3/16/12

GOOD MORNING. awesome morning. superior am.  ran to the other side of the bay, yoga in the middle. rock hunting on the beach.  and another delicious breakfast.

leaving Wales....

waiting for the bus to leave Llanduno

First stop outside of Wales, across the border...boo.  But really quite interesting despite the switch.

IRON BRIDGE and Coalbrookdale

on the bridge!

..in order to expand the future, it is vital to know where we come from...

This is a World Heritage site marking the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.  This is the world's first iron brindge built in 1779AD in the town of Coalbrookdale.  This bridge is visited by foreign businessmen and locals alike.

Off to Much Wenlock for some proper tea:)

This little nugget of a town was perfect to get lost in.  Wandering the streets each nook was filled with interesting bits and pieces of daily life, my favorite. So pleased to have lunch at the Copper Kettle and soak it all in.  Just a few bits of the secrets I discovered...

this was by far, the most amazing lunch I'd had.  stilton cheese, cheddar and a ploughman's lunch. pickled onion and pickle, tea, bread, salad...mouth watering and such a quaint table.

OXFORD

Oxford/Hogwarts-home for a night.

Here's where Oxford students take their final exams after years of study at the university.  It's often said students take extra pencils in, put them up their nose, then slam their heads on the desks to commit suicide if they feel they aren't passing the exams.  The price of education, eh?

Ole Rose Cider-tastes like old apples and a grandma's blanket. Definitely not my favorite...but was enjoying it in the oldest tavern in Oxford, something along the lines of 1300AD.  Most notably short ceilings and awful brews.

The next two pics are from the Eagle and Child, a local pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolken often drank and discussed.  how interesting one a believer and another an atheist.  best beer i've had in ten days...final found myself a coffee stout:)

Brits are particular about their grass.  I'm particularly not. Evidence.

rainy morning means no run. just my luck i was placed in the water conservation dorm...i.e. only tubs, no showers.  can't remember the last time i took a bath?

Oh Oxford, brief and fleeting, yet just the taste of Hogwarts I needed. I'm still waiting on my invitation...

w.8

secrets wait but i know mine

for i keep them close and buried

thoughts and obsessions that define me

confining my heart in a prison left unlocked

free to explore the cold corners

warmed sprites waltz among the stones

time left on the corner

time left to trounce along a melody

beat

       by

                 beat

tapping

drumming

pounding

a placid lake poured out

my reflection altered

trickling rippling changing

on the surface, but there is something to be said

for. going. under.

3/15/12
Llandudno(city by the sea)

 The Grand Hotel in Llandudno on an early morning run.  Headed out for a big hike today in Snowdonia National Park, but the legs were getting antsy.  Plus I'm far more managable once I've gotten my exercise...and a cup of tea.  I'm extremely partial to the silence in the morning.  This hotel was so stately, it covered the quiet garden tucked on the cliff behind.  Another bonus of traveling on my own time...secret gardens.

Cruised by this pier just past the Grand Hotel.  Some great arm of entertainment stalled in the sea.  The average age of this town is most definiely 103.  Not sure how down they get on the boardwalk, but I'm sure its enjoyable.  Almost lost the battle with a huge seagull this a.m. Today's run was one of my favorites.  Long, quiet and cool.  And it feels good to feel fast.

Found these nifty stairs in a back alley this am...two granny's having breakfast and gossip at the bottom.  Or was it gossip? May have very well been contemplating the dire disarray of the world and how to fix our incessant idiotic ways...? tea solves all.

<BREAKFAST TIME AND IM STARVING>

Finally! Vegetarian Sausages, browns, grilled tomato, fresk pressed grapefruit juice, boiled eggs, brown toast, tea and coffee.  Perfect re/fuel for Snowdonia. 

On to Great Orme: Home of the world's largest known Bronze Age copper mine.

This place was great.  The gentleman who showed us around owned the site.  He was one of the original archeaologists to discover this site and he's been here since he was 18.  Raised his kids on this site, spends his day in and out of hte tunnels...so great.  My favorite part about this site was that is was  completely localized.  He has spent the entire second half of his life dedicated to this site. A true passion and it showed.  What a great way to spend life doing what you loved and finding how to share it with the world. 

Tiny little passageways.  Awesome rad green helmet.

SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK!!!

Crocs and Socks on top...word.

Notice tiny winding trail I followed...awesome.  The rest of the pictures describe themselves but here's captions in a nutshell... cold, damp, isolated. Steep.  Hanging out...literally...get it?!? Can't keep me out of the water. I like flowers, I love thorns. Creme Brulee and HoneyComb icecream was by far the best thing to hit my lips since brunch at Sabrina's with my girls.  Miss my girls.

Fin.

W.7

but you should be here.

you aren't so i'll keep it.

              keep safe and save this moment just

          for

       us

on the days when the sun can't shine and the silver lining fades

i'll have this moment tucked away

find it.

       i'll share

i'll move the memories to melt the evergrowing icecap

the chaos seeping in, the echos of nevers

and maybes

deep to reach, even deeper to shine because that's what we do

but not here, not today

today this is mine. but i'm saving it for you.

greens melt into another and blues fade to the mist

that hangs so heavy, hiding the beauty and creating its own

tumble tumble tumble before me

rock hard truths i can not ignore

                          where do i Go? who am i now? a barn owl's night

       wish you were here.

brisk freedom whips around me

tangles my hair, stay there                        live there

                 

                                            i'll keep this escape tucked near

close enough to whisper to my bones

disappear?

a moment i'll Keep.

           

           but you should Be here.

  

3/14/12
Morning run through 2 townships, a graveyard and ended in a silent playground in the valley.

Irish Sea

Finally, the sea.  Toured the western coast of Wales on our way to Snowdonia Area in the Northern part of the country.  I've been waiting for that salty air.  Feelin' so close to home again and loving it.



:Barmouth (equivalent to Outer Banks, maybe a lil more money coming through, but essentially facing the same issues as the banks...bridge to island is unsafe, yet provides services and toursits to boost economy...should we wait to fix? who knows)

_although bleak weather, this town is quiet and beautiful. got that urge to disappear here, find a little cafe, live above it and have coffee talk with locals in the off season. not to mention unlimited cockels and seafood. favorite. streets lined with bright pots and plants make me eager for summer again.

> <

The afternoon was spent in the city of Caernarfon and touring the castle.  Edward I's premeir fortress and palace in this ring of northern Welsh castles, modeleed on the lines of Emperor Theodosius's wall at Constantinople.  The castle was designed with intention of isolating Welsh forces in the Snowdon mountains by cutting off their supply to mother Wales.  No Welshman was allowed to live within the city of Caernarfon...Edward I did not underestimate Wales' uprising, but was tactical in his castle placement and forcde isolation.  The castle itself is capapble of being defended by only 50 men-full of secret passageways and deep dungeons.

Here I am on the greens of Caernarfon.  So green too.  Charles, current Prince of Wales, had his commencement ceremony right were I'm standing.  Royalty by default?

Cruised the city of Caernarfon for lunch.  Here are a few of my favorite spots in this city...teas, toasties, and bitters....content watching life go by me for a while.

w. 6

plucked from the sea

like a stone in the sand, my heart be still

and awake

                         inhale.

salt sticks to the inside of my lungs

swallow hard

and breathe.

make it a part of me just one more thing i can have

no currency

     can take me here, below the surface

                   

tides pull the medicine i seek into my veins

ebb. 

3/13/12



aaaaaaahhhh yes. last night in Chepstow. No other way to find culture than stumbling upon Monday night poker league? No problem at all. I'll sit here and soak it in.
The stench of gambling. The warmth of cider.

(from midnight on...epic skype sesh) so delicious.

And in the morning.....

Caerwent(Roman town) Beautiful church, misty mornings.  No socks in the crocs this am...wet grass.


Here I am at Caerffilli Castle.  The Anglo-Norman castle was built betwee 1268-1271 AD during the First Welsh War of Independence against the English crown, prior to the annexation of Wales under Edward I.  This was a major fortress encorporating state-of-the-art design and fortifications influenced by the Crusades.  Long metal spouts lined every entrance to the castle-these were used to pour boiling oil, hot coals, and defecation on intruders...hey, whatever works? 


The castle was great to explore.  The sidewalks were crowed with kiddos on field trips and it was quite obvious these had been on the coach for a while.  Thought about my raptors a lot today and how I wish and hope they will have the opportunity to participate in something like this...  After a walk about the grounds, though, a castle begins to disappear into a big lot of stones.  I chose to walk into the city of Caerffilli and indulge my people watching.

Bonus: located a thrift shop and helped an old maid choose a sweater that would be warm enough.  Sweaters, old ladies, thrifting...just my cup of tea. No pun intended.

 Rhonnda Valley: South Wales Coalfield, developed in midle and later stages of the Industrial Revolution and typifying coalfield towns, with modern problems of economic decline, landscape dereliction, degradation & reclamation.  Great drive, not pleased to be spending so much time on a bus though.  Actually not excited at all-getting cranky...but soaking it in.  Mental note, bus seats are uncomfortable.  Thank the Lord for my nimble ways and Coates roots-I can sleep anwhere.


Then on to....Cors Goch and Dyfi Estuary

This is on the Cambrian coast on the east shore of the Irish Sea.  It's a gigantic dam that has been overflowing recently, direct result of global warming/ice cap melting/rise in global sea level.  Look out East Coast of US! Also talked about the neccessity of water in the UK.  Wales supplies the majority of water for entire UK...wowzers.  And if you're having a dejavu moment, YES, this is the lake the ship from Harry Potter 4 disappeared to at the end of the movie(jk, but I mean, seriously?!?)

Here's me at the Cors Goch!! Crocs and socks and all...what a beautiful way to end a long bus ride.

Dolbrodmeath Hotel/Middle of Nowhere Valley/I'm in the Room The Werewolves Can Get You

bonus: fireside skype with Randy, Dottie, and Hannah<3

W.5

the fog hangs on
as if dear Life depends on the damp air
cold toes and buried walls

cerulean passageways slide by with each step,
yet i cannot enter

borders upon borders, stone upon stone
leave some for them, for they will soon forget.
red yarn on your finger.


Into the country at last.
God's own acre.
the Ripe flesh, sweet nectar runs down my chin
streets again, my own in the sun.

A war for water
ominous
overlooked

and the mist returns
She slips into the hills and waits for the comfort
like a warm sweater, engulfing me.

cold noses, curries.
i'm still waiting for more