The British are friendly people, and we've really enjoyed getting to know them just a little bit better. I will never see them in the same light again, and I will always have a warm spot in my heart for them. Their country is beautiful and has such a variety of landscapes, beautiful gardens, and miles and miles and miles of public footpaths through all the towns and villages. I found a brochure in the lobby of our hotel here that advertises walking tours from June 7 through 22, all here in the Gower region. Wouldn't I like to be here then! The walks and the views look fabulous!
The Dragon is a four-star hotel, located in a great place for walking around in Swansea. We didn't pay much attention to the ratings of any of our hotels when we booked them months ago, so we've had some that were two stars and some that were probably no stars but certainly adequate for our needs.
When we checked into the Dragon and I told the clerk that we were prepaid (something we've learned to verify as we went along), he said yes, we were, and that he would upgrade us. I don't know why he did that, but as a result, we ended up with a two-room suite instead of just a room. It's utterly gorgeous!
Yesterday, we walked and walked and walked. We must have covered 4 or 5 miles! We were driven by curiosity - what would we see if we walked in that direction? Turned that corner? Checked out that street? It was fun. I posted a few pictures on Flickr.
Swansea is situated on the sea shore, and their beach is huge, huge, huge. Neither Daytona nor Myrtle beach can boast such wide beaches. We were surprised to see only a few people there. It could be that they were all out doing their weekly shopping, because we saw many people carrying shopping bags in town while we were on our way to the sea.
Swansea, Wales
Originally uploaded by Suzie Rozie.
Today, we're planning to drive along the shore through this area (Gower region).
We came into Wales again, beginning and ending our trip here (except for the airport in Manchester) hoping to find Welsh cakes, that wonderful scone-like pastry we discovered while we were on the boat on the Llangollen Canal. So far we haven't seen any. Maybe Welsh cakes are only a northern Wales pastry. Of all the things we tasted on this trip, Welsh cakes have been our favorite. That will be part of our quest today - to see if we can find them.
A little bit about Bath, before I end our travel journal, and the Redcar Hotel where we stayed. When we first came into that town, it seemed that there were so many people and so many buildings lining the valley that I knew would hate it. It felt closed in. But how wrong I was.
We found the Jane Austin museum and went inside, but it was so small and crowded with people, and so hot, that we just didn't think we could tolerate being there. The museum boasts air conditioning, but they surely didn't have it on that day. So we walked on.
The town center in Bath isn't too large, so it's really easy to get around there. We went into the reception area of the Roman baths, but that was crowded, too, and we just didn't think we wanted to wait in line and pay 10 pounds each to tour them. So we left and wandered around the town some more.
(Later, as we were sitting on a bench eating ice cream, we noticed that we could see people touring an outside part of the Roman baths. Some were standing at the walls in the bath, looking at all the people on the streets. Lauren wondered if these people had paid 10 pounds each so they could stand inside the Roman baths and watch us on the streets.)
As we wandered and watched the people congregate here and there in outdoor and indoor cafes and restaurants, I began to hear echoes of Mrs. Bennett's voice. Bath seems like a place where people go to socialize and meet other people, and the idea that the whole of Bath is the Jane Austin museum began to form in my thoughts.
There are throngs of young people in Bath, and as evening came, we began to see them leave their hotels and head toward town - usually guys with guys and gals with gals, many probably looking to meet someone in town.
The Redcar may have been one of those no-star hotels (we're not sure because we couldn't find the rating), but it was certainly charming. It occupied a few (Victorian?) row houses on Henrietta Street. The rooms were really tiny, but they were clean. It's the only hotel we've stayed at where I could take a shower and watch the news on TV at the same time. It's run by a family or group of friends of young people - we guessed from Hong Kong, who were the most friendly and cordial hosts we've had. We would recommend the Redcar to anyone!Not only were the rooms small, but the walls in the Redcar Hotel were thin - just as they were in north Chester in our Victorian lodgings there. You just had to laugh and think about what it must have been like in years past, in Jane Austin times. Thin walls are perfect for gossip. The thin walls became part of the charm of the place, and we loved it!
The reception (lounge) area, comprised of three connecting parlors with a bar at the end of one, was beautifully done - so comforting and inviting, and advertised free entertainment that evening. Free is good, not only because it doesn't cost anything but because free is generally not as compromised by commercialism as costly things. We think we get more of a taste of local culture when we stay out of the way of the commercial events.
Oh, are we glad we took advantage of the "free" entertainment. The singer was Felicity ____ (I'll have to get her last name from Lauren), and she accompanied herself on an electric guitar. She must have known every American country and near-country western song that's ever been sung, and she had a lovely voice for singing them all.
Bath - In the Redcar Hotel - Felicity and her friends - excellent
Originally uploaded by Suzie Rozie.
There weren't many other people there - an older couple who will soon be celebrating their 40th anniversary and who seemed to be "Felicity groupies" and a man who seemed to be with Felicity were the main attendees, with a few who wandered in and then out again from time to time.
Because the crowd was small, Felicity kept a dialog running with us all the time and she made the evening so much fun. We sang along with her when we knew the words, and the man and woman danced to the songs from time to time. Lauren had requested that Felicity sing Marty Robbins' El Paso, so at the end, Felicity did it for us. She couldn't quite remember all the words, so she grouped up with her following and they kept feeding her the words as they came to mind. It was all really good fun.
I think the town of Bath originated because it's a natural place (with the Roman Baths) for people to congregate, and it still thrives as a place for people to congregate. No wonder Jane Austin could use Bath as a place for her characters. It's perfect. Bath is perfectly Jane Austin, and Jane Austin's characters are perfectly Bath.
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