Livin' it up in Llanelli

We are back from a short break in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. This is how it went:

Wednesday 6th July

K in Waterproof

Carmarthen Castle Gate

Shortly after our arrival the clouds darkened and it began to rain intermittently. We put on our waterproofs and set out in a quest to find somewhere to dine. Thinking about when and what to eat is a constant preoccupation of mine. We decided to drive in to Carmarthen itself. We walked around a bit, went up to the castle gate (which was locked), lingered around the statues and the quirky street signs, as one does.

Our surname is Hall

We considered having pizza (as we often do), thought about having a pub meal but a group vote went against that idea (well in the town location anyway). 
We weren't quick enough, on our to return to the car, to avoid heavy rain and several inches of water falling in just a few minutes. A deluge of rain fell upon us as we ran through the puddle strewn car park of John Street.

Runnin' in the Rain by Deb Hall

 

This rather unfortunate happening left us sitting in cold, damp trousers, with soaking wet faces and dripping hair... but we laughed anyway :)
We set off in the direction of the complex in which we were staying, peering through the misty windscreen and avoiding the spray of speeding vehicles as best we could, looking for, as I have done many times before when driving in Wales, that quintessential Welsh public house, stone built and family friendly, with a roaring fire (even in early July) with great food, in fab surroundings. And once again this dreamed up scenario eluded me. We trundled along, up and down the winding bends and steep inclines in the rain, driving through small, grey hamlets and tiny, grey villages searching for something that was never going to transpire in such an area. We drove into Llanelli where there was more choice of places to eat, but, frustratingly, for one reason and another we couldn't ditch the car. So we ended up driving into the car park of a Whitbread Restaurant seen in many a city and town across the lands the: http://www.brewersfayre.co.uk/

Our order being delayed by almost an hour. :(
But we received complimentary drinks and cheap desserts to make up for it :)

Custard slices

Thursday 7th After a breakfast that consisted of two custard slices (compliments of the owner of the Penthouse in which we were staying), and toast, J and J took themselves outside to walk an area of the Millennium Coastal Path. The work that has been carried out there is attractive; purpose built to regenerate the area. This goes someway to promote tourism in an area that was once regarded as the industrial south of the country.
 
Our Penthouse overlooked the path and so I was able to look down at the two walking from the balcony window.

J and J - a sketch

I decided to take a photograph - I think John's hoping I'm using the zoom...and I was.

We were extremely lucky in respect of the weather for the rest of the day. We visited the 'National Wetlands Centre Wales'. It is the main attraction on this area of coastline. Here you will find many different species of water birds...

After a full day we returned to our Penthouse to watch yet more reporting on the phone hacking scandal on the large, flat screen telly until it was time to eat again. And where did we go to eat this time? You've guessed it, the

Friday 8th

We made the decision to do a 100 mile round trip to Cardiff quayside. We had information, back at our accommodation, of a Doctor Who exhibition at The Red Dragon Centre, Atlantic Quay. It was a bit of a risk to think it had a permanent place there, but I was heartened to see, when scouting around the outside of the centre, the yellow traffic signs advertising Doctor Who and directing traffic to the centre's main car park. The advertising inside however, said the exhibition was CLOSED.
Luckily there was an big event being held in the vicinity, so we went to investigate. It was the

http://www.cardiff-festival.com/ifd_e.htm

So we ate more food!

Here I am Monday morning, back home in Derbyshire and I'm sure I'm 3 or 4 lbs heavier than this time last week. Ho Hum.

And I ask myself too, was our decision to take a break with our teenage children the right one? Well I find, metaphorically speaking,  that I

when I should




or vice-versa. And I don't seem to get it right these days :(

I'm now on an extended break from the usual routines, but I thank you for visiting today's blog and I hope you've enjoyed reading about my recent stay near Llanelli. I wish you all the best with your summer plans. See you in September.

Debra x