Blogs from Snowdon, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

OK now we are off to Wales. Headed west for the coast and tried our best to stay close to the water. Found quite a few holiday towns similar to Blackpool. Huge sections of promenade with arcades, gift shops, pubs and restaurants. LARGE static caravan parks (trailer parks) and I mean huge. As we got further south and west the towns got smaller and the scenery became even more beautiful. Stopped in Rhos Bay for lunch at the Rhos Fyncah Tavern and had some more beer. Finally made it to Dolgellau early in the afternoon. 250 year old house turned into a B&B. Barbara (also an artist) sat down and had tea with us. Decided to walk around and find a restaurant. After we made a reservation we crawled into a pub (The Unicorn) for some ... read more

Arrr, the countryside. I will join the no doubt embarrassing quantities of kiwis who think they've come home upon arrival in North Wales - no real motorways, hills and mountains, proper beaches and wild walks... We had rented a little cottage for a ridiculous sum, and went on little trips to explore. We soon discovered that Wales had something more: castles! They dot the countryside, a testament to Welsh stubbornness. English Kings were constantly having to put down rebellions, so decided that a little fortification would do just the trick. The result is a series of well-kept structures that would make great places for hide-and-seek. This point aside, Wales is fairly normal. The language provides some throat-clearing moments. Pictures will speak more than I can. On odd thing worth a mention - as you wander around ... read more

Well, I reached the summit of not 1, not 2, but 3 mountains! During OP on Tuesday, we hiked for over 7 miles in about 5 ½ hours. But it wasn’t just a hike; we were really climbing up the side of a mountain with our hardcore boots and ice-axes. I had never done anything like it, so I really enjoyed the adventure. It has snowed more here than they are used to, so at times there we were knee-deep in snow. Also, we were nearing white-out conditions, where we can’t determine where we are because the clouds and the snow blend together. However, we navigated ourselves up the mountain very well. At times I was leading the pack creating the path. When we got to the top of each peak, the clouds cleared which was ... read more

Good Morning! It's like 06:29 AM here, I'm pretty sure most of you (including my mom dad) are wondering how I can be awake before dusk (or may be in the middle of night per my own biological day cycle ). If I were a poet, I would have made most of this opportunity to express my thoughts.. under such a beautiful starry night, perfect for Star Gazers (may be from TAS or may be astronomers like Galielo Galilei et al. Anyhow, only words I have to describe this spectacular view from the window of my so-called bedroom in Caravan are from an excerpt of the poem by Dennis Pelliccia composed with inspiration from Van Gogh's painting - Starry Night! Starry, starry, starry night, I lie beneath the glimmering sky A cloud above; an angel's stare, ... read more

We were definitely in Wales when the bitterly cold wind hit us as soon as I opened the car door! I went to Snowdonia, North Wales, over the half-term with my brothers and my dad for several nice...yet tough… mountain walks. It is probably the fourth time being there, and we decided to try Mt. Snowdon for the second time- this time the mountain (even ourselves) coated in snow. It was fantastic! Ascending the mountain felt so rewarding when we reached the summit. We could see nothing but snow at first, then the grey clouds started to part and we had the benefit of seeing north Wales at 1085 meters high in the sky. However, possibly the best moment was when we descended the mountain. Normally walking down these types of mountains your knees are not ... read more