and gave it to the mayor of Dublin who in turn gave it to the university for safe keeping. The college has been displaying it in their old library since the 1800. Currently they show two pages and change them up every 6-12 weeks. We saw pages 308 and 309. There were no major illustrations but there was a small peacock in the middle of the text.

Prior to seeing the actual book the library displays some of the art from the manuscript. I thought it was funny that the monks depicted the gospels (except for Mathew who got to be in human form) as animals. Mark was a lion Luke the sacrificial cow and John the eagle.

From the Book room you head into the Long Library. Sadly or maybe not sadly they are currently cleaning, restoring, cataloguing all the books in the library so most of the stacks were empty. The room was still very impressive.

The globe in the middle of the room is a contemporary art piece but it does add to the grander and scale of the room. The room also had some other artifacts like the oldest surviving Irish harp that gave both Dublin and Guinness their insignia.

And a copy of the Book of Kells opened to a more dramatic page.

From the library we head off to finish the tour in the new container building added in the middle of one of the college’s green spaces. It was not exactly what I was expecting. I thought we would see more copies of the book opened to different pages so we could see some of the bigger illustrations but no it was kind of like Book of Kells does Disney. They had books but then the pages swirled away up the walls and ceilings then you watched a video on the changing times of the library that mainly had people in different clothes just walking across the screen. It didn’t really add anything to the experience and I would skip it if I ever go back.

From the University we headed back out to town which was hard since some of the gates out were still closed but we eventually found an exit. Not having found breakfast on our way we were now starving and looking for somewhere to kill a few hours before our Guinness tour. We stumbled on an old bank turned restaurant and went in for breakfast. It wasn’t bad. Not the best breakfast I have ever had but it certainly worked in a pinch and the building was beautiful. I was so hungry I forgot to take any pictures.

From here we took the scenic route to the Guinness Storeroom. Until after the crazy long walk did I realize Google Maps has an unbusy street setting – I have since turned it off. Anyway the walk was long and through most back streets and residential areas. Sadly we saw no shopping on our way. We did hear some really bad country music from the Ceol Country Fest that we passed about midway there.

We arrived right on time for our tour and just beat the rain inside as well. I am not and will probably never be a Guinness fan but the tour was a lot of fun. Did you know Guinness has only 4 ingredients. I didn’t but I learned it on the tour. They also had old videos of how they used to do everything by hand which were quite impressive. The tour basically takes place in a large pint glass and you work your way up to your free tasting and then your free pint. I will say the Guinness is better there than anywhere else I have tried. Although to be honest I haven’t tried Guinness all that much so probably not the best judge. Usually I don’t like it at all so I will say it was better here.

On the way up they had a display on their old advertising campaigns and that was probably the highlight of the tour. I love the toucan and hunted all over Dublin for a gaudy toucan sweatshirt.

At the top we got our free drink. Val had a Coke and I had the Guinness lager, which I did enjoy. The bar sits at the top and you have views out across the city.

After the Guinness tour we wound our way back across town towards our hotel and did a bit of shopping. We stumbled across a vintage jewelry and gift shop which is never a good place for val and I to find. Let’s just say we made their weekend and maybe their week with our purchases. It was fun trying on all the rings and just perusing through everything else.

We went back to the hotel and only enough energy to make it back to Murray’s for dinner. This time I had the cheeseburger and it was really good. So not sad about my last meal in Dublin.

I will definitely be back to Ireland. There were a lot more pubs in Dublin to hit and I need to get out and see the countryside.