It was tough to say goodbye to Aberystwyth; even though our time was short there, it was well spent with good people.
We grabbed coffee and scones in the heart of town at a place called Coffee #1, carved out of the old central hotel. After enjoying breakfast on the mezzanine, we continued the Great Britain Loop south.
Passing Tretower Castle and pausing for lunch at Robin Hood in Monmouth, we learned how to say “beer” in Welsh (spelled “cwrw”...pronounced “curr-rew) before crossing the border back into England.
The sun gods shone down on Great Britain for our final Welsh adventure, as we decided to tour the Tintern Abbey on the River Wye.
Founded in 1131, it was the first Cistercian foundation in Wales and only the second in Britain.
The abbey fell into ruin after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, its beautiful remains celebrated in poetry and art from the 18th century onward...including a watercolor rendition by our pal, J.M.W. Turner in 1794.
What’s left of the main structure is absolutely massive and the country is working diligently to excavate and preserve what’s left of it. Truly stunning.
Our penultimate destination was Bath.
We maneuvered our way into this bustling city of 100,000 people and found our Airbnb to be smack in the middle of everything; a stone’s throw from the Roman Baths and the Abbey. What a perfect location!
We dumped our bags, turned on the heat, and pounded the cobblestones in search of anything that wasn’t pub food. Found a very cool underground restaurant called Sotto Sotto just a block away that did an amazing linguine and prawns and a quite decent Hendrix martini with a cucumber garnish.
With fully bellies, the four of us wandered the dark streets of Bath, nearly forgetting that Halloween is just a few days away.
There were a couple very rowdy areas with yutes indiscriminately dressed up...
We all agreed it was a little too "Clockwork Orange" and I half expected to run into Alex and his droogs...though, I think we could take ‘em...!
コメント