Cymru aka Wales

The morning Roy left I got up at 6 am to see him off at the Queensway station.  It was depressing to watch his elevator slip underground and to know that our ten-day London adventure was over.  I wouldn’t see him again for almost two months.  But I didn’t have much time to pity myself…

Thirty minutes later I was on a bus headed for Wales!

Welsh is still so alive that all of the signs we saw were written first in Welsh and then in English.  Our bus driver told us that roughly about 25% of the population of Wales still speaks Welsh as a first language.  I witnessed it firsthand in the museum parking lot.  I passed a woman with her small toddler, and they were both speaking Welsh.  It’s really cute to hear a baby learning to speak, but hearing them learning to speak Welsh is somehow twice as adorable.

By the time we made it through the parking lot I had figured out what we were doing.  That is, visiting an outdoor Welsh history museum!

This little piece of country located Worcestershire has been left almost exactly as it was when it was still called “home” by centuries of Welsh families.  Now it has been left for the education- displaying how life once was for the people of Wales.  Here is one of its last residences:

Cute, right?

The town has a small church, a kiln, a shop, a recreation center, but it is still untouched by the modern hand.  It was cool that we got to just walk around through the homes and shops without any barriers or restrictions.  Some homes were decorated as they would have been in the 1900s and some in the 1800s.  But even the most primitive examples were there, representing what the area would have looked like 2,000 years ago.

These are reconstructions of Celtic huts.  The insides were decorated with paint along the walls like you would expect to find in a native cave in Arizona.  In fact, I kind of felt like I was in a tee-pee.  There were shields and baskets and other reconstructed materials that would have been seen inside the huts during that time.

We wandered around for a few hours and saw all kinds of sweet things.  I’m glad I didn’t live back then.  I like electricity and plumbing… but that lifestyle is still cool to look at for a while. 

Right before we left we found a castle.  Sadly, I don’t remember what it was called or why it was there…  but I got some pretty pictures of it!

Cardiff was our final destination for the day.  We stopped at our hostel to drop off our bags.  Of course, I was assigned a room with Ci-Cong, our only BYU student that is not from North America.  She is from Mainland China, and is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever talked to.  In fact, someday I want to write the story of her life, if she’ll let me. 

And our bedroom was funny.  When I stayed in Germany two years ago all of the accommodations were exactly like this.  Although I told Ci-Cong I would take the top she wouldn't let me.  I felt even worse when she discovered pinkish stains all over her mattress.  Ew.

We filtered out of the hotel in groups to go find stuff to do.  The outdoor shopping center there was enormous, and I quickly got into Christmas shopping mode.  We got student discount prices on the play based off of Roald Dahl’s “BFG”!  I love how the UK looks for ways to give students discounts.  I wish the US would do it a little more. 

The play was certainly cute- but the giants were kind of scary.  I was surprised I didn’t hear any kids screaming.  Can you imagine if I’d been the only one screaming?  I’m supposed to be an adult!  But apparently I’m entertained just like a child, considering that I’m always seeking out these kinds of things.

But honestly, their masks were so ugly and they roared so loud… it was convincing!  And the part where they ate the children consisted or ripping off doll’s limbs.  Violent!  But it was really way different from any other performances we have seen thus far and I enjoyed it a lot.

The next day we had our religion tour with Peter.  This is him.

The first meetinghouse in England still stands, and we also went to the Benbow farm where many of the early baptisms for the LDS church took place.  It was here that Wilford Woodruff converted almost the entire religious group (called the United Brethren) in that area.  It was cool to see, and Peter is fun to listen to, although I think that Tony gets jealous sometimes.

Oh- and at the end we climbed Herefordshire Beacon in the Malvern hills.  Wilford Woodruff would go here sometimes to meditate- to get away from the world.  Well… it sure is away from the world… and that guy must have been in good shape.  We were all huffing and puffing before we even reached the halfway point. 

But at the top… the view was what left me breathless.  

Cute little old couple enjoying one of the most beautiful views... I know I seem like a stalker taking pictures of people I don't know, but I thought that there could be a lot of hidden meaning in this picture.

Here are some of my sad attempts at being an artsy photographer while on the trip.

Yes Lynn... these ones are for you...