John Constable Collection at Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, Suffolk

Ipswich, Suffolk, England
From repeated visits to Suffolk with Clive, I had become aware that Christchurch Mansion, located in the centre of Christchurch Park, houses a number of paintings by John Constable and fellow Suffolk artist Thomas Gainsborough.
Ever since our walk in Constable Country, I’d been interested to see the Christchurch Mansion paintings in person. We’d also walked around [...]

Meeting Mabel in Christchurch Park, Ipswich, Suffolk

Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Mabel is a tawny owl who lives in an oak tree at Christchurch Park. We ‘met’ her when we took a short break from all the running around you inevitably do when you’re visiting family and friends.
Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, England, where Clive’s father still lives in the house where Clive [...]

Felixstowe Rocks and Docks – Who Knew?

Felixstowe, Suffolk, England
There are some things in life you just can’t predict, such as which people or places will capture your heart.
As regular readers of this blog know, my partner, Clive, grew up in Felixstowe, a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, in England. Since our first visit there together in 2006, I have developed a [...]

A Felixstowe Connection

St. Pancras Station, London
After two weeks in Clive’s hometown of Felixstowe, we’re en route back to Paris.
Due to our rental flat’s location between a high hill and the sea — the flat is on Undercliff Road and we learned some TV stations don’t work there, either — we had to go to other places, [...]

Hay-on-Wye, Book Town in Wales

Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales
Thanks to blogging, I learned about Hay-on-Wye, more specifically thanks to Samantha and her comment on my post ‘Travel and Books, Part 5: Where We Find Them’.
We left northern Wales and made our way to Heathrow Airport via Hay-on-Wye, in southeast Wales on the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park.
A Town of Books
Hay-on-Wye is [...]

An Exhilarating Experience: The Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales

The Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales
The Great Orme, Y Gogarth in Welsh, is a limestone headland at Llandudno, on the northern coast of Wales.
According to Wikipedia, ‘Orme’ is an old Norse word for sea serpent. The Great Orme has had human inhabitants for over 8,000 years. Its geology includes Bronze Age copper mines, ancient caves and wells, and [...]

Whimsy or Disney? Portmeirion, Wales

Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales

It’s almost time to say goodbye to Wales (for now, anyway), on this blog.
 
Before I do, I’ll share our last three adventures here:  weird and/or whimsical Portmeirion, our final walk high above Llandudno, and a visit to book town Hay-on-Wye.
 
Virtual Reality in the Middle of North Wales

Portmeirion is located on the coast of Snowdonia, [...]

Wrexham, Wales: A City in Transition, with a Yale Connection

Wrexham, Northeast Borderlands, Wales
We woke to pouring rain, gave up all hope of walking, and headed to Wrexham, in the area known as the North Wales Borderlands.
Why Wrexham?  It’s the only real city in northern Wales, with large retail shops. We thought we’d wander around them, and Clive could get an overdue haircut.
Almost in England
Wrexham is [...]

The Ffestiniog Railway and the Great Little Trains of Wales

Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales
Some of my best family memories during my son’s growing-up years revolve around taking trains and visiting train and trolley museums.
As I wrote in ‘Bittersweet: Afternoon at the East Anglia Transport Museum’, Clive and I enjoyed taking his father to see (and ride) older vehicles in England. We also love travelling on more [...]

An Accidental Walk: Lakes and Slate in Snowdonia

Llanberis, Gwynedd, Snowdonia
Travel often reminds us to expect the unexpected, and all travellers know weather is one of the big reasons you sometimes have to change your plans.
On a brilliant sunny day in Wales, we thought we were headed for a walk down Yr Wyddfa, Mount Snowdon. It wasn’t to be.
A Highlight of Wales
Seeing and [...]