Wales Part 2

A heads up, this is the last post of our trip and this one is VERY long.

Now, on to my father's side of the family for a bit. His parents, whom my siblings, cousins and I would call Nannie and Papa, owned several inns over the years.

Nannie & Papa in the 60's

One in particular I would hear stories of, The Fairy Glen, like the time Papa complained about Nannie's mashed potatoes and she threw a spoonful of them at him, missed and they stuck to the wall which they later painted over! Oh my. So Sunday morning, Paul and I drove to Penaenmawr to The Fairy Glen. I had an email from my Uncle Ian (my dad's younger brother), explaining some tid-bits of the Inn from his childhood. As we meandered through the hillside with houses on either side of the narrow streets, I saw The Fairy Glen in the distance. Paul pulled over so I could take a pic and collect myself as this was another "moment" LOL!

Straight ahead in the distance is the Fairy Glen.

Excuse the raindrops and dirty windshield.

It's about 9:30 am and the door was open. We walked inside and sitting by the fireplace was a gentleman having a cig and coffee. I approached him and said hello, introduced myself and said we're from America. His answer, "I can tell that". So, I explained that my grandparents owned The Fairy Glen in 1949 and could I have a few minutes of his time to chat? "Well, I'm just having my morning coffee then I have to get to work so you can have a few minutes" he said. Not the friendliest person by far! He said he was the current owner and has been for the last 20 years. I showed him some pictures of The Fairy Glen back when Nannie & Papa owned it and even told him a story of the mantel. I asked him a few questions and took some pictures...

Fairy Glen then. I believe that's my father standing to the left of the door. Can't be sure though.

Fairy Glen now. 

L-R, my Uncle Ray, his girlfriend, my mum and dad.

Same spot as above. My only regret, not having the owner take our picture here. The phone booth is still there, although an updated version.

The bar then.

The bar now.

Now there's a story about the fireplace. My grandfather strongly felt that the beams above the fireplaces should be exposed and he did that in every Inn he owned.

Papa, Nannie and his mum, Ellen. On the wall to the right is a picture of my dad in the British Navy using a sextant.

Not only did he expose the beam but I think he did some brickwork also. The owner told us that there used to be an inlaid picture that the previous owner had managed to chisel out and sell for a couple of quid. And here it is, how cool is that??

Notice to the left above the beam the little pictures of the Fairy Glen. I mentioned those to the owner and he said he has to keep an eye on them, as people steal them. Wow! I would have loved to get my hands on one...maybe he could sense that LOL.

Some pics of Nannie & Papa outside the Fairy Glen in 1949...

Roy and Jean Phillips

My Uncle Ian would serve ice cream to the guests. 

In the email my uncle Ian sent me he spoke of the brook behind the inn and how he used to fish in it with his hands. Paul and I took a stroll round back.

Heading back up from the stream.

Some scenery on the way there...

And on the way back...

We drove along the coast on the way back. 

Those are some MASSIVE wind turbines in the distance.

I have to laugh at the Welsh and their "language". Good thing every sign has written below in English what they're saying. Good grief!

Interesting fact, the mileage in Great Britain is yards and miles vs meters and kilometers. Hmmm.

I don't think these peeps want visitors hehe. 

When we got back from The Fairy Glen, Philip, Leslie and family took us to the Chirk Castle.

Castle keeper? Leslie, me, Philip, Marcus, (I think Harper is the little one's name) Holly and Paul.

Books and doors, I'm a bit obsessed with. Could be a lot worse don't you think?

Narrow stone stairway to the dungeon. Since it was 27 feet down to the bottom, we passed!

In the courtyard...

I'm smiling because I made it in but I wasn't sure I'd make it out! 

We toured the beautiful grounds and Holly's 3 other children joined us.

They were delightful! I think this photo bomb was Holly's little girl Skye. 

Paul, Philip and Marcus.

Skye, Harper, Holly, Bayley, Harley, Philip, Leslie and Marcus (I think I got the kids right).

Original gates to Chirk Castle. No longer in use. 

Notice the red hand?

There are many legends regarding the red hand. One is, the lord to the castle was to give one of his sons the castle depending on which son crossed a lake first. The son that was losing, had his hand cut off and thrown onto the shore so he could win. Another was a race inside the castle. Probably a few others floating around too. 

The hotel that Howard recommended and knows the owner of, is The Hand and that's where we stayed. Very old. Loved the desk and fireplace. 

Check in desk on left.

 

Pretty quaint I'd say. 

After a wonderful day at the Fairy Glen, then Chirk Castle, Uncle Howard and Michael took us to dinner at the golf club. We all had a plate of delicious roast beef and yorkshire pudding. 

It was "melt in your mouth" goodness! I have never thought to make my yorkshire pudding in a muffin tin. That's the way I'm making them from now on!

Some more randomness...

Sheep, sheep and more sheep.

Michaels beautiful backyard.

Leslie's beautiful backyard.

We noticed we have quite a few of the same flowers and trees, like the Buckeye tree in an earlier post. 

Well, that's our wonderful trip. One I'll never forget and will cherish the memories forever. I can't wait to get started in my new scrapbook I picked up. You can see it here: England Scrapbook.

As always...

Wales Part 1

Ah, we saved the best for last. Paul and I didn't want to be rushed or have any commitments while visiting Wales and family. Yep, you heard me right. Family.
Let me back up a bit. My parents and my brother Chris were all born in the U.K. (if I didn't mention that already). My mum and Chris were born in N. Wales and my mum often spoke of her childhood growing up on the coast of the Irish Sea, in the little beach resort Rhyl. As you can see, it's not far from Liverpool. Another reason I understand why my parents were SOOO excited when the Beatles came to the U.S.

Notice the double LL in Rhyll? This is the only map I've seen with that. My mum spelled it w/one L.

She had very fond memories of the times during the summer spent with her Auntie Gwen and cousin Howard. My grandmother would rent out my mum's room in the summer to tourists and that's when my mum would go stay with her aunt. I got in touch with Howard recently and explained that Paul & I were making a trip to the U.K. and would LOVE to meet him. Well, needless to say..we DID and what an absolute TREAT! I can't tell you how nice, kind, generous and inviting Howard and his whole family were. That's all an understatement! We had such an amazing time. So much so, that we'd love to go back soon and possibly bring my sister Wendy.

There were a lot of laughter and tears. Did I mention this trip was emotional for me? All the years growing up I would hear stories from my parents and grandparents, and to see it and experience it all close up? I was a mess LOL. I was a good mess though (not to be mistaken for a hot mess).  Even the Beatles experience I was a mess because there was and never will be a band that I loved as much.

So, when we left Liverpool we rented a car for the rest of our adventure. We asked for a Ford Focus sized car and they brought out a MERCEDES!!! I was in shock and love! First time and probably the only time I'll ever get to drive one.

I kept trying to remind myself and Paul that we weren't sitting on the "wrong" side of the car or driving on the "wrong" side of the road, just different! LOL.

Sweet car.

Now all the cars in England and Wales are compact. We only saw maybe two full size SUV's the whole time we were there. Could be because the roads are so narrow and many have stone walls or bushes on either side. Here's a couple of examples...

Riding in Michael's car.

We drove to Chirk where Uncle Howard lives.

What a truly delightful man. I wish we could have visited longer.

He told me I look just like my mum :)

Howard's son Michael.

Michael and Howard drove us up to Rhyl and I got to see the house my mum talked about on so many occasions. She lived in a little cottage on Garnet Avenue.

Her street.

She lived in a duplex.

Now, my mum would tell us stories of her going down to the beach as a little girl and she would collect seashells. She would then make them into necklaces and bracelets to sell to the tourists. Uncle Howard and Michael were kind enough to take us to the beach my mum talked about so often.

As we walked along the shore, like my mum did 80 or so years ago, we too collected shells and stones to take home and cherish.

The little boardwalk. Candy floss? Crisps?

An amusement park along the shore.

Some scenery...

There are literally sheep EVERYWHERE. Someone told me there are more sheep in Wales than people. I believe them.

The first day we arrived in Wales, Uncle Howard asked us what we thought of motorbike racing (we call it motorcycle racing in the U.S.). Well we really have no opinion one way or another. Come to find out, that weekend was only 1 out of 2 when they have this HUGE motorbike race! And, would we like to go? Well sure. So Uncle Howard was thrilled. I did not know that this side of my family loved an adrenaline rush LOL! Before motorbike racing they flew planes! I got a chance to meet Uncle Howards' other son Philip. He has 3, Michael, Philip, and Paul. We also met Philip's wife Leslie, their son Marcus and daughter Holly. Also, Michaels' son Damien and daughter Tanya.
So back to the races. WOW!! What fun we had!!

Philip, Marcus, Leslie and I.

What a sweetheart!! I do wish we lived closer!

Now the bikes are going a lot faster than they look in these videos, because we're sitting in front of a bend. The bikers had to slow down because of that but Paul walked up to the top of the hill on the left with Michael and Philip, and said by the time they get up over that hill, they're going 180 mph! This was a preliminary race we watched. The real race was the next day.
All the men have raced and here's a pic of Michael in a race...

Michael in a race 2013

Well, I have to go help our friends decorate for our annual Halloween party and we're late! I will post part 2 this week.

As always....