Just got back from my trip to Wales, and am dehydrated, tired, and incredibly sore. Here is the explanation for that:
Friday: Arrive in Wales and check into the countryside manor called Parc-le-Breos. A little old English woman served us a homemade dinner and it was off to bed.
Saturday: Get up wayy too early for breakfast and then riding lessons before our day long ride. I got paired up with a huge gray horse named Smith. I took it as a sign that I really am Samantha from Sex and the City. The ride was GORGEOUS, along the top of a ridge that let you see the ocean to the left and the countryside to the right. There were horses, cows, and lambs all over the rolling hills. We tied up our horses while we stopped and got lunch at a local pub. This food was amazing and cheap, which meant that my budget allowed for not only one but two ciders. The ride back was much more enjoyable. We got to canter a little bit and I think I managed to get the rhythm right by the end of the ride. I would love to someday be able to ride with the horse full out running (my need for speed).
That night a minibus picked us up to take us to the closest city of Swansea. Mind you, we were expecting to go into town and have a few beers and go to a couple pubs to get a sense of the normal country life in Wales. We had NO IDEA what was actually in store for us there. First of all, the bars we went to were no joke. The first had chandeliers, two huge bars, and a dancefloor equipped with a pole. Large Welsh men, young and old, were already dancing like crazy by the time we got there at eight oclock. We quickly tried to catch up. Then we started to notice the Welsh women. Even the older ones wore sequins dresses, but the weirdest part was that many girls had full out costumes on. I saw a bumblebee and many sailor girls. It was truly bizarre. We left that place to find the street full of people-it was like a festival! But after some asking around apparently this all was a very normal Saturday night in Swansea. The second bar we went to was crammed to the brim and we found out why-one pound shots of basically anything. Hillary and I had a field day with the silver tequila and had a great time finding out that the Welsh love American accents (or so they say). The night ended with chants of "USA! USA!" and making friends with random costumed people.
Sunday: Woke up excruciatingly early for breakfast again and then started our hike to the beach. This beach legit looked like it was from Planet of the Apes. There also were ruins of a castle that we hiked to. Well, more like climbed to. We literally went up a sand wall. It was basically a stairstepper on steroids. We dragged ourselves back, saw some cows in a forest on the way, and departed our little country getaway.