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We set off in Nikki and Dene's little red car for our first road trip in the UK. The car turned out to be not so little because it easily accommodated the four of us and our luggage. It had to struggle a bit on the hills but rocketed along on the narrow, windy roads.
On our first day we explored Conwy Castle where we had a picnic lunch in the sunshine between showers. Next stop was Caernarfon Castle and dinner at Stones Bistro at Hole-in-the-Wall Lane in Caernarfon. Graham sampled a local beer and a local steak.
It was great fun exploring the castles which were built in the late 1270s and early 1280s to defend the English conquests from the fierce Welsh inhabitants of the region.
We stayed at the grand old Royal Victoria Hotel in the town of Llanberris on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. It was easy to let our imagination take over and slip back to the leisurly lifestyle of the wealthy in the 1930s.
Showers in the UK are intersting and this one was one of our early encounters. A sign informed us that if we were the first to use the hot water after a long break it could take up to 10 minutes for the hot water to come through. It was obvious that we were not the first to use the hotwater in the morning but the switching of the water between the bath and the shower provided a challenge. Turned out 'off 'was between the two but before I discovered this I managed to douse myself in cold water when I thought I had finished my shower.
After stops to check out the Slate works (still closed because nothing much opens before 10am in the UK) and the lookout over Snowdonia Park we arrived at Harlech. Another castle awaited us but first things first. Harlech is the home of the best ice cream in the UK. It is made from locally sourced ingredients and is flavoured using local plants. I had a double with Elderflower and Seabuckthorn. Excellent! They also have more traditional flavours so Graham was accommodated.
After exploring Harlech Castle we set off in search of fish and chips at a seaside town on the long way back to Manchester. We found our fish and chips but the beach was a bit daunting so sat on the wall between the beach and road to devour our prize. (It was a really long way across the sand to the water and besides we had shoes and socks on and my weather meter was still pointing at winter.)
We arrived back in Manchester in time for a quick bite to eat before heading off across the canal to Old Trafford. We joined nearly 75,000 fans to watch a game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. It was great listening to the songs and chants and observe the gentlemanly behaviour of the crowd. I even saw a goal, kicked by Rooney make it into the net. ManU won 3 nil. This game at 8pm on a Monday night - mindboggling that 75,000 people would go to a Monday night game - we are excused because we were on holidays.
It was a leisurly walk back to Nikki and Dene's for a good night's sleep before our next road trip. This time it is off to Scotland.
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