A laid back day

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Geo: 51.6999, -2.69966



We were beat from Thursday's excursion to Bath and decided that instead of exploring the Cotswolds (quaint, quintessential English villages about 50 miles away) we would rest and relax and stay closer to home. So we slept late, and then Charles, our host, showed us around his wonderful English garden. I'm so jealous of all the different plants he can grow that we can't grow in our dry and alkaline Texas soil (like peonies).

So we decided to pop over to Wales - just 10 miles away, even though visiting Wales was not on our itinerary. We drove down the beautiful Wye River Valley, which divides England and Wales. All the signs are in Welsh first, with English below. We had lunch in Monmouth, a quaint village, and it was interesting to hear the strong Welsh-accented English as well as overhearing some Welsh itself. I'm 1/3 Welsh, but couldn't revive any cellular memories of the language.

After lunch we went to Tintern Abbey, one of the largest and most intact abbey ruins in Great Britain. It was turned into a roofless shell during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Hundreds of beautiful old monasteries and churches were destroyed or vandalized during this period and the next 100 years.

A few miles down the road we saw Chepstow Castle, dating from 1066 when the Norman invaders were establishing their turf in Wales. We took a quick picture and decided we weren't going to climb the hill and negate our laid-back day. On the way back we took the "scenic route" over the hills on one lane roads.

We finished out the day by eating in the local pub, the Malt Shovel, with our hosts, Charles and Helen. We had a great time chatting with them, sampling the local ale and drinking in the atmosphere.

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Comments

[Hilary]

Glad you got to go to Tintern Abbey We thought it was beautiful too.