In celebration of Tim's birthday, we set off on an adventure to the Isle of Anglesey and the Snowdonia National Park in Wales for a few days last week. Mount Snowdon is in the picture, just hidden behind rain and clouds!
We had a wonderful time and made some lovely discoveries.
Our first stop was a beautiful bay, where Tim used to go on holiday as a child. The weather was wet and wild, so we headed for a seaside cafe and a hot drink. Outside there was no hint of the treasure we found within, although being asked if we had booked a table gave us a hint. The huge space was filled with a lifetime's collection from a love of travelling. The central room had a vaulted ceiling space with old rowing boats, oars, ropes, anchors and antique chandlery resting on the rafters and against the roof supports. The walls were covered in maritime clocks, pictures and compasses, and a vast collection of labelled glass bottles filled with sand, pebbles, and shells from around the world. Off the central space, was a high-tech kitchen with sliding doors that silently opened and closed as staff went in and out, and other rooms where visitors enjoyed the wonders that kept flowing from the kitchen. There was an abundance of driftwood and natural wood everywhere and we were invited to walk round and explore. We found a collection of tiny glass rolling pins. The music was thoughtfully chosen and subtle, and we found ourselves saying, 'Ohhh, I'd forgotten this one'.
We stayed to share a delicious cheesecake and as we ate, we looked up to see a chap standing still in the middle of the room, head bent, listening with his eyes closed. As his eyes opened, we knew. This restaurant was his dream in his home town filled with his collection of love.
Our hotel was quirky, and it took us a hour or two to adjust. I had an expectation that after a day's travelling in wet and wild weather, we would bathe and drift downstairs for a lovely hot dinner. As we checked in with a receptionist, who was obviously having a bad day, she took us across a blustery market square to an old Georgian house, where our room was. The bedroom was not the one pictured when we'd made the booking and that added to the mix of my unease, plus the coffee machine in our room wasn't working. My emotional plane started to warm up on the runway readying for take-off, which doesn't happen often, so I am aware of the signs. We paused, made cups of tea using the kettle and cuddled up to take a moment. Too tired to move on somewhere else, we decided to make the best of it. We bathed, got ready and chose to laugh our way across to the main hotel, commenting to each other that the wind and rain had eased a bit!
Dinner was in an alcove, in a curved brick stable, as the hotel is an old coaching inn. The food was delicious, hot and plentiful, the bed comfy, with soft pillows and our breakfast next morning was yummy, eaten in the same alcove.
Refreshed, we headed on to an old market town to explore. Neither of us like shopping, but here we discovered lots of independant shops and we had a lovely time pottering around. We found a unique lampshade made by hand in copper for the light above our kitchen table in a homewares shop, along with a handmade sage stick. We found some canvas to make liners for the coal bunkers on Tim's steam engine, and white cotton to make knitted heart facecloths in a haberdashery shop. A miniature steam engine in the window of an antiques emporium, led us to have a conversation with the owner, who has some interesting contacts. Before we left, we had a coffee sitting in the window of a small cafe, watching people go about their day. All morning we had met some lovely people and had warm chats, and we were reluctant to leave.
It was an adventure, and we returned home grateful. 🌻