Tag: Wales

Easter Weekend in Grondre, Wales – Day 2 & 3

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My 700th post!! Woooow!!
Day 2
It was Easter Sunday, and I had a good nights sleep, we all seemed to have awakened at the same time although we all lost one hours sleep as the clocks went forward. 😦
I checked out the shower… it’s a dodgy caravan shower as you have to keep turning the knobs to get the right sort of heat otherwise it’s too cold. ¬_¬” Well the shower woke me up for sure!
Did we eat breakfast? I don’t remember… but Mr Sensible made me a dodgy coffee that morning and I remembered Miss Money, Mr Sensible and I ended up knitting or crocheting for some part of the morning… And as you can see, Miss Money’s short scarf became longer.

It was time to depart the caravan and explore a nearby town. We ended up in Saundersfoot. First stop was to find a parking space which we searched for a bit until a family drove off thankfully in a nearby parking lot…

Next stop was a sweet shop… apologies for the picture but the lads and Miss Money kind of pointed it out and I think that’s why they went in…. ¬_¬””””

We walked around looking for things to do and ended up in a nearby amusement park. We didn’t play…

Seaside looked a bit busy although it was a little windy, good weather than London!

We were obviously a little hungry and tried to find somewhere to eat… ended up in a local pub called The Hean Castle. 

Mr Games ordered a hot chocolate… and he also decided to take a picture. LOL!!

Mr Games also had the battered mushrooms for starters…

Miss Money had the beef roast lunch.

I think Mr Games had the lasagna.

Mr Sensible also had a beef roast.

And I had the Guinness and Steak pie. Needed a bit of seasoning, but otherwise quite filling!!

Next was a walk along the beach, still windy at this point… it was a short walk in the sand…

We ended in one of the local sweet shops (we went in there twice!) called Chobbles. Definition of “chobble” is when you bite down something hard with your teeth… Chobbles is a traditional sweet shop and only exists in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The sweets are reasonably priced. 100g for 99p! They must make a lot of money… even their chocolates looked incredibly cute. ^_^

After getting a sugar high we walked around to see what else was opened… Miss Money had to pop to a loo so we ended up taking selfies. LOL! Can you see I’m wearing my new crochet hat. ^_^

After three hours in town, I can’t believe we spent three hours there, we returned back to the caravan… Mr Sensible said he was exhausted from driving so he took a nap… Mr Games also took a nap (he said half an hour but ended up sleeping for more than an hour). So Miss Money and I ended up watching TV with the subs on and I ended up playing Candy Crush (hey, I need to catch up. :p). It suddenly rained for about 10-15 minutes. Miss Money had suggested we go for a walk, luckily we didn’t go.
We were quite late going out for dinner, the local pub was filled with parents and children, so in the end we went into town. I couldn’t believe some of the shops were still opened on Easter Sunday!!

Mr Games and Mr Sensible ended up buying food from the local supermarket. Mr Games ate his sandwich or wrap before we got back into the car… 
Miss Money and I went to the opposite kebab shop and bought food from there.
Here’s Mr Games playing hide and seek outside the kebab shop. Hahahahah.

Guess who bought faggots for dinner… Did you know that faggot means gay and I believe it’s an old English slang word for a whore/prostitute, but I could be wrong there. 

Mr Sensible had the faggots and added peas on the side. Well, he is Welsh.

My kofte kebab looked a bit different to the London style. They were like big meatballs. I think I prefer the London style.

In the evening we ended up playing Uno, drinking lots of wine (I drank like a fish and started swearing >_<") and then we started playing charades (I hoped not to make a fool of myself whilst semi drunk).
So one of the slips was a TV show. Mr Games tried to act it out, but it was hard… in the end the show sounded like “Men-ty Floor”. Can you guess what the show is?
It was hard to sleep that evening. Storm Katie was pattering on the windows. I think we were quite lucky to have had the rain that evening. Apparently it was very bad in London. Should’ve slept on the couch…

End of Day 2.

***

Day 3

On Easter Monday, we ended up leaving half an hour early when we originally said we would leave at 10am. Due to the weather Seven Bridges was closed for the morning… but thankfully it was opened when we almost got there. Miss Money was not happy that she couldn’t stay a bit longer… Thankfully we mostly cleared up the night before.
Bye bye caravan site!! 

First pit stop there was nothing exciting there. Hi Minion, bye toys.

Still driving in Wales…

And I finally finished my 50g-ish ball of yarn which was supposed to make granny squares for Mrs Hen bag. The scarf is now a bit longer, so Miss Money better make good use of it!!!!

We finally entered the bridge… bye bye Wales…

And now entered England. Hello there!

Finally ended our journey in Central London around 3pm, cleaned the car and returned the keys.
Such a lovely weekend away from the city, no mobile internet signal (in the caravan) and just having lots of ordinary fun like the things we would have done in the old days before mobile technology existed in our lives. 

End of Day 3. 

Easter Weekend in Grondre, Wales – Day 1

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Straight after the wedding (and before the BABYMETAL concert), it was another weekend away in Wales. This time there was no mountain climbing (hoorah), just a relaxing time there and back. Easter just happened to be on my birthday weekend… and to me this was a great way to celebrate! Out in the countryside and wilderness. ^_^
Thankfully Miss Pinky’s family gave me a lift home the night before, otherwise I don’t think I would have had a good night’s sleep… but in the end I did wake up early to eat breakfast and do last minute packing.
Started heading out to Waterloo to meet the others before 10am, but amazingly I bumped into Mr Games and Mr Sensible on the same bus! Hahahah. What a coincidence. ^_^ Then we saw Miss Money buy her breakfast from McDonald’s… We headed to the car rental and they gave us an orange jeep, unfortunately one of the tyres had an air pressure problem so we had to change cars. 😦 It was a nice jeep, but the other car had a bit more leg room. Oh well. Maybe next time.
The weekend was set for rain, rain and more rain. So we drove in the rain.

Miss Money said she was getting cold and didn’t bring a scarf or extra clothes. Didn’t she know it was going to rain? Yes, she did! Luckily I brought some yarn, which I was going to use to make Mrs Hen a bag for her birthday soon, but instead used the rest of it to make a short scarf… this was just the start of it after a 4 hour drive… tired!!

We were quite lucky that weekend as Mr Sensible’s grandparents own a caravan in a place called Grondre and there’s a caravan site there for holidaymakers… Took pictures of the bedrooms, they’re quite spacious for a large caravan we were in… The size of a small flat. 

This was in the bathroom…

I think we were greeted with ok weather, the rain subsided and it was a little sunny that evening… Sheep were also nearby. Baaaaaa.

After resting a tiny bit we went out to eat and well, did a tiny exploration of the camp plus do some supermarket shopping in a not so nearby supermarket. Mr Sensible drove the wrong way. ¬_¬””

Thankfully Nisa Extra was still opened… because it was Easter weekend we were expecting the shops to close quite early. After shopping for the necessaries we headed back to unleash ourselves!

Here’s what a caravan site looks like from the middle of a road.

Now it was time to eat!! We went into the pub which is part of the holiday camp site. It seemed quiet for a Saturday, I guess people were avoiding the weather and cooking in their caravans… this was the food we had, none of us shared our food except the chips…

Mr Games had a pizza… It looks good… even the picture gives it a good honest look.

Miss Money had this Hawaii burger which looked a bit dry…

Mr Sensible had the steak and is currently on a low carb, gluten free diet… Don’t think he needs to go on a diet. He doesn’t need it!!!! :p

I stacked on protein and carbs. Not sure why I wanted a mixed grill… quite thankful it wasn’t too much, and at a reasonable price… (somehow I got a discount too). ^___^

After a loooong day, it was cold in the caravan (the heating was turned up high), we sat on the couch watching TV, knitting and teaching Miss Money to crochet. Hehehe. We became a crochet and knitting club!
Edited with PhotoScape

It was time to go to bed around midnight… Goodnight… zzzzzz

End of Day 1.

Ashmount Hotel – Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales

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So it took us a long time to decide on which hotel or B&B to stay in because everything was booked up for the Bank Holiday weekend but eventually we stayed in this place Ashmount Hotel which is located in Rhos-on-Sea. It’s an hour away from Snowdon but that was ok.
It’s a couple of minutes away from the beautiful sea. There’s a free car park outside front. And they do serve breakfast for £9 although we didn’t ask for any. 
We had two twin rooms. Mr Games and Mr Sensible had an en-suite bath/shower attached (didn’t take a picture of the bathroom). They also had a sofa in their room! Not fair!!
And Miss Money and I also had an en-suite shower (also didn’t take a picture of the bathroom). We had a dressing table and cupboard.
Both rooms provided cups, kettles, teas and coffees, towels, shower/bath gel and shampoo. Hair dryers were provided too! You might be disappointed with the coffee if you’re a serious coffee drinker, that’s why I brought my own. 
Plugs were hard to find around the room but look underneath the tables – you will find them there. ^_^
Dining room is big.
Living room is cosy! 
This hotel has been one of nicest I’ve been in so far. Floorboards are a bit creaky but it’s a house converted into a hotel. The owners are very lovely too!! 
You might hear a lot of noise from the next rooms or from above (as we were on the first floor) and also the chirping birds outside.
Not bad!

Snowdonia Hiking Trip 2015: Day 3

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Monday 25th May
It was time to say goodbye to beautiful North Wales with its wonderful scenic views from the sea to the mountains to the lakes and nice people. Woke up at 8am, got ready and finished packing. Then ate lots of fruit and drank my own coffee. Miss Money took her time. And the boys were all ready too! 
We left the hotel before 10am to be beat the traffic and rush hour and so off we went. My legs were aching by the way and so it was hard for me to walk down the stairs. Heheh. >.<" Spotted a castle on the way out of North Wales… 
Spot the castle
First stop was a gas station to top up some diesel and where Mr Sensible was trying to work out the air pressure in the wheels since changing the tyre. Then off we drive again.
Next stop we ended up eating. I went for a Burger King meal and the rest went to find Greggs and Costa Coffee stuff. I had the Pulled Pork Burger with these chilli cheese melts. Unfortunately I wasn’t impressed with the burger as it didn’t have enough pulled pork in it. Couldn’t really taste much of the barbecue taste of it. 😦 
Where’s the pulled pork?

Not enough pulled pork!
The chilli cheese melts on the other hand were impressive. And for an extra 99p it was worth to try out! ^_^
chilli cheese melts were cool
It was time to head back out again. 
On the way back we saw a lot of accidents. I think we were very lucky not to have been in any of those. Phew. Now Mr Sensible was driving and driving forever before we went for one more stop where I bought a drink and the others went for a McDonald’s. My legs were still aching (they ached for a couple of days). 
Then drive, drive and more driving with some entertainment from Mr Games and chatting with Miss Money and doing nothing until we reached “ugly” London (ugly – as in talking about the scenic views compared to North Wales… I don’t hate London but find it dull and grey seeing miserable people working their backsides all day long just to pay for their food and rent as well as seeing tall grey buildings…). Traffic was pretty horrendous as usual. But well done for Mr Sensible getting us back home in one piece!! ^_^ Car returned back to Waterloo and we tried our best to clean the car… well they had given us the car with some bird poop on it so there may still be some dirt in it. ¬_¬””
Trying to picture the cows here… did you know they are the 4th dangerous animals in the UK?
Back home we went. Exhausted. I think the others are planning to go to the highest mountain in the UK, that’s Ben Nevis in the Highlands, Scotland… I’ll think about it… Is there an easy, easy route going up there? I hope so!! ¬_¬
End of Day 3.

Snowdonia Hiking Trip 2015: Day 2

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Sunday 24th May
Day 2 started really early. I woke up at 5am on the dot and unfortunately I couldn’t sleep much that night probably because I was in a new room and I had drunk coffee that night. 😦 The only person that had a bit of a lie in was Mr Games. Wake up Mr Games!! 😛
We left just after 6am and thankfully I didn’t feel too tired. Mr Sensible drove for about an hour until we suddenly stopped on a side road near a campsite with a punctured tyre. >_<"" Oh dear. For me, it was a laughable situation because it was the first time I've been in a broken down car. Hahaha!! So Mr Sensible phoned up the insurance peeps and the maintenance guys to get the tyre replaced. Well we did pay for it, so why not use the insurance! Well done Mr Sensible and Mr Games for getting the insurance. Phew.
Flat tyre! Yay!
We had sat in the car for an hour and a half but each of us took turns going out and exploring our surroundings. Luckily we were right near a bus stop and a pub so if we were in deep trouble we could have hanged around those parts.

Finally the maintenance guys came, found us and immediately changed the tyre. Then off we went to find a parking space!

We went back and forth from the Pyg Track entrance and back again to the car pack near where we broke down. ¬,¬””
From the car pack we unloaded, went to the loo and then a taxi guy looking for customers asked us whether we wanted to take a cab there… why not, it’s £2 person, whereas we would have had to wait for the bus and pay £1.50. Take the taxi!!
The Pyg Track journey begins!
Oh boy, I was already breathless and a little cold after a few yards… 😦 but at least it stopped raining.
We continued going up and I kept stopping because it is hard work going upwards with my short legs. >_<"" Slowed the others down…. Sorry guys!!

Anyway, there were some flat parts and I enjoyed walking through those parts on the Pyg Track.
Looking down from the top was AMAZING!! It was a bit foggy and cloudy but it was just beautiful.

We kept walking then after almost three hours of walking we stopped to eat. This when I realised I lost part of my selfie stick… so if you see a frame that’s supposed to connect to a selfie stick please pick up and re-use. (Thankfully the old self stick frame fits on the new one, phew!). So unfortunately, no great group selfies on this trip. 😦

After eating and being watched by seagulls we carried on walking, obviously stopping at every opportunity.

There was a lot more climbing during the second half and finally I tired out. Mr Games was trying to encourage me to keep going as we only had about half an hour to the top… but I pulled a muscle in my leg and I really couldn’t do anymore… So I said I’m going to leave the guys to reach the top and I’ll journey downwards… Whilst waiting for them I saw a rescue helicopter, lots of people going back and forth and just looking at my surroundings. I did a lot of exercise you know!! ^_^

Well, it took those three ages to come back down and with permission from Miss Money, here’s some pictures from the top. Thank you Miss Money!!!

Then it was the journey back downhill via the Miners Track. Uh oh. This was a hard path too. >.<" Hmmmmmmm. Not happy guys. The muscles in my thighs were hurting because they haven't been used for a very long time. I slipped once and hurt my arm… Basically battered and bruised. T_T Waaaaah. 

In the end we finally made it halfway down the bottom to one of the lakes. Yaaaay!! Almost home!!

Uh, no, we’re not almost home… it was another hour and a half walk to the car park. I want my mum. 😦
More walking…

But it was just so beautiful. Why didn’t we start off with the Miners Track!!! (Next time I’m choosing the simple route up).

Miss Money seemed to have sped up because we lost sight of her. We had to speed through the rest of the way because the last bus was at 6pm. We all made a bet to see what time we would be able to make it to the car park. Miss Money said 6pm, Mr Sensible said 6.05pm, Mr Games said 6.10pm and I said 6.15pm…

We got there at 5.55pm. Phew. Miss Money won. BUT the bus left at 6.05pm. So who really won this bet? Lol
Time to head back. Woohoo!! Can’t believe Mr Sensible was able to drive us back after an epic trip uphill and downhill. Well done Mr Sensible!! (He has long legs and the tallest out of us four). On the journey back Mr Games said he was so happy seeing me smile because I looked so miserable going uphill… Hahahahah. Really? I did enjoy myself, but it was a bit too much for me.
Got back to the hotel after 7pm and we took a long time to undress and shower (that was Miss Money and me… Miss Money was talking too much, heheh).
Mr Games and Mr Sensible went downstairs first and looked at the takeaway options. Miss Money and I looked at the menu on my phone. Whilst waiting for the food we started playing a board game (forgot the name of the game). It was fun and it distracted us from our hunger… But we were too hungry.
Finally the food came and we all ate in our rooms… ^_^ Happy Geek. The guys had pizzas and we girls had kebabs. 

End of Day 2.

Snowdonia Hiking Trip 2015: Day 1

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Saturday 23rd May
Time for another UK break (yay, another Bank Holiday)! This time I didn’t go flying. Phew!
Seem to be spending more time with Miss Money, Mr Games and Mr Sensible in this past year. Not sure how that happened but before I went on more holidays with Miss Pinky I used to spend lots of time with Miss Money and Mr Games when we all worked together (that was more than 10 years ago). It was fun pal times!! ^_^ I’m not sure how we’re all still friends to be honest.
One evening in April Miss Money started talking about places to go hiking. She wanted to climb one of the highest mountains in the UK and I said Snowdonia has a high mountain (that’s in North Wales by the way). So in an instant we started planning dates and how to get there… It actually took us a long time to book the hotel and car – literally two weeks before the Spring Bank Holiday!!! OMG. I had this small feeling that Mr Games and Mr Sensible didn’t want to go (or they were just too lazy to book the hotel for us). ¬_¬”
We all met at Waterloo Station around 10am. I was smart to have breakfast first but the others bought their breakfast at the station. Then it was time to find the car rental place that Mr Games and Mr Sensible for the car that they booked. Whilst searching, we saw these people in costumes for Comic Con. >.<" I wish I had went. Maybe next year if we don't plan to go up hiking or end up babysitting.
We found the car rental place Avis which is located outside the station. For some reason we got an upgraded car but had to pay more for insurance, I didn’t mind as long as we got to our destination in one piece.

The long drive started!! Mr Games was entertaining us with some general knowledge questions and asking us what we do type of questions.

At the first service station we went to I bought myself a new selfie stick which is bluetooth operated. I even got a discount. Woohoo!! 
Miss Money was complaining I wasn’t taking any pictures so I took a few on my phone along the way…
Turbines along the M6

Some sort of incident… burnt truck
At the second service station we started eating. I bought a Greggs chicken roll. I tasted more butter than anything else. Miss Money had some pasties. Mr Games and Mr Sensible had Burger King meals.
A chicken roll
On the other side is Liverpool… we’re far away from it actually
Drive, drive, drive
After many hours of Mr Sensible’s driving we arrived at Rhos on Sea before 6pm.
Booked into the hotel, got shown our rooms and was given some detail about food shopping and eating out etc. Unpacked a little (Mr Games already unpacked everything at this point, wow). Then we headed out.
Rhos-on-sea

We walked along the seafront after settling in the hotel. I didn’t bring my selfie stick out but should have done…

Found the tiniest church that I have ever seen. I think it’s more of a place to pray than holding a service as such.

Walked more and also booked a table at an Italian restaurant nearby. There were no available tables until around 8pm so we had to walk more for an hour and a half. So we walked… very slow walking.

From left to right: Miss Money, The Geek, Mr Games and Mr Sensible ^___^

Tourist centre in Rhos-on-sea
Finally it was time to head back to the restaurant which is called La Dolce Vita. We were greeted by friendly staff. It didn’t take them long for them seat us. Drinks were served quickly but unfortunately service was a bit slow even though we did ask. Mr Games and I ordered a second drink, we were too thirsty… Once food was ordered, it took a while longer for our food to be served.
La Dolce Vita in Rhos-on-sea
Mr Games and I ordered the same thing, meat lasagna. I started off wanting the vegetable lasagna but the longer I waited for service I instantly changed my mind. I think I was happy with my choice though!!
fooooood!!!

The lasagna came out piping hot from the oven. The tomato sauce was rich with sweetness and a bit of cheesiness to it! I was in heaven although it was too hot to eat. Kept blowing at the food and thinking I was a Korean who enjoyed hot food, (I’m currently watching Let’s Eat 2 online and still feel amazed at how Koreans don’t get runny noses or sweat a lot whilst eating hot food, heheh).

Meat lasagna
Miss Money had the seafood risotto. It looked nice. It was cheesy however it was just too fishy. I had two bites of her food and felt the seafood was not that fresh although we were right by the sea! ¬_¬”” I think Miss Money wasn’t that impressed and wanted more risotto than seafood… she complained later and said she should’ve had the chicken!! Hahahahah.
seafood risotto
Mr Sensible at the spaghetti carbonara. He demolished his plate of food in minutes as it was hot enough for him to eat it quickly so I’m afraid I never got to try out the creaminess of it all. ^_^
spaghetti carbonara
Total came to (I think) £56.53. We rounded it to over £60 as they don’t bill us for service charge. Fantastic!! ^_^
My geeky rating: 4.5/5 – slow service for us speedy hungry Londoners (Mr Sensible is Welsh so he doesn’t count :P) was our main complaint. Owner of the restaurant was absolutely funny by the way!!
After eating, we went to Costcutter and bought a few snacks for the next day. 
Co-op ^_^
Then we headed back… we were going to play some games in the living room area but ended up showering and going to bed early!
Sunset!!!! 😀
End of Day 1.

p.s. I can’t believe I missed most of Eurovision this year!! I completely forgot!!