Driving through North Wales

Well, it's 11:30ish here in southern Wales and Concetta and I are sitting in the Ebbw Vale McDonalds and doing our blog over a cup of coffee. Our current B&B does not offer WiFi and this is the first place recommended to us for having the internet. Yesterday we tried valiantly to do some "war-driving" around Merthyr Tydfil hoping to find some sloppy apartment dweller running an unprotected network. But no luck. So, for those of you keeping up with us on our trip, I apologize for the lateness of our update.

Yesterday we bid farewell to the Plas Coch Guest House (red house in Welsh) in Llanberis at the very foot of Mount Snowden, the tallest peak in the UK. Thanks to Frank and Jane for a memorable stay in their well-appointed B&B. Though the weather was a bit rainy at first, we were able to take full advantage of many exiting points of interest in their beautiful area. This morning, almost for the first time since we arrived in the UK, the sun was shining as brightly as if it had never retreated behind the unending mists of Mount Snowden for so long.

After breakfast, we drove south and east into the mountains, Here, in my opinion, we encountered some of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world. And, though many of the winding tracks are quite narrow, I’m becoming more confident driving the left side. We didn’t encounter any problems, even though we spent the latter part of the journey navigating by an old-fashioned map instead of the GPS. (LOL).

About lunch time we stopped in the little town of Llandidloes for a bite and popped into the first café we came across, The Cobblers Tea Room. Though the establishment didn’t look like anything special from the outside, the interior was small and cozy and the owner and waitress greeted us warmly. I picked out something small from the menu, the “chicken and veg pie,” thinking I would get something about the size of my palm that I could have with tea. Not wanting a full meal, Concetta ordered the scone with cream. The first thing they did was ask Concetta if she could wait while they made a scone up from scratch just for her. Soon after they arrived with my “little” pie, which actually took two dinner-sized plates to transport from the kitchen. It turned out to be an entire plate-full of chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy, and an second plate just for the vegetables.

Well, seeing that there was no way I was going to be able to eat that lunch by myself Concetta launched in with me and together we were almost able to eat it all. Just about the time we finally finished, the waitress arrived with the freshly-made scones, piled high with whipped cream, that I graciously offered to help Concetta tackle. The lunch turned out to be close to the best meal we’ve had since we arrived on the island, and I still don’t even know how to pronounce the name of the town.

Our base for the next few days is in the tiny village of Rhymney. I chose it because it lies roughly in the middle of the various towns and villages where many of my Dad’s family lived before emigrating to American in the early 1870s. These folks would include the Browns who were originally from Scotland; the Rhydderchs of Monmouthshire, and, of course, the Davis family of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. They come from towns like Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenavon, Ebbw Vale, and Tredegar, towns whose history is devoted largely to coal mining and iron refining.

Yesterday evening, after navigating to our B&B and depositing our possessions, we set out to drive the surrounding towns just to get a feeling for the area. Because this particular B&B doesn’t have WiFi (horrors!), we thought maybe we could find a place for dinner that could afford us the internet. Sadly, though we eventually landed at a hotel bar in Abergevenny that advertised WiFi, we were unable to attach to our blog, though I kept trying until I ran the laptop’s battery down.