Snails n Wales

Update part two, what what! Wednesday through Friday of this week was spent in Wales, and honestly, there's not that much to report. We spent most of each day on the bus, watching Wales, which looked remarkably like a lot of sheep on a lot of hills, pass outside the window. We stopped at a couple of castles, one of which was relatively modern and fully decorated and inhabitable. We stopped at a couple of abbeys and cathedrals and had one especially boring tour by a short man sporting a comb-over.

The first night we stayed at a hostel in a town I can't remember the name of, but it was pretty sick. Kate had a nice surprise on her pillow -- dried blood. Welcome home! Haha it was a neat experience, though, and I was one of the few girls who still slept like a rock. After we settled into the hostel as much as possible, we wanted to go out on the town, as we were just outside Cardiff. We asked the hostel owner where to go, he gave a few recommendations that sounded fun, and then he mentioned someone had been killed in those precise locations just last week. So we decided to see a movie. But how neat is this -- I can tell people I saw He's Just Not that Into You in Wales? The unfortunate incident of the evening was Kate losing her iPod there, and, as we have recently discovered, her oyster card for the tube.

The next night was infinitely cooler. We drove out to Beaumaris, which is right on the coast of Wales and is actually an island, technically. First we stopped at Beaumaris castle, something not many of us were looking forward to with much excitement. After traveling so long on the bus, we were sort of ready to go directly to the hotel and take a nap. Had we done so, we would have missed out on one of the coolest experiences yet on the trip. It was one of those unplanned and unexpected incidents that completely change your attitude and your entire day. Somehow the entire group of us 40 girls ended up in the small chapel room of the castle, and we began singing -- hymns, primary songs, etc. It started as a small group, but as the songs carried across the vast castle grounds, gradually girls sought out the source. We joined together in that small room with the vaulted ceiling, all in a circle, holding hands, linking arms, embracing, and singing. For a bunch of girls who for the most part are not singers, we remarkably sounded like a chorus of angels, and the Spirit was a very strong presence. It was an incredible experience, and most of us had tears streaming down our faces. One English woman touring the castle had heard us singing and searched the castle until she found us. When she did, she sincerely expressed, "I have been searching for you. You have made this castle come alive. Thank you."

The hotel we stayed in on the island was about a block away from the castle, and it's a very historic building -- Queen Victoria stayed there once! It's all in its original condition for the most part, ghosts and all. It was so refreshing to sleep in a comfortable bed, and in a room with only one other girl! It was literally right on the shore, and the view from our window overlooked the ocean and the pier. The bathroom was amazing, as well! It was so refreshing to take a private shower (not a glass-doored shower across from the public bathroom mirrors like at the centre)! I took a nice long bubble bath and a hot shower. The shops in Beaumaris were adorable as well. In the morning, we had a full English breakfast before heading back.

We made our first stop at Chester, which is right on the England/Wales border. It was a pretty neat town, the highlight of which (besides the delicious gelatto) was the wishing steps -- legend has it that if you run up and down those steps twice without taking a breath,your wish will come true. Well, there were a lot of steps, haha. Also, we saw the tower from which King Charles I watched his armies in their final defeat against the troops of Oliver Cromwell. Our other two stops were an abbey with the comb-over tour and a modern-style cathedral in Coventry, and then home very late on Friday night!

So what did I do to celebrate Valentine's Day? I'm going to keep it secret. Just to tantalize you.

In the middle of Castle Coch

Le chateau de Beaumaris

Inside the lovely hostel

Outside the lovely hostel