The babes are awake! First the younger one (of course!), then the older sister. Here they are, tumbling around, as is their morning habit.
Breakfast has to be leftovers. She's happy with the strawberries...
He's happy with the Welsh Cake (they keep well overnight.)
Mainly, they're happy with each other.
But Snowdrop would like somethin other than yesterday's doughnut. I suggest we go down to the bakery. She looks over their sweet treats. No... nothing there grabs her. I stop by a cafe to pick up a cup of coffee and there the proprietor offers to make her some toast. Yeah!
The walk back takes us through the churchyard once more. It's a well tended one!
At home again, our morning is filled with morning routines: baths, play, nap, read. And a few hours later, the parents are back and we all head out to lunch.
Afterwards, it's time for one of our bigger excursions. We are, in fact, very close to the park of Snowdonia.
Snowdon itself is a mountain thar stands at just over 3500 ft above sea level (that's 1085 meters). It's the highest mountain in Wales and England. And it has to be one of the more visited sights in Wales.
I'd always wanted to come down to Wales and do the trail to the summit, but life unfolded differently and so in the end, I never made it here. Until today.
With the two little ones, we pass on the climb. And indeed, this is the perfect mountain for the very young and the very old, because there is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway that'll take you nearly to the summit. It's booked solid well in advance, which means that if you want to use it, you need to commit, no matter what the weather.
We committed. We purchased tickets many weeks ago. And the weather today? Absolutely outstanding. Snowdon has the highest precipitation in all of the UK, which is quite the wet country already. But today, it is bathed in hazy sunshine.
(So hot, that shade and ice cream are very welcome!)
Here comes our train! It's a 4.75 mile trip and it takes one full hour.
(so many foxgloves near the base!)
Happy, happy family!
The views: full of granite (excavated extensively in Wales) and meadowland and sheep.
The views toward the sea are grand as well. It's a stunning panorama, no matter where you look.
As we are getting off the wee train, we are warned that the winds are strong today and the remaining short climb to the summit is not for everyone. Nonetheless, the lure is great: a quick scramble and you're there. Snowdrop wants to try it, even as the wind scares her. It feels like it can lift you off your feet. But it doesn't. You're going to be alright.
(I cannot resist doing a timed released...)
And down we go again.
Such a beautiful journey! We linger in the gift shop at the base... Here's a book Ed might like... (No, I do not buy it!)
Snowdrop acquired a feather pen as a little souvenir. I don't know why the gift shop felt that this represented the mountain climbers experience, but hey, it captured her imagination! To say she loves it is an understatement.
Dinner at Midland Tapas. It's very good. Every meal we've had so far has been quite good!
And home again. Oh, how quickly all this feels like home...
Breakfast has to be leftovers. She's happy with the strawberries...
He's happy with the Welsh Cake (they keep well overnight.)
Mainly, they're happy with each other.
But Snowdrop would like somethin other than yesterday's doughnut. I suggest we go down to the bakery. She looks over their sweet treats. No... nothing there grabs her. I stop by a cafe to pick up a cup of coffee and there the proprietor offers to make her some toast. Yeah!
The walk back takes us through the churchyard once more. It's a well tended one!
At home again, our morning is filled with morning routines: baths, play, nap, read. And a few hours later, the parents are back and we all head out to lunch.
Afterwards, it's time for one of our bigger excursions. We are, in fact, very close to the park of Snowdonia.
Snowdon itself is a mountain thar stands at just over 3500 ft above sea level (that's 1085 meters). It's the highest mountain in Wales and England. And it has to be one of the more visited sights in Wales.
I'd always wanted to come down to Wales and do the trail to the summit, but life unfolded differently and so in the end, I never made it here. Until today.
With the two little ones, we pass on the climb. And indeed, this is the perfect mountain for the very young and the very old, because there is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway that'll take you nearly to the summit. It's booked solid well in advance, which means that if you want to use it, you need to commit, no matter what the weather.
We committed. We purchased tickets many weeks ago. And the weather today? Absolutely outstanding. Snowdon has the highest precipitation in all of the UK, which is quite the wet country already. But today, it is bathed in hazy sunshine.
(So hot, that shade and ice cream are very welcome!)
Here comes our train! It's a 4.75 mile trip and it takes one full hour.
(so many foxgloves near the base!)
Happy, happy family!
The views: full of granite (excavated extensively in Wales) and meadowland and sheep.
The views toward the sea are grand as well. It's a stunning panorama, no matter where you look.
As we are getting off the wee train, we are warned that the winds are strong today and the remaining short climb to the summit is not for everyone. Nonetheless, the lure is great: a quick scramble and you're there. Snowdrop wants to try it, even as the wind scares her. It feels like it can lift you off your feet. But it doesn't. You're going to be alright.
(I cannot resist doing a timed released...)
And down we go again.
Such a beautiful journey! We linger in the gift shop at the base... Here's a book Ed might like... (No, I do not buy it!)
Snowdrop acquired a feather pen as a little souvenir. I don't know why the gift shop felt that this represented the mountain climbers experience, but hey, it captured her imagination! To say she loves it is an understatement.
Dinner at Midland Tapas. It's very good. Every meal we've had so far has been quite good!
And home again. Oh, how quickly all this feels like home...
