Dec 26, 2012 - Navy's travels at Christmas

Dear Max and classmates, Nadolig Llawen! (that's Happy Christmas in Welsh). I decided to take a bit of a rest and spend Christmas in Wales with Max's family there. Yesterday was Christmas Day and we had a lovely Christmas Dinner and lots of presents. Today we went to a soccer game (my first one!) and watched Cardiff City beat Crystal Palace 2-1. It is traditional in the U.K. that soccer is played on Boxing Day. I plan to start my travels again soon and will be off to London shortly. Attached are photos of me with Max's cousin, Elijah, me...

Nov 21, 2012 - Navy in Cardiff, UK

Hello MAX, I've travelled nearly 6,000 miles to visit your grandparents in Cardiff the capital city of Wales, one of the four countries that are part of the United Kingdom, also called Great Britain. I've been to a rugby match at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff and the large crowd sang the Welsh National Anthem in the Welsh language before the Wales team played against the Samoa team. Unfortunately Wales lost, but we still had lots of fun. Love from Navy

Oct 27, 2012 - North Wales

This weekend was a weekend trip to North Wales! First time out of country of England but still, it's the UK. I did not know anyone on this trip as well but I think I ended up having more fun going by myself than I would've if I had gone with a friend. Not that I wouldn't have had fun.. but you'll find out why. I had to wake up super early to catch the 7:30 am coach. There were only 17 people on this trip so it was a smaller coach. A lot of Americans came, an Aussie,a Mexican, another Canadian,a couple people from Belgium, and a girl from...

Oct 7, 2012 - Return to Cardiff

We arrive in the dining room for breakfast, and with no one is about to serve us we start helping ourselves. The waitress arrives and says she didn’t know we were there, and we should have rung the bell. What bell?, we ask, and are told there is one at the door. That there is, but no sign telling us to use it! Breakfast at the Royal Breakwater is another wonderful full English, and we leave for Cardiff around 10.30am. We fill up with petrol on the way £39, and stop for a quick snack at lunch time. We are pleased to see that the long...

Oct 2, 2012 - Paris to Cardiff

Monday 1st October Day 16 Paris – London – Cardiff The 6am wake up came far too soon for some, but we had to pack, have breakfast, and be ready to leave on the bus by 8am. Liam comes over to Tony to apologise, and when asked if he knows why has to admit he doesn’t. Tony gets the camera out and shows him, he is highly embarrassed especially when shown the ones of him groping his own Father. It doesn’t take long to get to Gare du Nord train station, we are there by 8.40 and then had to wait on the bus until a porter arrived to take our...

Sep 22, 2012 - Cardiff and the British Cheese Festival

On a whim (and cause one of my friends was going), I packed my bags and headed to Cardiff for the weekend. It also turned out to be the weekend of the British Cheese Festival at Cardiff Castle. Arriving on Friday, I had hesitations for the weather as it rained for most of the bus ride. Saturday however, dawned bright and beautiful. This lead to a day of food and frivolity as we feasted way too much cheese and drank not enough ale, cider and liquor. It meant lying on the lawn eating awesome roast pork rolls and listening to some pretty cool...

Sep 18, 2012 - Wrexham visiting

Tuesday September 18 We began the morning preparing the trip journal before heading off to Tony and Leah’s home for a cup of tea and to pick up Robert for the day. It was yet another bright sunny day, interrupted by one or two quick showers. We drove into Wrexham town centre where Robert and Heather grew up, and after a few misses with the one-way streets, parked in the town centre near St. Giles church to begin our walkabout. For Robert and Heather, the stroll along the town was a time for reminiscing. They were constantly remarking on...

Sep 17, 2012 - Llechryd to Wrexham in North Wales

Monday September 17 It was time to leave South Wales and head north to Wrexham. After saying goodbye to Robert at the B&B (Julie had gone to work), we called at the bungalow to load Mum’s wheelchair into the car to take north with us. Heather’s cousin Tony has agreed to sell it for us on e-Bay. We said goodbye to Colin and Jeanette and left the key to ‘Sunfold’ with them before briefly stopping in Cardigan to see the estate agent, and buying petrol and picking up a picnic lunch. We drove up the A487 to New Quay for lunch, where we sat in...

Jul 31, 2012 - Chepstow housesit - Wales

Well our month housesit in Wales has already gone. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here. The little pub next door was regularly frequented and the locals very friendly. Our cat was a true Cats cat and would bring in mice or birds almost every night. We had lots of maps on walking trails in the area so spent many days out enjoying this very pictureque area. Once we went to a beach over the other side of Swansea; the first beach we’d been to in the UK. It had the obligitory amusement park and donkeys on the beach to ride. Very tacky. It was...

Jul 29, 2012 - Rhossili

Our last adventure: Rhossili, the most western part of the Gower Peninsula. There are long sandy beaches, towering cliffs, and the most beautiful views to be seen from the tops of the rock ledges. Chuck and I spent about 4 hours walking the coastline, climbing the rocks and cliffs, and after a lunch with scones and clotted cream, we walked the beach. We found tide pools, anemones, crabs...it was an awesome experience. When we returned to Swansea we went to a farewell dinner at an Italian place that Lisa picked out--- very delicious---and...

Jul 28, 2012 - Swansea

What a beautiful day in the Mumbles! I spent two hours walking on the beach this morning. Beautiful rocks, shells, a nice walkway in addition to the beach area. The tide was low when I started, but most of the beach disappeared before I was decided I better turn around and head back. By noon, Lisa was ready to go to the City Center for lunch and to look at the market place. Chuck and Deena joined us and we looked at a few shops, watched some of the Olympic events on the Big Screen installed at the heart of the Center, and picked up...

Jul 27, 2012 - Cardiff

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Lisa and I took a train to Cardiff and walked the market, ate at the mall, and then went to the Cardiff Castle. This site has been a Roman Garrison, a Norman stronghold and then was reconstructed during Victorian times. After a while, many castles look like just more of the same, but this one was designed like none other I've seen. There was a lot of unusual stained glass, very orate ceilings, and the inlaid wood and carvings were unique. The grounds were so big that many families picnicked...