My UK trip, Day 2 at Andy's

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
Sorry for the delay folks, I've been absolutely slammed with work since I got back.

OK so Day 2, a Tuesday, we all woke up, and had some tea and toast. Today I was graciously taken sight seeing by my awesome hosts. Yvonne, Andy and I all piled in Andy's really bitchin Audi. This car can change it's height from the ground while driving. Fast too! Holy crap. A real piece of engineering. With Andy whipping around these (in my mind) one lane rural roads, complete with oncoming traffic, and me not being able to see around the corners because of the hedgerows, I decided to not look at the road lol. I figure Andy is still in one piece so I should probably just trust in him and relax. He knows what he's doing.

We drove around the English countryside, and I was admiring damn near everything I saw. It was absolutely gorgeous to me, in every way. We drove into Wales, we weren't that far from the border. I learned later from Madge that Welsh is an extremely difficult language to read and pronounce. Any word that has 2 "L"s as the first 2 letters is a Welsh word. I still can't describe how it's pronounced. It sounds kind of like a mouth sound as opposed to any syllable. I also learned that the Welsh National anthem could be the most beautiful of all the National Anthems, but it was during my stay with Madge and Glyn that I learned that tidbit. Madge even played it for me.

Our first stop was a Welsh town called Hay on Wye. Lovely lovely quaint town. We had a memorable (for me anyway) lunch in a place that seemed like it was hundreds of years old, just seething with history. Big, thick, imperfect history soaked floorboards. If those walls could talk! One thing I noticed is the English (and Welsh IIRC) love their cherry tomatoes. Just about every meal where we ate out...had cherry tomatoes. After lunch we walked around Hay on Wye, Hay is the town on the Wye River. I cannot express to you how great it was to NOT see any fast food paces or chains of stores.

I have to say, this little Welsh town really captured my imagination. All stone structures, funky stone, all irregularly shaped. With the really cool decorative wood framing around the doors and windows. Just like the town stepped out of a storybook. It reminded me of the town scenes in the movie "Scrooge".

Yvonne got some shoes, and we all walked in and out of shops. I was just drinking in the scenery, I really loved the look of this town. Actually village is a more accurate word. Quaint, lovely and nothing like I'd ever seen in my life. I had a trip mission...to procure a thimble. My wife collects decorative ceramic thimbles from all our travels. This was the obvious place to get that. So I got her a thimble from Hay on Wye. I decided then and there that I had to return to this village with my wife, so we could experience it together. Just lovely, full of history. It's something one has to experience for themselves, words fail. It's a feeling.

After we were done there, we headed back to England for more countryside driving. Andy took us to a place with great vistas, and never ending sheep lol. He raised up his car to better handle the more rugged terrain and drove us up the side of this mountain, on a mildly dangerous mountain road. The scenery was absolutely spectacular. Yvonne was freaking out a little, heights aren't her thing. It was a long drop down. But we survived :)

That day was all about Andy and Yvonne showing me around the lovely Welsh and English countryside. We drove back to Andy's after all the sightseeing was through. We chilled out there awhile. Then they decided to take me to THEIR special restaurant where they go on anniversaries and stuff. I mean there is no limit to the amount of special they shared. We had a 5 star meal there, with some really fine wine....a perfect top to a magical day for me. After that, it was well into the evening by now, we headed back to Andy's place. We all turned in early that night, we were how they say, knackered.

I cannot express fully just how special my stay with both Madge and Andy really was. I could not have asked for better friends, I was taken care of so well, and treated to the best experience of my life, bar none. Thank you Madge. Thank you Andy. Some of the best people on the planet, right there.

I finally caught a break in my work schedule today so I will be uploading pics later today on this thread.

Next up is an accounting of my stay with dear Madge and Glyn. This weekend latest. Perhaps before. Again, so sorry for the delay. 10 days away and things just back up.

:)
 
Gosh darnit this is all so awesome!! Enjoying your reviews. Sounds beautiful and fantastic, I can feel the love.
 
You really did hit the jackpot staying with Andy and Yvonne, Larry. Not only are they wonderful, funny, warm people but they live in what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. If you'd had better weather you would have seen it in all its glory, but unless it's so foggy you can't see your hand in front of your face, I don't think any weather can really spoil it.

Even though it's a month since you were there, it's obvious that you still remember and cherish every moment <3
 
Good stuff Larry. Can’t wait to see the pics. Haven’t been in the UK in ages. Actually, since my family’s escape from the Middle East. We had to stop in England for a while to get things sorted out, so not exactly good times. I do however remember some of the things you describe here, so it really brings back some memories. Can’t say I recall dangerous cliffs though! We must have been playing it safe. LOL!! Great read all around. Great friends always make things better too. Nothing replaces that.
 
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