On an extended trip to Europe, I had a weekend free and decided to head to Barcelona. I had almost two full days to explore a city that I really like. The weather was amazing, and I made the most of my time.
Read MoreA Quick Day Trip in France - Albi
I had gone straight from Charlotte North Carolina to Toulouse (didn’t seem worthwhile to fly back to Vancouver for a day…) and so I was in Toulouse a little earlier than normal for these trips. That left me with a full Sunday to explore (and adjust to the time zone), so I took a day trip to Albi, another ancient fortified town that I had been told was a nice spot to explore.
Read MoreOur Last Full Day in Wales - the South Coast
For our last full day, Julie took us on a drive south to the coast. We headed to the tiny village of Rhossili, which is in an area that has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, encompassing Rhossili Bay and the small tidal island called Worm's Head.
Read MoreA Day in Wales - Learning about the Local History
On Friday we had a busy day exploring the local area, learning about the coal mining history of the region. We went to the Welsh Mining Experience at Heritage Park in Rhondda, and then went to have a look at a local castle (more of a folly than a real castle, but still very cool!). We wrapped up the day with a visit with Justine’s Great Aunt and a hunt for lambs up on the hills.
Read MoreTintern Abbey, Wales
As out trip in Wales continued, we were heading from our hotel near Caldicot, to meet with Justine’s family a little further north and west. Before we did that, Justine wanted to see Tintern Abbey, ruins I had visited on a previous trip.
Read MoreMeeting the Extended Family in Wales
For as long as I’ve know her, Justine has talked about her extended family in Wales.For years we’ve been trying to arrange our trips such that we could go for a visit, and this time around everything aligned and we were able to spend 3 1/2 days with her mom’s cousin Julie and her family. They were kind enough to host us and Julie was an amazing tour guide as we got to see a little bit of the Welsh countryside.
Read MoreLondon to Wales... via Lincoln
Wednesday was a big day of driving, as we had to go from London to Lincoln for my meeting, before driving to the eastern part of Wales where our hotel, the St. Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club was located.
Read MoreA Trip to Europe - Mostly London
For my quarterly trip to Europe to our office in France I extended the trip to do some work with our team in the UK. This mean a few days in London, which is always great. Justine decided to meet me in London, and we added on a few personal days to go and visit with her family in Wales. I’ll probably do a few posts to cover it all off.
Read More