Ok, I know you're waiting with bated (or baited) breath, so I'll just jump right into it.
We took an Arriva train from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Where there is a cute little train station. There aren't any signs as to where to get tickets, but you get them in the little station/junk store. We found this out the hard way by my having to drag the bags up to the hotel and mom getting into a snit with the lady that sold Welsh Slate art. It was a little amusing. Or it would have been. Whatever the case, we walked back down the hill and got tix at the station to board the STEAM TRAIN! Choo-Choo!
The train pulls up. People and doggies get out. Yes, doggies. Lots of them. Goldens, Labs, little rat things... all shades of doggies. It was wonderful!The engine was detached from the train turned around and stuck on the other end.
A few minutes later, we get on the train and so do a bunch of others. Some with doggies. It seems as if a 2 1/2 hour round trip on the steam train is a regular and much loved outing by the people of Snowdonia. After riding the train, I knew why.
Blaenau must be a popular ending point for the journey because when we got on the train, we had our whole car to ourselves. The porter came in and took our orders for drinks. I got a Highland Special, mom had Bacardi and DC.
The trip through the Welsh countryside was stunning. If you want to see it, all you have to do is look at any Harry Potter movie where the steam train goes through vast fields of green. That's Wales. This one also went through the mountains. On one side you would see rock, the other, vast valleys filled with sheep and cows and clear running streams. It really was breathtaking. I felt the cool breeze coming in from the open window and I could't hold back a smile.
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| Waterfall in Wales |
I'm not a literary aficionado. In most cases, I avoid the 'classics' like the plague. Through a strange twist of fate, I have found that I know more about Tolkien's crap than most. Not by any fault of my own mind you. But while riding the train, I felt like I got it. I felt that I understood what Tolkien was trying to evoke with Hobbiton. This was a human Hobbiton.
I could go on and on, but you get it.
We got off at a tiny little station in Minford.
We were picked up by the Portmeirion Shuttle and brought to our next destination. The wonderful resort of Portmeirion.
So here's the deal with this place in a nutshell. In the 1920's a mansion was built on the land. Goody. Then in the 50's, old dude Clough Williams-Ellis, who was also an architect fell in love with Portifino Italy. He had a ton of money and a ton of land so he decided to make a hotel. He spent his time traveling around Europe buying buildings that were to be demolished. If they looked Italian or had a mermaid on them, even better. So he built a whacky but elegant looking resort.
In the 60's, there was a British TV show called Danger Man. I've never seen it, but I hear it was a big, big hit. It was a cold war spy thing I gathered. Anyway, one episode was shot in Portmeirion. The star of that show was Patrck McGoohan, who later played Longshanks in Braveheart.
Anyway, when Danger Man was over, Patty Mac took the idea and did this:
A spy, one could or could not, assume it was Danger Man walks into the MI6 office and resigns. He gets home where he is gassed, knocked out and kidnapped. He wakes up in a strange village he's never seen. He doesn't know if he was taken by the good guys or the bad guys. He spends each episode avoiding the newest schemes to get the info out of his head and to get off of the 'island' (?). It was a brilliant show. It's name... The Prisoner.
If you haven't seen it, it's worth a gander.
Hell, Iron Maiden dug it so much they made this.
Pretty good endorsement if you ask me.
This is a world class resort. Like for real. We checked in and Henry brought our bags to our room while we enjoyed tea. Tea, tea, tea. I do likes me some tea.
The picture isn't of our tea. I forgot to get a pic of it because my phone had died from all the pix of the train and stuff and I couldn't find the other camera. This is a random pic, but it was similar.
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| TEA! |
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| Bathroom with heated towel rack |
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| Is that a bottle of complimentary sherry? Why yes it is. |
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| Comfy bed |
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| Fun amenities. Why they have to be L'Occitane I don't know... |
Oh so nice! Fresh air and a gentle rain...
Mom needed a nap, and I think I rested a little too at this point. We did have to get ready for dinner in a few hours. I think I walked outside and tried to get the lay of the land, but the sun was quickly setting so I didn't get too far.
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| Portmeirion Castle at twilight |
We got dressed and called the shuttle for a ride down to the Castle for dinner.
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| Castle Dining room |
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| Sweet potato soup |
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| Goat Cheese, and red onion tart on top of rocket and beet salad |
Ok, I don't know many words that describe delicious, but here goes: The Goat cheese and Red Onion tart was salty and sweet, complimented perfectly with the beets and rockets. All mashed together they made a lovely mouthful. I spread the cheese on some bread and it was divine. Goat cheese is a big thing over there. No complaints from me. Any chance I can gross Edie Baby out is points in my book!
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| Pork fillet with roasted veggies in the back, I believe roasted chicken as a special in the front. |
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| Baked Apple tart and sponge cake with margarita sorbet |
We caught the shuttle back up to our room. I took a long, long over due shower taking great pleasure in the warm water. I crawled into bed, put on Buzzcocks and fell asleep. I think mom was out before I got out of the shower.
A nice end to a nice day. Day 7.
p.s.
Sorry about the weird formatting. It looks different when you write than when it's published... ggggrrrr....
