On to Wales

On Tuesday, September 22, Jennifer and I took the train to Wales' capital, Cardiff. We enjoyed the nearby St Fagans museum, in which a large number of houses, farm buildings, stores, and other structures have been moved from the original locations around Wales and restored to represent various periods of Welsh history. Very interesting and enjoyable. The drive from there to Llanedy was also interesting, but much less enjoyable.

Driving on the left side of the road was easy compared to the difficulty of interpreting road signs that don't usually include a simple "west" or "east" but instead show the next town. If you don't know the next town, you're in trouble. If you're going around a tight-diameter two-lane roundabout with such signs on closely-spaced exits, you're in more trouble. If you take the wrong exit, you won't know it for a while because it's not necessary to put a sign on the road you're already on. But all that pales compared to contending with the widths of the roads. Frequently while worrying about scraping the oncoming cars on my right, I would be interrupted by Jennifer telling me urgently to move farther to the right, as the stone wall on the left was just inches from her face. We got well-acquainted with the low curbs on the outside, and also learned that pedestrian crossings often intrude into the lane--with curbs around them. In the more urban areas, the narrow lanes were often half blocked by parked cars. A lot of parked cars. To be fair, they were as much on the sidewalk as in the road, but they were still in the way. I never had to worry about the speed limit. Whatever it was, I could never go that fast.

Eventually we made it to the M4 (what a relief to drive on a limited access highway!) and to the Tafarn y Deri (Tavern of the Oak). This was a tavern / restaurant / Bed & Breakfast in Llanedy, the village and parish where my Morgan ancestors lived until they emigrated in the 1870s. We greatly enjoyed Welsh ale (Brains was the brand name) and cockles & laverbread (shellfish and seaweed in a cream sauce, topped with cheese), and we slept well that night.

For pictures and more commentary, see the updated web pages at
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm