We spent today driving around Wales some more, taking in the amazing scenery, soaking up the cold (uhh) and exploring some of the sights in search of somewhere to say a final goodbye to R’s mum.
We began with a hearty breakfast, of course! I had the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, and R chose the big Welsh breakfast: eggs, bacon, tomato, black sausage and laver bread (boiled seaweed. hmm.)
This breakfast of champions took us hundreds of miles through Snowdonia National Park to find where the Mt Snowdon Railway started. The railway is closed for winter, but we thought it would be a good spot to view the parts of Snowden which aren’t currently obscured by low-lying cloud. On the way we also saw a hydro-electric plant, which looks pretty amazing, and drove up and down a mountain including some nice sharp turns on cliffs in the rain (not really one of my favourite things to do, as those who’ve been reading the Morocco posts will know, even if this time I was driving!)
We passed by a lovely spot on a hillside with a view of a river, rough-hewn mountains, cliffs and rolling hills, and R thought that would be a nice place to scatter some of his mum’s ashes. We’ve been carrying them with us for such an eventuality, as she had been on holidays in Snowdonia when she was a child and had liked the idea of living on there after she passed. We stopped and waited for the other tourists to finish taking photos, but they seemed to be hanging on forever, so we just ignored them and did what we’d come to do. I’m sure she will find peace there.
Then we turned slightly and headed towards Portmeirion, the strange village where The Prisoner was filmed. It’s quite a bizarre place, with vividly coloured buildings and random monuments here and there. It looks like a place designed by kids – colourful, lots of different shapes, and statues and monuments with not a lot of cohesion. I think the producers of The Prisoner took advantage of the atmosphere that was already there, rather than the other way around! The gift shops there have quite a few Number Six souvenirs, including the fabulous bubble chair! You can even get your own blow-up weather balloon to re-enact those terrifying chase sequences!
Then it was back to Tyddyn Llan to recuperate before dinner.
I’ve never eaten at a Michelin star restaurant before, but I think I was expecting a little more. The food is pretty good, but not more than any of the “pretty good” restaurants at home. I’ve eaten at a lot of Australian restaurants which are equal or better than this one to my taste, like Neil Perry’s Rockpools, or any of the Made Establishment‘s places in Melbourne. This place is such a study in contrast between the lovely food and the good but not great rooms, that it’s a bit hard to quantify it while staying here. We’re in a “standard” room. Maybe the “superior” ones are better, but you’d still have the incredibly noisy creaking floors and not-great water pressure, even if the rooms or beds are a bit bigger and with nicer furniture. Rather then recommend it wholeheartedly, I’d say definitely come for dinner if you’re in the area, but otherwise don’t go out of your way to stay here unless you want to have a few drinks with dinner. Maybe it’s just that Michelin don’t cover Australia! The panna cotta with figs and lavender honey is pretty amazing though, and there was a much better spread of hors d’oeuvres that were gluten free, tonight! Another yum dinner!
Two Weeks Away 