Into Snodonia

We left the Drovers Arms in Carmarthen around 10:00 this morning. We didn't have a very long drive, so didn't want to get going too early. The hotel served nice poached eggs on toast. It seemed there were almost no other people staying; we saw one other breakfast table that had been used.

Since we had plenty of time, we decided to stop a bit along the way. First we came to Aberaeron, a small town right on a bay. We drove down to the shoreline and looked around. An interesting feature of the town was that the houses were painted many different colors. We even saw one man changing his house from a dull gray to green. We weren't sure why, but it looked good.

Much of the early part of the drive took us along the shoreline. This was snapped while driving. These are only a very tiny few of the hundreds (or thousands?) sheep we saw today.

Our next stop was Aberystwyth, a much larger town, also on a bay. This time we didn't get to the water. We parked at the train station and walked into town a bit. We found a small coffee shop and had tea/coffee and a granola-type bar that was delicious.

The next part of the drive took us into the mountainous area of Snowdonia National Park. I hope I will have some scenic photos to post tomorrow. We are staying at the Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel. Ever since I heard about this place I've wanted to come here. This is the hotel where Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway stayed while they trained for climbing Everest in the early 1950s. It is well known as a jumping-off place for hiking and climbing. (Not that I do much of either...) It is very charming. We are having dinner here tonight (yes, I'll take photos) at 7:30 when the gong goes off. It rings for breakfast, too, at 8:30. A charming place.