Day 13, Liverpool Port and Conwy Castle, Wales

I sound like a broken record with our mornings, but yep...same routine as yesterday and on a bus by 10:30 to go on our excursion. Today we were in Liverpool, England but took a trip to Wales. The bus ride was absolutely gorgeous through the countryside and it was a very pleasant surprise. I had no idea what to expect and it was way more beautiful than expected! Our first stop was at Conwy Castle, but we saw a couple of outstanding castles on the drive. One was legit and looked like it was still being lived in...it looked that good. However, most are in ruin or not able to be kept up. So was the case with Conwy Castle today. However, it was fun to walk around and here is the scoop from Wiki: Conwy Castle is a medieval fortification in Conwy on the north coast of Wales. It was built by Edward I, during his conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1289. Constructed as part of a wider project to create the walled town of Conwy, the combined defences cost around £15,000, a huge sum for the period. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars. Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I, holding out until 1646 when it surrendered to the Parliamentary armies. In the aftermath the castle was partially slighted by Parliament to prevent it being used in any further revolt, and was finally completely ruined in 1665 when its remaining iron and lead was stripped and sold off. Conwy Castle became an attractive destination for painters in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. UNESCO considers Conwy to be one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe", and it is classed as a World Heritage Site. So there you have it! :)

After the castle tour (Guy and I snuck away from our group to see it on our own at our own pace) we walked around the town of Conwy for about an hour. Guy passed a busy little stand selling fish and chips. He couldn't say no, so he had lunch before lunch. He did save me a bite. It was pretty good. While he ate I shopped and found a post office to get some postcards mailed. There were a few cute shops but again nothing that was a must have except a few tea towels. I feel like I've lost my professional shopping edge! Usually our little sofa has a pretty good stash of gifts stacked up by now and all I have filled are two tiny little shopping bags. :)

As we all gathered back up to the bus, we headed out for lunch. We ate at the Waterloo hotel and it was nice. Nothing too fancy, but there were several tables for two and we ate in the sun room area. Our bus was the first one there, so we got served first and finished up first. They gave us small salads with cold salmon, then chicken with potatoes and carrots. It was just ok, but that is pretty much to be expected I think. So then dessert was just some cut up strawberries with whipped cream. Nothing fancy but it was good. Since we were done early, Guy and I walked to the town instead of taking the bus. Again, it is a lovely day. I had on a sweater and never had to crack out the coat (except on the freezing bus) and the sun was in and out. When it was out it was warm, but when it was in...it was chilly. But the walk was brisk and nice after a filling lunch. The shops were selling locally made trinkets and other jip joint type gifts. I shopped the little area then just walked around the rest of the town taking pictures. It's a lovely town although a bit touristy. And while we waited for our bus at the meeting point, Guy bought me an ice cream that was pretty darn good. Going against my germy wishes, I did use the spoon the lady put in my ice cream even tho she touched it at both ends. Sheesh...they were manhandling the cones with bare hands and no one is thinking anything about it! Taking money then making the cones. No washing and no gloves. Wales must not have strict health codes. So I obviously got mine in a cup (or a "tub" as they called it). Salted caramel and chocolate. I ate it anyway, even with the gross plastic spoon because it was exceptionally tasty.

I think our itinerary mentioned another stop, but after we left Betws-y-Coed we headed back to the port. The ride was 1 1/2 hours, so it was a haul, but we went back a different way than how we came in, so all the scenery was new and just beautiful. The roads were curvy, so my mom would have been a car sick hot mess if she had been with us, but this area was actually very hilly. They called them mountains. I'll give them that...even if on the smaller side. They were very green and had homes dotting them with patches of trees and patches of grass. Most grass patches had sheep on them and we saw a few black sheep mixed in every now and again. That was fun. I took a lot of pictures through the bus window, so not sure how they'll turn out, but I have to say today was an absolute awesome surprise. I give Wales a thumbs up.

The only sad note today was I was in two countries and no Starbucks mugs. AND had I been in my own car I'd have scored both. In Wales the bus passed one that was so close I could have reached out and touched it and at the Liverpool port there were at least 3 in walking distance. However the Internet said they closed at 5:30 and we didn't get back to the ship until 6:30 and all aboard was at 7pm. So no time to even go explore. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get one from Scotland and I'll have another shot at England when we get to Dover....  But Wales will require another visit. That might not be too painful (wink wink).

Back at the ship I hopped into the shower and was ready for dinner by 8pm. I called and chatted with mom while the wifi seemed to be pretty decent then met Guy at the table. Ileana was busy tonight and we were tired, so we had fun with her, but we were tired and didn't hang around late. Food was Caesar and shrimp cocktail for Guy and for me I had a goat cheese phyllo triangle with a quinoa salad. Our entrees were good, but mine was the winner which was a wide noodle in a mushroom sauce with goat cheese. It was kinda like mushroom stroganoff only better than any I've ever fixed. Guy had beef and veggies. It looked good (stewing), but he also liked mine better. For dessert I had pear crisp and Guy had a cheese plate. He struggled to find one he liked, but I was dying laughing at his facial expressions when he was trying them. Sometimes they smell so bad there is just no way they can taste good...and they didn't.

Ok, wrapping it up as tomorrow is another busy day. Scotland here we come! Maybe I can score some wifi. Only got about a dozen more pics uploaded. I'm still trying to finish up Cork! Doh!