Wales Weekend

For Easter weekend we went to the Gower peninsula in Wales with 5 other Americans who live in London.  We stayed at the Blas Gwyer in Llangennith, Wales.  I can't find the official population, but to give you an idea the town has a church, a pub, a surf shop, a couple of B&Bs and about 30 houses.  Definitely the smallest village that I have ever spent a night in and a drastic change in pace from London. We went four whole days with no TV or Internet.  We were not roughing it as we were staying in a boutique B&B that was quite nice.  It actually had  a flat screen TV and Internet, but our TV had some issues and the wireless was down so decided it would be a good 'break'.

Our first full day in Llangennith I decided to give surfing a try.  Even in a full wet suit it was still pretty chilly.  I had envisioned my first surfing experience being in a warmer climate, but how many people can say that they surfed for the first time in Wales?  Brady and Cory enjoyed playing in the sand watching.  I wouldn't say that I was good, but I did get up so I'm calling it a success.  I am ready to book a trip to Hawaii so I can practice some more.

That evening we called Bill the Bus, our transportation for the weekend, and had him take us to the Brittania in Llanmadoc.  We had a wonderful meal.  Highlights were the lamb steak and sticky toffee pudding.  Brady enjoyed playing outside in their garden which had a slide, rabbits & birds. 

Saturday we ventured into Swansea for the day.  We hung out in the city centre and had a picnic.  Brady had fun on the carousel and insisted that he ride more than once.  He picked out a bus to ride on the first go round and when he was done he said he needed to go on the motorbike.  After the motorbike go round he thought he should try out another vehicle, but we decided to put a stop to it as it could have been an all afternoon activity and at £1.50 per 2 minute ride it could have gotten pretty expensive.  While we were in Swansea we also sampled local Welsh cakes from the market.  I think they taste a lot like a shortbread cookie, but have a softer texture.

On Sunday we hiked to Rhossili, which is another village on the Gower peninsula.  It is set up high on the cliffs and overlooks the beach.   Rhossili is near Worm's Head which is one of the most recongizable landscapes in Wales.  When the tide is high Worm's Head is an island, but at low tides you can cross over the rocks.

 

Highlights of our trip to the Gower Peninsula:

• Brady's view - Digging in the sand, throwing rocks, jumping off the rocks, lots of sheep and llamas, his new Toy Story Mr. Potato Head, hanging out with his new 'friends'.
• Cory's favorites - Full Hot Welsh Breakfast each morning, eating some of the world's best lamb, beautiful scenery, relaxing with the family, Brew Dog at the King's Head.
• Kari's favorites - disconnecting from the world (although this was difficult), taking in the sites, surfing for the first time.

Battersea Park Children's Zoo

Brady put in a request to go to the zoo last weekend.  We are regulars at the London Zoo, but decided for a change in scenery we would visit the Battersea Children's Zoo in South London.  It is a smaller zoo with farm animals, some monkeys, merkats and a bunch of playgrounds. The highlight for Brady was a big red fire truck that the kids could climb into.  He saw the truck and started yelling "fire, fire" and ran full speed and climbed up into the drivers seat.  A close second was a huge sandpit with various digging apparatus.  We had a fun afternoon and Brady says he wants to go back again.

 

Royal Parks

The last two weekends have been absolutely beautiful.  Low 70s, sunny, light breeze.  The locals keep saying enjoy this while it lasts because typically if there is nice weather in April it means it will be a cool wet summer.  I am keeping optimistic and hope we have many more beautiful days in store.  One of the things we are enjoying is the London park culture.  In the city, most people have limited outdoor space so where KC folks hang out in their backyards or driveways, Londoners head to the park.   You see just about everything in the Park – young families having picnics, teenagers kicking balls around, alternative dread wearing folk jamming to their guitars, women in bikinis, parties that have full on tailgates set up with tables, chairs, music.   Just about anything goes in the park.  You can enjoy a bottle of wine, take a snooze or just sit and people watch.  The other nice thing about the parks is they are pretty much all free and they are extremely well kept.  The flowers are beautiful and there is always an ice cream truck or cafe within a few minute walk. (accessibility to treats is high on my priority list)

We have made the rounds the past two weekends so I’m going to give our quick park synopsis.

Richmond Park:

It’s on the south side of London.  I’m going to call it an outdoorsman park.  It had dirt trails, lots of trees and tons of deer.  Most people we saw in the park were walking dogs, riding bikes or running.  I am usually a running shoes kind of girl, but I choose to wear my knee high boots & leggings and felt a little out of place in the outdoorsy park.  Next trip we will ditch the stroller, put on our hiking gear and strap Brady into the backpack.

Regent’s Park:

This park is near our house.  It’s good for picnics, kite flying, watching a game of impromptu football (soccer) or feeding the ducks.  We tried to feed the ducks, but unfortunately I think they get more than their fair share of bread on the weekends and wouldn’t eat a bite. 

 

Primrose Hill:

Primrose Hill is a park with a huge hill you can climb and see fantastic views of the city.  This is very eclectic upscale part of town.  I am always on the look-out for celebrities as Kate Moss and other famous folk are frequently spotted.   I am in the market for a pair of oversized sunglasses so I can fit in when we go here.  Last weekend we enjoyed a picnic at Primrose.   I sprawled out on a blanket while Brady and Cory kicked a soccer ball around.

Kew Gardens:

Kew Gardens is a very large park with green houses, a treetop viewing area, playing areas for kids and much more.  Scattered throughout the park were chocolate exhibits that had various Easter shapes carved out of chocolate.  Only in the mild climate here can you have chocolate carvings that don’t melt.  I really enjoyed the gardens, but the one downfall is it costs £15 pounds to get in.  Cory says we are probably won’t go back, but Brady proclaimed that he “loves this place” so perhaps we will make a return visit.

Misc. Park by our house: