A Wales of an Experience

I arrived in Llandudno and I had to wait for my bus to Dolgarrog so I had a coffee and waited. While I was waiting I decided to talk to the ticket office because I was worried that no one had ever heard of this place, but when I looked it up it seemed like it had places to stay and wasn't THAT of the beaten path. When I showed the name to the guy he said, "Oh yeah, I've been there. Drove through it once. They only got one road. You don't want to go there". I said, "Ok, how long to Conwy" fearing that It would take another couple of hours and I'd get in late an have to find a place to stay. Oh, Conwy was my second choice by the way. The guy says, "Oh, there is a train coming for Conwy in 20-minutes, but if you walk it'll take you 15-minutes." I said, "Really, I thought it was so much farther from here?" He says, "Nope, just go on the side of the market, walk down that road behind it, go up the stairs, and it's another 10-minute walk." Hesitantly I said, "Okay" and walked toward Conwy fearing getting lost. This is when I learned a valuable lesson. The Welsh give perfect directions! I walked on the path past the supermarket, saw a very large and visible stairway, and at the top I was greeted with a long park between the road and the Irish Sea. In front of me off in the distance was a beautiful fishing village that was accompanied by a large castle. I said to myself, "That must be Conwy!"

Conwy

I walked right into town and tried to find a hostel. I couldn't even find an Inn. I found their train station (generally info centers are near by) and saw a "Visitors Center". I asked where the Tourist Office was, but they said it was closed. This info is important for a later discussion. I was directed to a hostel and checked-in for two nights.

The hostel has been so very friendly. Very friendly! All the staff say "Hello" to you every time they walk by. It's nice! The have a tower with windows on all sides where you can read and walkout on the roof for a grand view. It's a nice and clean place!

View from Hostel Tower

I headed to town for dinner. I bought so fish & chips, walked to a local bar where I sat next to the sea to eat, drink, and be merry. It was good, but it was cold......the weather, but not the local beer.

My Dinner Spot 1

My Dinner Spot 2

I walked around the town until it got dark and then treked back up the hill to the hostel where I went to bed. Oh, I saw a guy at the Fish & Chips place who had a Rick Steves' book. Well, this guy was my roommate at the hostel. His name is Chris and he goes to John Hopkins in New York. Nice guy! He was heading to Mt. Snowdon where I was planning to go the following day. He said the Tourist Office got him all set-up with a bus schedule.

Well, the next morning I found the city wall and since it was such a nice day I thought I'd take a walk around part of it. It was very cool and provided some sweet views!

View 1

View 2

View 3

I headed to the Tourist Office, but I arrived 15-minutes early. So, I took the opportunity to buy my picnic lunch in town. I walked across town to a cafe and got a coffee. my next stop was at the baker for some freshly baked bread, and then to the market for some fruit. I was back in 15-minutes when they opened. It's a small town. The lady at the office gave me a schedule for a bus that had already left. So I said, "Yeah, this bus arrived about 5-minutes ago". So she printed me another one that was going to pick me up back near Llandudno. She gave me confusing directions, but I had no time to waste. Well, the directions were good, but I wasn't fast enough. So now I almost considered going back to town and skipping Snowdonia, but I realized that the train station office in Llandudno could help me out. I was able to catch a train to Bangor and then a bus to a small town called, "Llanberis" (pronounced: "Clan-Barris").

The train ride to Bangor was gorgeous since it followed the Irish Sea and today was a perfectly clear and warm day. The bus ride to Llanberis was a mixed-bag. The view was great. Many castles, green grass, stone walls, and sheep. Very pretty countryside! However, this was the first time I've ever been in a car in the UK. They drive on the left. Well, that didn't bother be so much. What DID bother be was how fast they drive and how tight all the streets are. Well, they don't really drive on the left. They drive in the middle of the road and when a car comes they move over to the left. The even drive sharp curves in the middle and very fast. It was scary. As we were headed up this residential road, which was up a hill, we were within inches of the other cars.....and driving fast. Crazy!

I got to Llanberis and the place was pretty dead. Not much people and no directions to a trail head. I talked with a really nice guy in a climbing shop and he said that I'd needed to grab another bus to the trail-head. Well, I decided to skip it.....sadly. It was already early afternoon and by the time I got there I wouldn't have much time before it got dark. So, I jumped in a cafe and had a nice lunch: Bacon & Mushroom sandwich......basically Ham and Mushrooms on white bread. I almost had the Black Pudding which was described to me as Dried Blood, Nutmeg, and spices. Even the locals at another table who were helping describe it even had disgusted looks on their faces. Anyway, after lunch I took the bus back to Bangor and walked around there for a while. After, I headed back to Conwy.

Llanberis

On the train I met a nice young girl from Liverpool named, "Lucy". I was worried that I was on the wrong train because when I asked the ticket guy about what platform my train was on he pointed to a train and said, "Take that train". Well, Lucy was nice enough ensure me that I was going the right way. She seemed so excited to be on the train, she had a big grim on her face. "This is my first train ride" she said. It was cute! When I asked her if she was studying anything in Liverpool she said, "Hair". Ha Ha! She was delightful! She had a really thick accent so I felt bad asking her to repeat herself all the time. Sadly we didn't get to talk much because the train ride was so short, but I did enjoy the brief chat we had.

I thought the train would go straight to Llandudno because the stops in Conwy are very infrequent. A man I was talking with said, "Yeah, sometimes you have to stand on the edge of the platform and wave your hand, but it's hit-and-miss." Anyway, the train stopped in Conwy....I think because that's where the school kids get off to go home.

I headed back to the hostel and took a nice hot shower. It was nice. Tonight I'll go into town for food and drink and then I'll be up early tomorrow. I was thinking: It's a shame that Mt. Snowdon was such a bust. If I had gotten in earlier I would have gotten the bus info earlier and caught a better bus to Llanberis and up to Mt. Showdon. I would have had the time to spend. My thought on this is: Ehh, you win some and you loose some. I did get the opportunity to see some wonderful countryside, experience a Welsh bus ride, and meet some people along the way. Not bad! Also, I've been having such a great time on this trip that one poorly planned day is only a minor set-back. Oh, and I found out what the deal was with Dolgarrog. I gave the ticket lady in Bath the wrong name or she gave me the wrong ticket. I looked at a map and the name of the town I was looking for was "Dolgellau". That's why no one knew where it was and that is why I was soo close to Conwy when I should have been much farther south. Ehh, no problem!

This whole experience of "you win some and you loose some" reminds me of something I told a friend. In my efforts to talk Jimmy into joining me in Italy I gave him an honest portrayal. I said (at the time) "I'm 2-weeks in and the trip has already been worth every penny." It has. Anything that holds me back from doing something is such a minor set back. If I was really really really dying to go to Snowdon I would stay an extra night and do it tomorrow. However, I'm pretty content with my short time in Wales. I'm also just TOO excited for.......The Emerald Isle!