Northern Wales (Betws-y-Coed)

On Wednesday, we enjoyed one final look out the window at the animals and another delicious breakfast at the B&B. We then packed up the car and headed out, driving about 20 minutes to the town of Betws-y-Coed (pronounced "bettus-ee-coyd" I believe) in Snowdonia National Park. We parked in the free lot, which we were excited about, then found toilets, which cost 30p to use, which we were less excited about. At least we had change!

We went to the Tourist Information Centre, which gave us some information about a riverside walk in town (stroller accessible) and another one further up in the mountains (also accessible). As we were leaving the Centre, the "Bubble Shop" nearby had a marketing ploy out which was utterly thrilling to a certain 1 year old :) She chased the bubbles and laughed and laughed. Her shoes got quite soapy but it was totally worth it. I love seeing her face light up!!

We walked a couple of blocks through town and found the riverside path. We took our time walking down it, enjoying the stream as it flowed through various small rapids/waterfalls. Paul took Charlotte out to the stream's edge and showed her how to toss a rock into the water. It took a few tries of dropping it on the ground before she got a good toss. She loved seeing the ripples! We ended up deciding to head to grab some lunch rather than heading further into the mountains this time.

We ate lunch at a restaurant adjoining the Welsh Food Centre that was actually fairly close to Bodnant Gardens. We finally got our first listen to the spoken Welsh language from the waiter, who spoke a few sentences of it to Charlotte. It definitely sounds nothing like English. I wish we had heard more! After another very filling meal (the Welsh eat heartily!) we hopped in the car and headed for home. Rather than dwelling on the negative, I'll just say that the 4 hour trip took us over 6 hours due to horrible traffic, and that Charlotte only slept for about 1.5 hours of that time. We arrived safely but exhaustedly back in St Neots. It was a great trip overall, and a good first experience traveling for an overnight stay in the UK.