Final Days Across the Pond

Well, I apologize for entitling the last post "Cymru" (Wales) and then not writing about Wales. So here goes!

My last day in Dublin I woke up early and left the hostel around 7, then started walking to Dublin Port, which is actually a Long Way Away. (Just looked it up on google maps--4.9 km or 3 miles). I walked about 2 of those miles, then inquired about directions, was told it was quite far, and got a ride the rest of the way. The Irish are very helpful.

The ferry to Wales cost €30 and looked like a cruies ship. It was huge and glitzy and had food, electronic games, etc. The ship I went over on was called the Jonathan Swift, as it is the faster boat, hehe.

My reaction when I reached Holyhead was: "Ok, I'm in Wales. Now what?" I walked into Holyhead, searching for a tourist office, then learned that it was back at the ferry port. So I got some pounds from an ATM and returned to the port, where I was given copious amounts of brochures about Northern Wales, as well as directions to the nearest Neolithic site. So, with my backpack and wheeled suitcase I trudged a really long way, getting lost only once, nourished by a pack of Roundtree gummies (which are in competition with Haribo goldbears for best gummies ever, and that's saying something). I got lost only once, and kept walking for a really long time. Saw a couple of used cars for sale and wanted to buy one, just so I could try driving on the left side of the road.

I finally found a standing stone in a field in the middle of an industrial/nothing area, and got really excited, but then realized I wasn't looking for a standing stone, I was looking for a tomb! I almost turned around there, but decided to keep going. I finally found the tomb, which was cool to look at, but more exciting just because I had finally found it. Stayed a couple minutes, took pictures, then walked to the bus stop and waited for 40 minutes to catch a bus to Bangor. I decided that I was a good example of Tolkien's "Not all who wander are lost." That morning was a good 3.5 hours of wandering (though I could have done without the suitcase). Google maps says it's only 2 miles from the ferry port to the tomb... well, it felt longer!

I promptly fell asleep on the bus to Bangor, then woke up, got off and had a sandwich at Subway (the gummies weren't the most nutritious lunch). To keep up with the theme of the day, I wandered around Bangor, looking for a Youth Hostel I'd found in a brochure. Finally found it, but a sign on the door said "no vacancies." I wondered at that, North Wales doesn't seem to be a place to sell out its hostels. To bad, because it was a beautiful victorian house with a nice yard!

Bangor was pretty big compared to some of the other towns around North Wales, but it has less than 30,000 inhabitants, counting the 10,000 university students. I would have liked to go to the University and the old church there, but I was too exhausted from my wanderings. Found a B&B and stayed in for the rest of the night.

After the "now what?" phase came the "dang, there's nothing to do in North Wales!" phase. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but there isn't really that much to do in terms of touristy-things. Tourism does try hard, though, and there is plenty to see if you look for it.

Wales is poorer than England, and although it is definitely not impoverished, there were a large number of "bargain" stores and "rubbish stores," as a police officer described to me. "How Green Was My Valley," a movie that shows Wales to be a poor mining country, didn't help tourism at all.

Third realization: "It's hard to see North Wales without a car." There are a lot of castles and good neolithic sites, and most would be easily accessible by car. Bus tickets are not cheap, but that's how I made my way around.

The next morning I took a bus to Caernarfon, known in tourist-land for a castle, jail, and Roman fort--not enough to take upa day, so I went to the tourist office, who told me that Llanberis would be fun. (pronounced fhlanberis... put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and blow out... that's Welsh for you!).

In Llanberis, I took a train ride around a lake, then went to the National Slate Museum, where I learned all about Slate Mining; more interesting than I thought it would be. They even had a slate-splitting demonstration there, and I was called up to split slate! My new career, I think. Headed back to Caernarfon to see the castle.

Caernarfon castle is beautiful, quite castle-like (pardon the descriptions), and full of pigeons. It overlooks the water, and is the place Prince Charles was crowned Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. There was a small exhibit about Welsh princes and a video of the ceremony. I love Brits and their royal ceremonies, just for fun.

There's a war memorial in the main square in Caernarfon, and I went to take a closer look. It appears that everyone's last name in Wales is either Owen, Roberts, or Williams. There were about 20 of each. I even saw a Robert Roberts!

That night (after going to the library where I got my £1 per 1/2 hour internet access) I stayed in the nicest hostel I've ever been to (I've only been to four)--a huge, modern house with a 16th-century basement and nutella for breakfast, if you'd like a quick summary.

Both full days in Wales were pretty rainy, unfortunately. The next morning I dragged my suitcase back through Caernarfon in the drizzle and found the old jail (gaol, anywhere except for America), now a museum. Learned a lot about gaols and decided I'd like to not go to one anytime soon. On my way out I thanked the man selling tickets with "diolch"--thanks in Welsh. Welsh is still spoken a lot in Wales--more than Irish--and I heard a good amount. Old ladies, families, shopkeepers. All the signs are in Welsh as well!

Then it was time to see another castle--Beaumaris! I took two buses to get there, then saw the castle... with my suitcase. The ticketing people weren't allowed to take it because of some government thing, so I took it with me into the castle and was told that the "rooms were all full." Haha. I left it at the bottom of each tower I explored, then collected it and trudged to the next.

Beaumaris is said to be the most "technically perfect" castle in Britain, even though it was unfinished. It was quite nice, and full of birds as well, including swans and nesting seagulls!

Then a long journey back to Ireland. Two buses to Holyhead (one a double-decker, how exciting!). I arrived in Holyhead around 6 or so, then had to wait until my ferry back at 2:40 AM. So, I know some parts of Holyhead pretty well now! (For anyone for whom the name rings a bell, the Holyhead Harpies are an all-female quidditch team in Harry Potter... unfortunately, I didn't see any quidditch!)

I went to a pizza/burger place for dinner and had fish and chips and fanta to celebrate my last night in Britain. The girls working there kindly took my suitcase (yay!), and I commenced my wandering again. Decided maybe a movie would be a good way to kill time, but the only one showing was Terminator at 8 o'clock, so I decided to skip it. I did have a nice walk down by the ocean, saw the walls of a Roman fort, then went back to the ferry port when it got dark (around 10!) to wait and feel a cold coming on.

The ferry that night (the Ulysses, of course, from James Joyce's novel) was even more like a cruise-ship than the swift, so I walked two laps around, then fell asleep for the rest of the ride. We arrived in Dublin at about 6 AM, chilly and sleepy. I took two buses (I went to far out of town on the first one), then discovered that no one eats breakfast in Dublin. Well, there were no cafés open. I finally found one at 7:30, had a scone and tea, then walked to the bus station where I caught a bus to Limerick, then Shannon. Arrived at my hotel at Shannon airport and collapsed for the rest of the afternoon, alternately sleeping and watching either American tween shows or British kids shows. I even saw a teen show in Irish (english subtitles).

Then back to the US; uneventful flights, lots of customs--not as exciting as on the way over here!
I'm back and sad to be back, but glad to be able to see my friends again. I do think a return trip is scheduled for sometime in my future!

More adventures to come, I hope.