Before I left the UK, as well as exploring my own home country in the UK with Scotland and also Wales – where I met up with old Aussie friend Neville, visiting the UK and Europe with his ‘new’ wife (the only one I knew and a few years married!)

I visited my old manager down in Llandudno, then on to a nearby town to see them.

It is cool and wild, old fashioned and a bit grey!  But very ‘old country’ vibes of people, language and village-towns, a place where often people go to retire and chill out.

It is not far from me, but again, I don’t get out enough to see my own country, more so since I returned from a year travelling in the big wide world!

I have spent several breaks or holidays there with family and boyfriends family in my 20s, walking a lot to waterfalls – and I loved it.  Back then we were regular hikers anyway, and I was young and fit!

I did notice on my travels that everything is up a hill or a lot of steps, even up a mountain on occasion!  Rarely was any visit a nice easy walk, unless exploring a town on my first day or so.

Wales has mountains, cold, cloud covered and again, often grey.   The mountains cloud-covered travelling seemed oddly brighter and certainly more exciting!

But then, so did the rain and downpours – happily accepting them, even relishing the warm rains!   At home – I resent it, keeping me in, keeping us cold and just uncomfortable!

My favourite place was The Mumbles down at the bottom edge when we found ‘yachts that sail’!  It set me and my boyfriends brother into fits of laughter – why would a yacht not sail?!   It was amusing and a long term memory but I remember loving that place and the holiday.