Wales

October 2011 was my favorite month of the year.  After 2 months of having our family separated and under stress due to Jonas' spinal de-tethering surgery/subsequent infection we were finally reunited.  A couple of weeks after returning to England with Jonas and Nell there was a school break.  Fun and relaxation was what our family was in need of.  We wanted to get away and explore but with Jonas still recovering we were not willing to travel far.  Wales seemed like the perfect option.  While fall was maybe not the warmest time of year, it fit our requirements perfectly.

We took a long weekend and booked a holiday cottage in Northern Wales.  On our drive there we stopped at Chester.  This immediately became and still is Clara's favorite British town.  She was in the middle of studying the Tudors and the architecture here was perfect for her.  We enjoyed wandering the streets, walking along the city wall and finding some dinner before completing our drive.

Wales is beautiful.  Full of castles.  And somehow being next to water makes everything even more beautiful.  Without much text, here is our trip in pictures.

Day 1:  Conwy Castle. Town with longest name. Caernarfon Castle.  Cold.  Cold.  Cold.

View from top of Conwy Castle.

How is it that re-enactors often creep me out?  Not Clara apparently.

Birdseye view of Devin, Jonas and a little bit of Nell.
Somehow the medieval Welsh did not make castles wheelchair/stoller accessible.

Here is the town with the longest name in Wales (and maybe anywhere??)  It is:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

The only kids I know who could handle ice cream in this cold.  Just before going into Caernarfon Castle. 

Caernarfon Castle where the Prince of Wales is made the Prince of Wales.  Lots of grass which is very unusual.

Exploring Caernarfon while trying to keep Nell warm.

Back at the cozy cabin eating dinner.
Finally gave up on baby food and fed Nell butternut squash ravioli - she ate loads!

 Day 2:  Small hike.  Betws-y-coed.  Slate Mine.  Porthmadog Beach.  Bitterly Cold!

The kids were asleep in the car and we were searching for a hike we heard about.  This wasn't it but we took turns exploring for a little while.  It was so secluded and peaceful.  Love the bench!

Falls in Betws-y-coed.  My favorite Welsh town.

We caved and folded ourselves onto this tiny train.  The kids loved it.

The highlight of Devin's trip - a tour of a slate mine.  Cannot imagine being a miner!!!  Very enlightening.

Next was the highlight for Clara.  A visit to the frigid beach.  Jonas and Clara were in heaven.
Devin tolerated it patiently.  Nell and I didn't last long.

After our afternoon on the beach we headed home.  We naively trusted our GPS system and found ourselves on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.  We did not see another car for 2 hours!!  It was crazy and slightly unnerving.  We had told the kids we would find food on our way home but unless we were going to catch it ourselves, that was not going to happen.  When we finally made it back to civilization, the reality that we were not in America set in.  Nothing was open in these small villages since it was past 8pm.  We drove another 45 minutes from one village to the next looking for food.  We finally did find something but I was beginning to wonder if our 2 remaining granola bars would have to suffice.

Day 3:  Llangollen.  Canals.  Freezing Cold.  Drive home with another stop in Chester.

Beautiful village of Llangollen with an equally beautiful drive getting there.

Love the shops in these towns.

Devin's second highlight - seeing the canals that boats take around the country.
This was on an aquaduct very high up!  Notice their genuine smiles?

Notice my not-so-genuine smile?
It was so high, so windy and so cold I was ready to get off!

It was a perfect getaway and so much fun to just be a family and go at our own pace.  We had so much fun exploring this part of the UK.