Weekend in Wales

We spent the first weekend of May in Wales. It was a long weekend for both the girls and Kevin since Monday, May 5th was a bank holiday. We decided to take the dogs with us and were able to stay in a B&B that took dogs. When we first got there it was well past bedtime and pretty dark. The temperature was warm and the rooms were stuffy so I opened the windows... and PU the smell that permeated mine & Kevin's room - wow, it would take your breath away. My first question was how much did we pay to stay in the place... I found myself walking around the room smelling the bedding, the carpet, the towels, everything trying to find the source for the smell. Finally I was so tired I didn't care anymore. I turned the fan on, checked on the kids, the dogs, and Kevin & turned out the light (while trying to hold my nose).

The next morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a roaster crowing in the near distance. I looked out the girls window & knew immediately what the "smell" was... the B&B was a working farm. Ohhhh, now it all makes since - and funny how the "smell" no longer bothered me once I knew for certain what it was... Once we got dressed we we took a quick look around the B&B. It was really nice - there were horses, dogs, cats, chickens, sheep, you name it.

One of the first things you will notice in Wales is the language... The road signs are in 2 languages (Welsh & English), and the village names are unpronouncable. The Welsh language is very different than the "normal" English you expect in the UK. Kevin kept trying to find a shirt that read "I spent the weekend in Llanfarpwllgwyngyli." We did learn that "Llan" is translated church, and "Ll" makes a "cl" sound. Hmmm, I'm thinking they don't want to play Wheel of Fortune...

We spent the days at the beach, walking the shore line, hiking the water falls, looking at castles, and basically relaxing. It was one of the best vacations we have been on. Having Duke & Daisy with us was a wonderful bonus - we all had fun! The weather was fabulous most of the time - fairly warm & sunny. The girls and the dogs (& Kevin at times) were in the water every possibile chance.

The girls had to return to school on Tuesday, Kevin returned to work, and I started the long stretch of washing clothes, cleaning the car, and catching up on school work. Duke & Daisy on the other had slept for 2 days straight. They only moved from the couch to go to the bathroom & to eat; we wore them out :-)