Day Two - Snowdonia

I was greeted with a drizzly morning and decided to keep exploration to a minimum. I visited Millenium Stadium, home of the Wales National Rugby Union team, among other things, then on to Cardiff Castle, which was somewhat unremarkable, truth be told, and too wet to photograph. With the rain increasing, I figured it a good time to head north and continue my journey.

Millenium Stadium (Click to Enlarge)	Snowdonia, Wales (Click to Enlarge)	Snowdonia, Wales (Click to Enlarge)

The Drive from Cardiff to Caernarfon is a bit tricky, very slow at times, and incredibly beautiful. There were lots of tight roads, often single-lane, and an abundance of scenic, mountainous views along the way. I stopped off at Snowdonia National Park and took in the amazing sights. Named after Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, it lies in Eryri and simply means 'highlands' in Welsh.

Snowdonia, Wales (Click to Enlarge)	Snowdonia, Wales (Click to Enlarge)	Snowdonia, Wales (Click to Enlarge)

The hotel pub was absolutely packed with a ruckus crowd, the majority of them speaking Welsh, an unique language to say the least. I learned from a local that the pub had started a 2-pound-a-pint promotion a few weeks earlier and it had become quite the destination place in the region. He was a Manchester United fan, so we talked about recent games and the upcoming Boxing Day match. The Welsh seem exceedingly festive, with early starts at the pub, load talk and laughter, then occasional songs breaking out. Considering it’s rather dark in the winter at 4:00pm, I suppose it makes sense that the festivities began early and go late.

 

Day Three