Wales - 2nd Week - St. Davids, Folly Farm, and Eating Our Way Through Pembrokeshire

St. David's is a bit larger town and is a 'busy' place compared to our sleepy town of Trefin. To get there you have to drive down these almost one-lane roads with pull outs that allow for someone to pause while the other car [or bus] scoots by. We wondered when we rented the car why the side mirrors flipped inward, and we discovered why on these small roads. We were always happy when we made it safely to our destination.



St. David's has an amazing cathedral that is in a gorgeous setting of rolling green hills. Some of the cathedral buildings were built in the 14th century and the cathedral itself is still used for mass today.






Nearby the cathedral are the ruins of the Bishop's Palace, dating from around 1300.




St. David's the town makes you feel like you're in a bit more trendy place. Loads of cafes and restaurants, bustling cars, gourmet food stores with really good beer. Here are a couple pics of times in St. David's:





One of the days we were on the coast, my friend J and I took the kids to Folly Farm, a farm/amusement park. G got a 1/2 day to himself to hike and explore. At Folly Farm the kids got to go in their first go kart (yes, the two Js lapped F and I). There were animals to see and touch, a variety of playgrounds to run around in and climb, and of course F was drawn to the little tractors because they were all over and he could try out each one. It was like a tractor corral.


There were also merry-go-rounds galore so the kids chose one with horses (J's choice) and one with vehicles (F's choice).









And since J ate a good lunch she got to enjoy Wales's best treat: ice cream.


And to close these blogs from Wales, here are some pics from the various pubs we ate in. The fish and chips were always amazing, the beer even better, and the kids could enjoy their bangers and chips. The pubs were so family friendly, it was just great. Here's the eating tour of Pembrokeshire.

Our last dinner at our cottage with our friends (with reading afterwards of course):






And the pub crawl:









We enjoyed our trip so much and Wales is a truly special place. It's a bit off the beaten path and really beautiful. It's on our list to go back and visit northern Wales someday so let us know if you want to join us :-)

Wales - 2nd Week - Beaches & Boats

The beaches on the Pembrokeshire Coast are absolutely gorgeous. They range from rocky, to pebbly, to sandy. The kids loved trying to skip rocks or just hear the plunk when the pebbles hit the water. They also discovered hopping over waves. Previous to this trip both kids were terrified of waves. But for some reason they found they loved holding Poppa's hand to wade in the water and jump as the waves rolled in. So even on the cold & windy days, the kids made Poppa (I have cold enough feet without putting them in the ocean that he got the honor each time) roll up his pants and wade with them. Here are the pictures we captured of our beach adventures.

On one of the colder days, we visited this beach where we watched groups of people doing cliff climbing & learning to surf. No one seemed to mind the wind, and it was windy.




The kids didn't seem to mind the cold. All they wanted to do was wade and play in the sand making 'mud rocks'.


On another day we hit the beach when it was gorgeous and sunny. This beach was wide and had beautiful smooth sand. I even ventured in that day and we had a jolly time.






Here are a couple of pics at the pebbly beach in Trefin, where we stayed. Just a short hike down the road and there is a creek, plenty of small rocks, and the ocean to watch. Such a gorgeous place.




While we were in Trefin, we took a morning boat ride to see some of the islands near St. David's. The boat ended up being a speed boat, bright orange and we went fast! J was grinning ear to ear and F kept saying "speed boat, mommy!"

We got to see some pretty cool caves and even some seals laying in the sun.









After the boat ride, the kids wanted to watch the next boats dock, load people up and take off. Here they are plunked down in the middle of the walkway absorbed by the boat world:



I must say, beaches and boat rides are good for long naps!