Harlech castle field trip

So, I'm trying really hard to not be stressed out, that is something I should only have to be at home. Study is abroad is supposed to be fun and care free, right? Well, I got most of my paper done over the weekend, but it still needs work. It is due Thursday, so I still have a couple of days to get it where I want it. I also have a journal for last Thursday's OP class, a lab report from Friday's field trip to Llanberis and now a journal from yesterday's field trip to Harlech, Portmeirion and Baddgelert. So, lots of stuff to keep me busy! So I will try to keep this one short just because there are lots of other things I should be doing too. I do these blogs for myself too so I don't want to fall too far behind. AND this weekend we are going to Cardiff for the weekend for Tecwyn's class, so the goal is to have everything done before that point!

So yesterday started with an hour and a half bus ride to Harlech. This was the craziest bus ride by far. All of the roads we were on you would swear were made to be one way streets but, oh no, they were not. We met tons of cars on the way and our bus driver was amazing. The day was beautiful so there were tons of people out and about. Every time we met a car we had to come to a complete stop and at times the car we met had to back up and let us through. One time we had to back up and pull into another drive way to let the cars get through. There were always rock walls on at least one side of the road if not both, so it made getting off to the side a little difficult. Oh well, eventually we made it! And oh was it worth it!

Harlech was the most beautiful castle we have been to so far. It sat high up on a hill like usual but you could see almost the whole west coast of Wales from the top. The Snowdonia mountains were off in the background in the other direction. It was just amazing! All my pictures are on facebook if you want to check them out. We explored the castle a bit and walked on the walls. I think it would be just amazing to live back in the times when these castles were actually lived in.

After the castle we headed to a small little village about 30 minutes away. This village was built as a tourist attraction and it was by far the strangest place we have gone so far. It was called Portmeirion, and it is a small Italian village nestled into the hillsides of Wales. It was kind of a strange place to put an Italian village but whatever. We were told that tons of celebs have stayed there. I actually don't think anyone really lived there but just visited. It has a bunch of little shops and cafes. We got coffee and ice cream and enjoyed the sceenery. It was very beautiful, especially looking out over the water.

Our last stop of the day was in Beddgelert, which is a typical stone village of Snowdonia. The story goes that there was dog that was looking after the son of a hunter. The father was out hunting and when he came home he found blood everywhere and only the dog. He did not see the son, so assuming the dog murdered the son, the father killed the dog. The son was later found alive and well, and there was also a dead wolf found. So the dog had actually killed off the wolf and saved the baby, the father had made a mistake and felt terrible about what he had done. So in honor of the loyal dog he buried it and named the town after it. We went to see the grave and the town. It was quite beautiful. The day over all was beautiful and I had a lot of fun. Picture don't do it justice but they are better than nothing. Enjoy!

Until next time...

~ Amy