Day 14
Two whole weeks and hardly any rain yet – hooray!
We began the day in Wales with another huge breakfast. Drove through the beautiful countryside till we reached Portmerion.
Portmerion is an Italianite village built under the direction of one man, beginning in the 1920’s. It is interesting for its architectural eccentricity and for the fact that much of the building materials were salvaged from other sites. It was the set of The Prisoner, a 17-episode TV series about a captive ex-agent of the British secret service.
We heard about Portmerion several years back when my then- boss Liz Quinn of Q-M Consulting lent me a tape of The Prisonerepisodes. Though I had not heard from Liz since I left Q-M 2 ½ years ago, I sent her an anonymous postcard which read “I am not a number. I am a man. Signed #6”, which is a famous line from the show. She’ll be perplexed, to say the least.
Then we drove through the rest of North Wales, which became less mountainous and less interesting when we got to the north coast. We were going to stop at Conwy for the castle, but were running a little behind so kept going.
We reached the Lake District around 4 and drove up the coast of Lake Windermere. Very nice, but fewer and fewer places to stop the car. Ugh!
Arrived here at Nab Cottage, outside Ambleside, shortly thereafter. Built in 1702 and a favorite of William Wordsworth! I am now sitting in the parlor, alone in front of a small fire.
We took a walk along the lake across the street after we arrived, and sat on a rock and took some photos, then went down to Ambleside.
Had a pint in a pub, then a big dinner (too big) at the Ambles Bistro. Then hit another pub where a rugby team was singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot, then Alouette, modified: “How do you like her? Broken nose, big buck teeth, curly hair, double chin”, etc. They were asked to stop when they got to “great big hooters”, unfortunately. They were loud, but harmless and fun. Then another rugby team started singing – “Under the Boardwalk”, and Simon and Garfunkel stuff! We went to another pub, then headed home.
Last night’s dinner was good but not great. My lamb cutlets were tiny.
I’m going to shower now since there’s one shared bath and a full house tonight. Almost everyone else seems to be still out in town.
Day 15 >>>
We began the day in Wales with another huge breakfast. Drove through the beautiful countryside till we reached Portmerion.
Portmerion is an Italianite village built under the direction of one man, beginning in the 1920’s. It is interesting for its architectural eccentricity and for the fact that much of the building materials were salvaged from other sites. It was the set of The Prisoner, a 17-episode TV series about a captive ex-agent of the British secret service.
We heard about Portmerion several years back when my then- boss Liz Quinn of Q-M Consulting lent me a tape of The Prisonerepisodes. Though I had not heard from Liz since I left Q-M 2 ½ years ago, I sent her an anonymous postcard which read “I am not a number. I am a man. Signed #6”, which is a famous line from the show. She’ll be perplexed, to say the least.
Then we drove through the rest of North Wales, which became less mountainous and less interesting when we got to the north coast. We were going to stop at Conwy for the castle, but were running a little behind so kept going.
We reached the Lake District around 4 and drove up the coast of Lake Windermere. Very nice, but fewer and fewer places to stop the car. Ugh!
Arrived here at Nab Cottage, outside Ambleside, shortly thereafter. Built in 1702 and a favorite of William Wordsworth! I am now sitting in the parlor, alone in front of a small fire.
We took a walk along the lake across the street after we arrived, and sat on a rock and took some photos, then went down to Ambleside.
Had a pint in a pub, then a big dinner (too big) at the Ambles Bistro. Then hit another pub where a rugby team was singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot, then Alouette, modified: “How do you like her? Broken nose, big buck teeth, curly hair, double chin”, etc. They were asked to stop when they got to “great big hooters”, unfortunately. They were loud, but harmless and fun. Then another rugby team started singing – “Under the Boardwalk”, and Simon and Garfunkel stuff! We went to another pub, then headed home.
Last night’s dinner was good but not great. My lamb cutlets were tiny.
I’m going to shower now since there’s one shared bath and a full house tonight. Almost everyone else seems to be still out in town.
Day 15 >>>