We started the day very close to our house, Conwy Castle.
Morning:
We decided (it was too late last night to drive to Tesco) the night before to have breakfast in town. While we are close to the Castle, we decided to drive to the Castle car park so we'd save time on the back side of the day to head to Llandudno and the Great Orme.
So, I've lost 50lbs (50 US lbs, lol) since November. I'm thrilled about this but my shunning of most carbs makes it hard on the Koog family when it comes to finding a spot to eat. I'm sure this goes without saying to most, but Conwy is not at all like NYC. There was no diner to pop into with a poster-sized, 30 page menu. Our breakfast dilemma would not have been an issue if I were still eating everything. There were at least 5 local bakerys that had the most delicious looking and smelling pastries. Before anyone assumes I pulled the kids and the Mrs. out, I didn't. I was happy for them to eat at any or all of the bake shops. They didn't want too. Well, except E-Koog. He wanted to buy a very large apple pie for himself for breakfast. That was a hard no.
Across the street was a nice place that had breakfast-y things beyond pastries. I have found, like Goldilocks, I love porriage. And this little place had porriage. We were all able to find something at the small cafe.
On a side note: I have made carb exceptions on this trip for meat pies and am planning on eating a Welsh cake.
Walking to the Castle:
After breakfast we headed toward the Castle. The walk was short, but so beautiful. The narrow streets and old building that terminate at the grand walls of the Castle (built between 1283-1292) are just stunning. So different from the US where our old buildings date to the 17th Century.
Anyway, on our walk to the Castle a bathroom break was necessary for the Mrs. and the boys. I found a place called "The Knight Shop" and waited for them inside. The store had everything a Knight needs. Not being a Knight, I didn't need one thing from the store. The boys came in to find me. Apparently, they are secretly knights because they tried to convince me they NEEDED things. Like a full set of knight armor (it was $1200 US), a very bedazzled chalis, a 6 ft sculpture of a wolf and a Katana Sword. No, no, no and no. I'm still in shock that I was asked to explain why we were not bring Katana swords on the plane. Not even in our checked bags. The argument they tried to make for why we needed the swords was a spectacular fail, but funny. "We will only sword fight each other and only outside on the trampoline." Not sure what about that argument they believed would win their case, but now it was an even harder no. Not wanting to hear any more non-compelling arguments for swords, I left and they followed.
Conwy Castle and Walls:
Before we left, I bought a family Cadw membership. This membership gives us free access to many Welsh heritage sights and castles. It also gives us discounts at English Heritage managed sites. Additionally, I bought the family membership to The Royal Oak Foundation. A similar program in England.
With our Cadw cards in hand, we headed into the Castle.
Wow. Just wow. Just the scale of the site is overwhelming. The towers, the rooms, the walls. Just wow.
As we made our was into the castle, we realized that winding, narrow and steep staircases are just as much a tradition in Wales as Bara Brith and slate. (Actually, that's not fair. The castle was built by Edward I and he was not Welsh. He was a barbarian. Apologies to the Welsh.) The stairways though were outrageous. Because of the downpour yesterday, they were very wet and very slick. The steps themselves were extremely narrow. All the staircases were a tight spiral with ropes as the bannister. I am considering the same for our home. What I really want for our place is the 30 foot walls for when I am all peopled out. Mrs. Koog said no, but she's an extrovert.
Anyway, the castle was just amazing. The chapel had beautiful stained glass windows. There were so many spider webs, pretty sure they were not the original to the structure. B-Koog wanted to climb to the top of the tower. I agreed because I assumed he'd chicken out. He called my bluff. So, climb we did. All the way up to the top, via the tight, narrow and steep spiral staircase with the rope bannister.
Our way up to the top of the tower did cement my non-driving stance. I could not stay to the left on the steps either and that did cause some traffic issues on the steps. None of the step encounters ended in a head-on collision, though.
Once at the top, the views were spectacular. You could see the entire town of Conwy, the waterfront, the countryside and, of course, sheep. The green of the grass was so rich. And the clouds and the sky were dramatic. It was totally worth the abject terror going up and down. If you are there, do not miss it. I'm terrified of heights but felt ok up there. B-Koog and I were able to take a selfie with Mrs. Koog and E-Koog in the backgound several feet below. After several photos and panorama of the landscape, we headed down to get Mrs. Koog and E-Koog and headed to walk the exterior Castle walls and then headed out of the Castle.
Before we left Conwy, we stopped at a store that sold all things Welsh. Having found my dragon (or as I've said, the dragon found me) in Beddgelert the day before, I was looking for a flag for our house. I found my flag, although it's not as big as I wanted. I wanted the 6ft by 9ft, but had to settle for a 3ft by 5ft. Mrs. Koog will be happier with that size anyway.
The boys are obsessed with rocks and crystals. They picked out chunks of obsidian and a giant crystal that had to have weighed 500 lbs. Why do they not understand the weight limits on airplanes? They are motivated to write a letter to TSA demanding all souvenirs be allowed on flights especially heavy rocks and Katana swords. Write away boys, but I'm not paying the legal fees when the gov't come a calling!
After the cacophony of NO in the store, we headed out to our next stop...Llandudno.
Llandudno:
We headed to the victorian beach town of Llandudno on the Irish Sea. We had a mostly uneventful 30 minute drive with our "stay to the left" mantra said less and less eveyrday. July 27 is Momma-Koog's birthday so we FaceTimed with her on our way and she was able to share in some of the beauty of North Wales. Happy Birthday, Mom!
We found parking at a church and have been using the UK version of Parkmobile, which is very handy. And cheap. I'm so used to paying DC parking prices so I'm always plesantly surprised to see totals like $2.30 US (I do pricing in USD because I can't find the British Pound symbol!).
The first thing we did was find a place to eat. It was really the first meal that was kind of bleh. Fish and chips but the oil didn't taste great. The fish was super greasy and soft. I've really enjoyed almost all the fish and chips I've had here but must say my Mother-in-Law makes the best fried fish (lake perch). So far, none of my UK dishes have anything on hers!
After our lunch, we headed to the Llandudno Promenade. Immediately upon arriving at the Promenade, the kids headed for the beach. They watched many people crabbing from the launch that was exposed due to low tide. E-Koog found the smalled crab ever, almost looked like a tic, and was able to save him from capture.
After that we headed to the Great Orme. I've not seen any other Orme's but I do agree this one is pretty Great. We took the Great Orm Tramway to the top. Again, the views of the Irish Sea, the surrounding area and the mountains were unbelievable. We had a very plesant, if windy, walk around the summit. Took a ton of pictures and then headed down. I'm brief about what we saw on the Great Orme because words are failing me. There is no way to accurately and articulately capture it's beauty. You have to experience it. Please go to North Wales. You will not be sorry.
After coming down from the Great Orme, we headed to Llandudno Pier. The longest pier in Wales and the 5th longest in the UK. I'm full of Welsh facts from my watching of Postcard and a Pint (see yesterday's post). We walked the length of the pier and back. I believe that is a 1/2 mile total. Or, as Mrs. Koog and I measure things 2 ice creams for E-Koog and 1 ice-cream for B-Koog. After our walk, we headed back to the Promenade and the boys headed to the beach to skip stones with some other kids.
We had made a reservation for a place called Dylan's of Llandudno. Ingredients sourced from Ynys Mon or the Isle of Anglesey. Dinner was fantastic. We headed back to the car, full and exhausted.
We walked A LOT yesterday. I clocked 7.4 miles!
Until tomorrow...
Morning:
We decided (it was too late last night to drive to Tesco) the night before to have breakfast in town. While we are close to the Castle, we decided to drive to the Castle car park so we'd save time on the back side of the day to head to Llandudno and the Great Orme.
So, I've lost 50lbs (50 US lbs, lol) since November. I'm thrilled about this but my shunning of most carbs makes it hard on the Koog family when it comes to finding a spot to eat. I'm sure this goes without saying to most, but Conwy is not at all like NYC. There was no diner to pop into with a poster-sized, 30 page menu. Our breakfast dilemma would not have been an issue if I were still eating everything. There were at least 5 local bakerys that had the most delicious looking and smelling pastries. Before anyone assumes I pulled the kids and the Mrs. out, I didn't. I was happy for them to eat at any or all of the bake shops. They didn't want too. Well, except E-Koog. He wanted to buy a very large apple pie for himself for breakfast. That was a hard no.
Across the street was a nice place that had breakfast-y things beyond pastries. I have found, like Goldilocks, I love porriage. And this little place had porriage. We were all able to find something at the small cafe.
On a side note: I have made carb exceptions on this trip for meat pies and am planning on eating a Welsh cake.
Walking to the Castle:
After breakfast we headed toward the Castle. The walk was short, but so beautiful. The narrow streets and old building that terminate at the grand walls of the Castle (built between 1283-1292) are just stunning. So different from the US where our old buildings date to the 17th Century.
Anyway, on our walk to the Castle a bathroom break was necessary for the Mrs. and the boys. I found a place called "The Knight Shop" and waited for them inside. The store had everything a Knight needs. Not being a Knight, I didn't need one thing from the store. The boys came in to find me. Apparently, they are secretly knights because they tried to convince me they NEEDED things. Like a full set of knight armor (it was $1200 US), a very bedazzled chalis, a 6 ft sculpture of a wolf and a Katana Sword. No, no, no and no. I'm still in shock that I was asked to explain why we were not bring Katana swords on the plane. Not even in our checked bags. The argument they tried to make for why we needed the swords was a spectacular fail, but funny. "We will only sword fight each other and only outside on the trampoline." Not sure what about that argument they believed would win their case, but now it was an even harder no. Not wanting to hear any more non-compelling arguments for swords, I left and they followed.
Conwy Castle and Walls:
Before we left, I bought a family Cadw membership. This membership gives us free access to many Welsh heritage sights and castles. It also gives us discounts at English Heritage managed sites. Additionally, I bought the family membership to The Royal Oak Foundation. A similar program in England.
With our Cadw cards in hand, we headed into the Castle.
Wow. Just wow. Just the scale of the site is overwhelming. The towers, the rooms, the walls. Just wow.
As we made our was into the castle, we realized that winding, narrow and steep staircases are just as much a tradition in Wales as Bara Brith and slate. (Actually, that's not fair. The castle was built by Edward I and he was not Welsh. He was a barbarian. Apologies to the Welsh.) The stairways though were outrageous. Because of the downpour yesterday, they were very wet and very slick. The steps themselves were extremely narrow. All the staircases were a tight spiral with ropes as the bannister. I am considering the same for our home. What I really want for our place is the 30 foot walls for when I am all peopled out. Mrs. Koog said no, but she's an extrovert.
Anyway, the castle was just amazing. The chapel had beautiful stained glass windows. There were so many spider webs, pretty sure they were not the original to the structure. B-Koog wanted to climb to the top of the tower. I agreed because I assumed he'd chicken out. He called my bluff. So, climb we did. All the way up to the top, via the tight, narrow and steep spiral staircase with the rope bannister.
Our way up to the top of the tower did cement my non-driving stance. I could not stay to the left on the steps either and that did cause some traffic issues on the steps. None of the step encounters ended in a head-on collision, though.
Once at the top, the views were spectacular. You could see the entire town of Conwy, the waterfront, the countryside and, of course, sheep. The green of the grass was so rich. And the clouds and the sky were dramatic. It was totally worth the abject terror going up and down. If you are there, do not miss it. I'm terrified of heights but felt ok up there. B-Koog and I were able to take a selfie with Mrs. Koog and E-Koog in the backgound several feet below. After several photos and panorama of the landscape, we headed down to get Mrs. Koog and E-Koog and headed to walk the exterior Castle walls and then headed out of the Castle.
Before we left Conwy, we stopped at a store that sold all things Welsh. Having found my dragon (or as I've said, the dragon found me) in Beddgelert the day before, I was looking for a flag for our house. I found my flag, although it's not as big as I wanted. I wanted the 6ft by 9ft, but had to settle for a 3ft by 5ft. Mrs. Koog will be happier with that size anyway.
The boys are obsessed with rocks and crystals. They picked out chunks of obsidian and a giant crystal that had to have weighed 500 lbs. Why do they not understand the weight limits on airplanes? They are motivated to write a letter to TSA demanding all souvenirs be allowed on flights especially heavy rocks and Katana swords. Write away boys, but I'm not paying the legal fees when the gov't come a calling!
After the cacophony of NO in the store, we headed out to our next stop...Llandudno.
Llandudno:
We headed to the victorian beach town of Llandudno on the Irish Sea. We had a mostly uneventful 30 minute drive with our "stay to the left" mantra said less and less eveyrday. July 27 is Momma-Koog's birthday so we FaceTimed with her on our way and she was able to share in some of the beauty of North Wales. Happy Birthday, Mom!
We found parking at a church and have been using the UK version of Parkmobile, which is very handy. And cheap. I'm so used to paying DC parking prices so I'm always plesantly surprised to see totals like $2.30 US (I do pricing in USD because I can't find the British Pound symbol!).
The first thing we did was find a place to eat. It was really the first meal that was kind of bleh. Fish and chips but the oil didn't taste great. The fish was super greasy and soft. I've really enjoyed almost all the fish and chips I've had here but must say my Mother-in-Law makes the best fried fish (lake perch). So far, none of my UK dishes have anything on hers!
After our lunch, we headed to the Llandudno Promenade. Immediately upon arriving at the Promenade, the kids headed for the beach. They watched many people crabbing from the launch that was exposed due to low tide. E-Koog found the smalled crab ever, almost looked like a tic, and was able to save him from capture.
After that we headed to the Great Orme. I've not seen any other Orme's but I do agree this one is pretty Great. We took the Great Orm Tramway to the top. Again, the views of the Irish Sea, the surrounding area and the mountains were unbelievable. We had a very plesant, if windy, walk around the summit. Took a ton of pictures and then headed down. I'm brief about what we saw on the Great Orme because words are failing me. There is no way to accurately and articulately capture it's beauty. You have to experience it. Please go to North Wales. You will not be sorry.
After coming down from the Great Orme, we headed to Llandudno Pier. The longest pier in Wales and the 5th longest in the UK. I'm full of Welsh facts from my watching of Postcard and a Pint (see yesterday's post). We walked the length of the pier and back. I believe that is a 1/2 mile total. Or, as Mrs. Koog and I measure things 2 ice creams for E-Koog and 1 ice-cream for B-Koog. After our walk, we headed back to the Promenade and the boys headed to the beach to skip stones with some other kids.
We had made a reservation for a place called Dylan's of Llandudno. Ingredients sourced from Ynys Mon or the Isle of Anglesey. Dinner was fantastic. We headed back to the car, full and exhausted.
We walked A LOT yesterday. I clocked 7.4 miles!
Until tomorrow...
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