My train journey was lovely yesterday. It was so restful and comfortable. I definitely recommend train travel whenever it is possible... I arrived in Cardiff and was met by my wonderful friend Alys. She is such a sweetheart! After the initial “How have you been?” conversation, Alys asked if I was interested in seeing The Welsh Heritage Museum, as we had a couple hours before we needed to get her husband from work... Naturally, I said, “Yes!”
It was a beautiful museum. It is full of buildings from Welsh history, spanning many centuries. All of them have been moved to the museum from their original property. It was such a neat look into the lives of the people. We wandered in and around, laughing at the bleating sheep, and ducking to enter some of the oldest buildings.
After we finished up there, we drove over to pick up Gethin, Alys's husband, and headed to the farm. Alys and Gethin live on Gethin's family farm, Ty Gwyn Farm. It is beautiful. It sits on a little hill looking out over the valley. They live in the oldest section of the house, which was originally made from stone. The walls are over 2 feet thick!.. They showed me to my room, where I found a package of Haribo, a package of Welsh Cakes, a 5 pack of Dairy Milk, a box of tea, and a beautiful bouquet of the national flower, Daffodils. :)
Next we went to The Angel. My first real British Pub! The atmosphere is amazing! And the food... Words fail me. I ate a Steak, Mushroom, and Guinness Pie... I nearly died it was so good. That has to have been one of the best meals I have ever eaten... EVER. The portions were huge too. I was so stuffed at the end, but it looked like I had hardly touched the food. Believe me, that wasn't the case... We came home after and watched some T.V. And chatted. It was a lovely first afternoon and evening in Wales. :)
This morning we were up early. We dropped Gethin off at work and headed for... BATH!!!!! I am a HUGE Jane Austen fan. My favorite Austen, Persuasion takes place in large part in Bath, as does another Austen called Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen herself spent several years of her life there. For years I have been reading about Bath and seeing street names and building names, wondering if I would ever get to see them... Today, I did!!! Such a dram come true...
We parked a little way out of the city at a park and ride. The bus, my VERY FIRST British bus, picked us up and we headed into town. I was bouncing in my seat! It dropped us off on none other than Milsom Street!!! OK, you may not know what that is... It is a main road in Bath that a lot of Austen's characters walked and shopped. No doubt, Austen herself walked there. I was ecstatic. The buildings and streets are breathtaking. Despite the modern clothes, signs, and occasional car, it really is like stepping into the past or into a book. You feel transported, and the happiness is almost too much... You wonder, "Why do I get to have a dream come true? Why do I get to be this lucky?" I wondered that ALL day. Every step I took revealed a new wonder. Every building I saw or entered increased my joy to the point I thought I might explode!.. We wandered a bit, taking in Milsom Street and pointing out other street and building names that we recognized from the books. Then we decided to see some specific things... We thought we'd go to the Baths first...
When we got to the Baths, we found they were right next door to the Bath Abbey. We went in there first. It was stunning, and a bit sobering. I had been in old British churches before, so I wasn't surprised that the entire floor was made up of grave stones. Nor did the sight of them covering the walls catch me off guard... It was more the fact that this church had been standing in this spot since the mid 600s. And that for all the names and dates we could read on the stones, there were many older stones which time had removed the names from. A church that has been there that long has a weight to it. The happy times of weddings and christenings, the sad times so pointedly marked by the gravestones... A lot to take in... But it was beautiful. The stained glass alone would be worth a trip across the world!
After we finished in the Abbey, we went to... The Roman Baths and Pump Rooms!! Not only were they places I have read about for eons, but I LOVE Roman history... You know that feeling I was describing before? The one I had when I realized a dream was coming true? I had it once before... When I went on a mission trip to Bulgaria in 2007, I got to see my first Roman ruins, an amphitheater. I was brought to tears... So the idea of seeing more Roman artifacts, of seeing another Roman structure, had me all giddy... It was phenomenal. There aren't enough words to describe it, so I won't try... We spent quite a while there, poking our noses everywhere we could get away with poking them... I really don't know what else to say!
After the Baths and Pump Room, we walked up to The Circus... No, there was no tent, no ringmaster, and definitely no elephants. The Circus is a perfect ring of connected Georgian houses, well, connected in sections. In the center is a circular green with a few trees. It is truly marvelous. from there we walked to The Royal Crescent. The Crescent is like The Circus only... Crescent. It looks out over a large green and has views of the city. Now The Circus and The Crescent were, in Georgian times THE place to live. Only the wealthiest most powerful people could even dream of living there. It's hard to get from pictures, but if you see it, you understand. It is outstanding, and yes, they are mentioned in the books. ;)
It was a truly remarkable day. One that I know will be alive in my memory for the rest of my life. I feel so blessed. Thank you God for blessing me! And thank you Alys for helping my dream come true!
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