part 3

Sunday 2 June 2024

We start again with a hearty breakfast at the Black Boy. Then we take the luggage to the car and go in search of  coffee. Caernarfon is deserted at 8.30 in the morning on a Sunday, but Costa is open. After a good cup of coffee, we check out and drive through Snowdonia national park towards Conwy. We pass Llanberis again and the Mountain Railway. We continue past a reservoir and a slate quarry. Then on to Betws-y-Coed, where we have coffee. The scenery is beautiful. Mountains, meadows, sheep and the sun is shining.

We arrive in Conwy around noon. We park at the castle and try to pay, but fail. The parking machines don't work properly and we don't manage to buy a ticket. We have lunch at a pub and around 1pm I check if we can get into the cottage yet. We can and we move in. The cottage is modern, within the city walls and well furnished. Only 1 flight of stairs to the bedroom and bathroom. Modern kitchen. Parking is tricky, but it eventually works out even with a space in front of the door.  Then we do some shopping at the Spar, which is a 1-minute walk away. In the afternoon, we walk along the harbour and beach and have a beer.

In the evening, Erik cooks and we watch TV.

Weather: sunny, 17 degrees

Monday, 3 June 2024

We drink coffee at Illy Café and then go to the Conwy Castle. It is located between the port and the railway line. The railway line runs almost through the castle. Three bridges connect Conwy to Llandudno Junction across the Conwy River. It is a large castle and is of course also part of the Ring of Iron of Edward I of England. It was built between 1283 and 1287. An existing monastery and a Welsh settlement had to make way for this. This shows Edward's colonial ambitions for Wales. It is one of the few castles in the Ring that has actually been completed. The others are often not completely finished due to lack of funds. This castle was never besieged until the Civil War in 1646. During that war, the castle was refurbished for the armies of King James I. After a long siege, it fell to the parliamentary troops. In 1655, the parliament decided to strip the castle of its military function. They did a serious job and the castle became a ruin. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the ruin acquired tourist value. Turner painted it, and the railroad came in 1848. The view from the castle walls of the surroundings is magnificent: the estuary, the hills and the walled town of Conwy.

After the castle we go to the Plas Mawr. This is an Elizabethan-style family home owned by the Wynn family. The remarkable thing is that little or nothing has changed since it was built in the 17th century. It can be visited and with a map and explanations we walk through the entire building. It is in beautiful condition, not least due to a 42-month refurbishment by Cadw, the Welsh heritage organisation. We have lunch at the Castle hotel. In the afternoon I walk on the city wall of Conwy, which is still completely intact.

Weather: cloudy. 15 degrees

 

Tuesday, 4 June 2024

After coffee at Illy, we drive to Llandudno, the classic seaside resort of North Wales. The promenade is very similar to that of Aberystwyth. A semicircular coastline with a long row of hotels in Victorian buildings. We walk along the boulevard and pass the starting point of an old timer ralley (Three Castles), which apparently starts here. Many classic car models in mint condition.

We then drive around the Scenic Drive and over the Orme. This is a mountain range west of Llandudno. A beautiful ride with a viewpoint with cafeteria at the top. There is also a funicular, with a very short track. There is a strong wind, but it is dry. There is also a chapel with cemetery, halfway to the top.

After finishing the drive we drive to Bangor. The only "town" on the north coast. Bangor has a university, which overlooks the city. The center of Bangor is a bit shabby. We eat at a Pakistani fast food. The cathedral has the size of a large village church and the museum is a nice regional museum. The pier in the Menai Strait is special. It almost crosses the strait. Well maintained, but still a bit quiet at this time of year on a weekday afternoon. Crab fishing can be done from the pier.

After the pier visit we head back to Conwy.

In the evening we have dinner at Jack Daw, the top restaurant in the region. They serve a delicious six-course tasting menu and various appetizers and entrées. We also take the wine pairing. The glasses are poured a bit sparingly, but are very well matched with the dishes. A mixture of classics and local specialties. The service is excellent.

Weather: cloudy and heavy rain showers in the afternoon. Some sun at the end of the day.  15 degrees

5 June 2024

We drink coffee at Illy again and even have a chat with the owner. He is from northern Iraq and has a cousin in Harderwijk in the Netherlands. We walk back to the cottage and then drive via the A55 motorway towards Chester, just across the border with England. We arrive at the hotel around 11 o'clock. Of course, the room is not ready, but we can drop off the suitcases at the reception.

We explore the historic center of Chester. In the city centre, the main streets meet at the Chester Cross. The center is beautiful with many half-timbered houses. We have lunch at Arth Café that has really slow service. Then we walk to the Chester Cathedral. It is a large church, which is well appointed. The pews have been removed for maintenance. Later this week, the Duke of Westminster will get married here with a royal presence. We drink tea in the café of the cathedral and get talking to a volunteer. An old lady who helps here a few times a week.

We go to the hotel to check in. We pass a Liverpool FC fanshop. With large photos of players in the shop window, including Virgil van Dijk. The hotel is the Oddfellows Hall, a Georgian Townhouse. However, we sleep in the new building on the second floor. No elevator, but lots of stairs. Even in the room, because the bed is on a split level above the bathroom.
After a break, we walk back towards the cathedral, but this time to explore the city wall. Behind the cathedral, the wall is very low. Nearby is the East Gate Clock, a Victorian clock above the East Gate. Beautiful clock, made on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the reign of Queen Victoria. We walk west counter clockwise around the cathedral until we reach the Watergate. A little further on we leave the wall and walk towards our hotel. We stop at the Chester Market, a fairly new food court with nice eateries and a cocktail bar. Here, of course, we drink a cocktail.

In the evening we have dinner at the hotel, but that is not very memorable. Frozen pizza and piece of fish. Desserts are also instant.

Weather: sunny and 17 degrees

Thursday, 6 June 2024

We have breakfast at the hotel. Unlike dinner, there is nothing to complain about at breakfast. "Cooked Breakfast" can be ordered from a menu and there are several options. I take salmon, Erik avocado with egg.

We drink coffee at Caffè Nero and then go by car to Liverpool. It's about a 40-minute drive. We drive through the toll tunnel, the Kings Tunnel. Paying is difficult, a steward comes to help us. Apparently he is an Everton fan, because he jokes that he should have charged double the price, because of my Liverpool FC shirt.

In Liverpool we drive to the Central Library. A building from 1830, but renovated in 2008. Wonderful. The old reading rooms have been preserved, including the Picton Reading Room and the Hornby library.

We then take the bus to the Metropolitan Cathedral. The large Roman Catholic church of the city. Built in 1967 in modern style. Its nickname is "Paddy's Wigwam" because of its shape. It can hold 2,000 worshippers, all of whom have a direct view of the high altar. Within the church all the art is modern. The church is beautifully lit with natural light through the stained glass lantern at the top of the dome. After church we take the bus back to the car and then drive to Liverpool One shopping centre. There we eat a burger and then walk to Albert Dock. This is a revitalised port area with warehouses, which have been given a new function. Including the Tate Liverpool museum. We already visited the Beatle experience in 1996. We walk around the harbour, enjoy views on the Mersey, look at the Liverpool Museum and then head back to Chester by car.

Before dinner we have a drink in the hotel bar and then walk to Côte brasserie, not far from the hotel. A fine restaurant with French classics on the menu.

Weather: sunny, 16 degrees. Fresh breeze from the sea.

Friday, 7 June 2024

The breakfast crew seems to have overslept, as at 8 am not everything is ready. It takes a while before we can start breakfast. The coordination is not quite right either as we get asked a few times what we want to order.

After breakfast, I collect the car and we load the suitcases in front of the hotel. Then on our way to London. We drive for almost an hour on A roads through numerous roundabouts before we finally reach the M52. Which is poor in quality. Concrete slabs as a road surface, producing a lot of noise. Then we get on the M6 near Birmingham and into traffic jams. After Birmingham, it calms down and we can drive on nicely. Then some delays again, but near London it gets quieter and quieter on the M1. The M1 ends we continue on inner-city roads. The traffic gets busier and the speed slows down. We refuel 3 miles before arriving at our hotel in Euston. The journey has taken over 4 hours. In front of the hotel, we unload the bags and Erik goes into the hotel. I drive on to Hertz at St Pancras station. After returning the car, I walk to the hotel, the Euston Hilton hotel.

We have lunch in the hotel bar, but the order does not reach the kitchen. We have to wait an hour for a salad and a bruschetta. I then go to David Farthing, a wonderful shop for men's appareil. I buy a Baker Boy cap there for the summer.

At five, we take the tube to Oxford Circus and walk to the Artesian cocktail lounge in the Langham hotel, opposite the BBC's Broadcasting House. It is a very posh cocktail bar and drinks cost around £25. Erik finds his cocktail not so successful and it is promptly exchanged for something else, at no extra cost. The bar makes a point of making its cocktails taste like something that is not in them. Erik's is called Coconut, but there is no coconut in it, just artichoc and tiger nuts. I take the Wood with vodka, whiskey, oloroso sherry and rooibos tea.After the cocktail bar, we walk to the restaurant, Portland. Here we take a tasting menu with wine pairing . I swap the first course (egg) for something else. Delicious menu and nice wines. Remarkable is the English sparkling wine with the amuses.
We drive back to the hotel by Uber taxi.

Weather: cloudy, 19 degrees

Saturday, 8 June 2024

Breakfast at the Hilton Euston is extensive and good. After breakfast, we take the bus to the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly. Here we visit the exhibition on 18th-century painter Angelica Kaufmann. She was one of the founders of the Royal Academy in 1768 and the only woman at the time. Founded to promote the arts and professionalism in art, the Royal Academy was a private organisation run by artists. Kaufmann mainly painted portraits of artistic people. After a failed marriage to a Swedish fake count, Joshua Reynolds took her under his wing. She later lived in Rome for 20 years with a new husband.
The Royal Academy occupies two buildings and it is a real quest to find all the exhibitions. Another (temporary) showpiece is "Flaming June" by Frederic Lord Leighton (1830-96). It is an impressionist painting of a sleeping woman. It was borrowed from a museum in Porto Rico. The academy also has a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper by Gianpetriono (16th century) and the only marble sculpture by Michelangelo in the UK: The Virgin and Child and The Little John (1504-05).

After the Academy, we cross the street to Fortnum & Mason, a classic department store with old-world chic. The company was founded in here in 1707. It still has branches at St Pancras station and Heathrow Airport. The ground floor is a paradise for lovers of sweets. The basement is for food and wine. Otherwise, the range is rather limited. The cooking department is disappointing. The beauty and grooming has perfumery, which is so exclusive that we have never heard of these brands. You can also have your own picnic basket (hamper) put together here, complete with crockery, glassware and cutlery.
After this splendour, we go for lunch at F&M's restaurant at the back of the building in Jermyn Street. Again, everything is luxurious and we enjoy a delicious lunch.

Then we return to the hotel. In the afternoon, we take the bus to Regent Park for a walk in the sun. It is a beautiful park (royally owned), well maintained with several cafes, sports fields and sunbathing areas. In the background, you can see high-rise buildings of the city.The Prince-Regent initiated the park in 1810, which was designed by his favourite architect John Nash.Since 1835, it has been open to the public.

In the evening, we go to see a musical. Beforehand, we eat at an Italian restaurant (Il Posto) and then cross the street to the Victoria Palace Theatre for the performance of Hamilton. Hamilton is about one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He fought in the War of Independence, co-wrote the Constitution and became the first Secretary of the Treasury. He founded a central bank and introduced government bonds to finance the federal government. In doing so, as an orphan and immigrant from the Cairibian region, he encountered a lot of resistance, especially from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, slaveholding southerners from Virginia. He was eventually killed in a duel with a political rival. His effigy is still on the $10 note. It is a dazzling show with rousing R&B and hip-hop music. The cast is predominantly black.

Weather: sunny, 19 degrees

Sunday 9 June 2024

After breakfast, we go for coffee at Starbucks, further down the street. We walk from the hotel to St Pancras station. It is less than a 10-minute walk. Luggage and passport control is very smooth and then we have to wait for boarding. Twenty minutes before departure, we can board the train. We get a seat in Business Premier, despite having booked Standard Premier. The train leaves St Pancrass punctually (11.04) and arrives at Rotterdam Centraal, also on time, at 15:32. An Uber taxi takes us home.

 

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