Wales, United Kingdom

Welsh Flag and Map of Wales

Wales! What a beautiful country! Wales is one of those places that feels like you are living inside a postcard. The green of the grass is so vibrant the rolling hillsides feel like they are alive. The towns are so quaint and folks so friendly it makes you feel at home and in no hurry to leave the country.

We headed to Wales because we have some good friends who live in Machynlleth–Sian and Peter. Valerie and Sian (British) met when Valerie lived in Slovakia and taught English. For those of you who know, and those who don’t, Sian is one of the four Pretty Ladies. The other two, whom you will hear and see about later (Spain coming soon!) are Ulrika (Slovak) and Misty (Australian). The Pretty Ladies were established in 2002 when all four were teaching English at Berlitz in Kosice, Slovakia. There was an instant bond between the four women and a life-long, long distance friendship was formed.

Anyways, back to Wales…

Our time in Wales was wonderful. Not only did we get to spend some good quality time with Sian and Peter, but they were fabulous hosts and shared their slice of heaven with us.

The driveway down to the cottage.

Sian and Peter's Backyard

We explored a few different towns in Wales, during this visit. 

Machynlleth: This is the closest village to Sian and Peter’s cottage. It is very cute with a central clock tower, main street (High Street) with all sorts of shops and restaurants, and a lovely community feel.

Clock tower in Machynlleth

Church in Machynlleth

Cute pub in Machynlleth

Original Wales Parliament building

Dolgellau: Sian and Peter took us to Dolgellau for breakfast and a look around town. It is bigger than Machynlleth, but still has all the charm. Breakfast was delightful in an old hardware store turned restaurant. We wandered around town and found a fabulous wine shop, yarn store (Sian loves to knit.), and a new high-end, specialty food market with a cafe/bar. This is also the town that is closest to Sian’s family cottage, so we headed up there for a quick look around and a tour of the current renovations.

Sian’s family cottage

Aberdyfi: This adorable, seaside community is one to fall in love with! It also happens to be where Sian works in a fabulous high-end, specialty food market. Sian was at work, so Peter was our tour guide for the day. The weather was perfect and Peter knew all the right spots to take us to enjoy a beer in the sunshine and with a fabulous view.

Drive down the main street of Aberdyfi.

Aberystwyth: On the south side of the estuary is Aberystwyth, the largest of the towns we visited. It is a university town, so it is more lively than other towns we encountered. We had lunch on the boardwalk overlooking the sea. Sian showed us their favorite shop that specializes in food and wine from Spain. Yes, we had to have a glass of wine to be sure it was as good as she said. And it was.

Country side of Machynlleth.

Highlight: Project Kitchen Organization

You may know that I (Valerie) love to organize a kitchen. It is something that brings me so much joy and satisfaction. Every time Jeremy and I move into a new home, I get excited to unpack and organize the kitchen. Our last kitchen in North Palm Beach, Florida was a work of magic. No, really. It was. On this trip to Wales, Sian allowed me to organize her kitchen and what a highlight it was! I should have taken before and after photos, but I didn’t. Sorry. However, trust me when I say the day it took me to organize it was a very happy and productive day.

Things We Learned

• Welsh is a very difficult language to learn. We didn’t really try to learn much except the names of the towns we visited. And we are still working on those. Sian is taking Welsh lessons, so her pronunciation is very good and she can even hold a conversation in Welsh. It is quite impressive.

• The Northern part of Wales is more mountainous than central Wales, and it is stunning! We took a drive just north of Sian and Peter’s place into the more mountainous region to have breakfast, have a look around and to see Sian’s family cottage, which is under renovations. It is interesting that just a few kilometers away the terrain changes drastically, but is still so green, lush and beautiful.

That is a snapshot of our time in Wales, United Kingdom. Cheers to a wonderful experience in the region.

Now…Where To Next?