For A Warm Welcome in Wales - Drive West - Cardiff Castle, Welsh cakes, whisky, wine and wooden spoons

 

A Weekend Or Week In Wales

Drive west our of London, past Heathrow. on the M4 motorway, past Reading on your right, Windsor on your left, and across a wonderful bridge into Wales.

Padding Station's Bear and Brunel

Or you could take the train from Paddington station, stopping to see the station's statue of Paddington Bear. Then see the seated statue of Brunel. He built the railway out West, tunnels, big bridges, and finally the big ship taking travellers further west America.

On the road you will see signs in Welsh, Croiso, which means welcome. The train has bilingual signs, and the stations as you come into Wales also have bilingual signs.

The train takes you to the Welsh capital, Cardiff. You will rcognize the Welsh flag, of the red dragon against a green background.

Cardiff is a great city, with a great castle, and a big free museum. Castles and impressive castle ruins make greaaat photo opportunities and walks along the coasts. 

Welsh delicacies, include the dessert dishes, Welcsh cakes which I bought on the train home. I should have waited until I reached home, Small fat panckes with raisins, best when you heat them up with melted butter. Wales is also known for whisky and wine, weaving, and wooden spoon carving.

Old Wales

Just across the border, a drive over the hill to your right, is Caerleon, with its Roman Museum.

Along the coast is the Dylan Thomas area. If you drive on, or stay on the train to the end of the railway line, you reach Fishguard, where the ferry will take you on to Ireland. The west is wet, with rain on the hills of Wales, where you see white sheep contasting with the green greass in summer, Welsh lamp on the menus of restaurants, bed and breakfast places, and histotoric hotels. You might recall the name of the book, How Green was my valley. 

New Wales

What's new in Wales? A football museum in Wrexham opening in 2026. If you are planning ahead, you have time to learn a few words of Welsh, with the help of Duolingo.

Here are some signs you may see

Welsh Words - English

aber - estuary

allanfa - exit 

bore - morning

bws - bus

car - car

cath - cat

croeso - welcome

eglwys - church

fach - small

felin - mill

fferi - ferry

llan - church

mawr - big (I think of more or magnificent)

o - of

plas - mansion (not just a place, a mansion)

pont - bridge

toiled - toilet

toiledau dynion - men's toilets

toiledau merched - ladies toilets

twr - tower

tywel - towel

y - the

English - Welsh

Good morning.

Bore da. (BOR-eh dah) (The adjective is after the noun, literally morning good.)

Good night.

Nos da. (NOHS dah)

Useful Websites 

Languages

duolingo.com

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Welsh_phrasebook

translate google

Wonderful Welcomes For Weary Travellers - The Waiter Who Remembers Your Order

 Most Memorable Memory From Portugal

Years ago I was on a press trip to Portugal and about twelve of us travel writers had lunch at a castle, sitting at a large oval table, welcomed by the mayor who sat under the window. The waiter took our order and the mayor began his welcome speech. 

The waiter delivered the starter to the major, and then every other order to the correct person, in turn.

I was so impressed by this that at the end I asked the waiter how he did it. He explained:

It is very simple. You start with the person under the window who is number one. The other orders have been listed clockwise, numbered like a clockface. You could never get more than one order wrong.

I noticed that Brittany Ferries (a French company) had numbered tables in their Azul (French for blue) restaurant.

Numbered table in the Brittany Ferry restaurant Azul.  

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Please share links to your favourite post on this blog.

Portuguese words for travellers to Brazil, Madeira and Portugal

flag of Portugal

Portuguese - English

aguas - waters/rainfall

amor - love

apartamento (um apartamento) - apartment (an apartment)

avenida - avenue

barco - boat

bilhete - ticket / bilhete de volta - return ticket

carro - car

casa - house

castelo - castle

condominio - condo/condominium

de - of

doutor - doctor (this is from translate google, different results from Wiki phrasebook)

eu - I

Eu te amo - I love you (literally I you love, subject, object, verb)

jardim - garden

lago - lake/pond

livre - free

livro - book

mapa - map

mar - sea

Marca - March (noun, the month)

mercado/supermercado - market/supermarket

meu - me/mine

nova - new

perdido - lost

pinheiro - pine tree, pine tree forest (Place name)

piscina - pool/swimming pool

policia - police

ponte - bridge

porto - harbour

real - royal

rio - river

rua - street

sapato - shoe

torre -  tower

triste - sad 

English - Portuguese

apartment - apartamento

avenida - avenue

boat - barco

book - livro

bridge - ponte

car - carro

castle - castelo

condo/condominium - condominio

doctor - doutor

free - livre

garden - jardim

harbour - porto

house - casa

I - eu

lake/pond - lago

map - mapa

lost - perdido

love - amor

me/mine - meu

new - nova

of - de

old - velha (feminine) velho (masculine)

pine tree/pine tree forest - pinheiro

police - policia

pond/lake - lago

rain - aguas

return ticket - bilhete de volta

river - rio

royal - real

sad - triste (the same word in French)

sea - mar

shoe - sapato

street - rua

swimming pool - piscina

ticket - bilhete

tower - torre 

Useful Websites

FREE

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Brazilian_Portuguese_phrasebook

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Portuguese_phrasebook

UNDER ten dollars

https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/portuguese-phrasebook-4

https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/brazilian-portuguese-phrasebook-5

What does that surname mean? Is it really a name? Learning, remembering and spelling English and German Foreign names

I gave a speech to Toastmasters on names and their meanings. I remember my surprise on learning that the commonest English surname, Smith comes from Smith, and that the German name Schmidt means smith.

The BBC did a good article on English names.

Rainbow

Today one of my contacts on Facebook, like me an author, had the surname Rainbow. I thought, what a lovely name. Did she make that up, change her name, as a pen name, or as a piece of positive thinking and marketing?

She told me that she chose the name as a pen name. But, after divorcing, she changed her name by deed poll. So the name was chosen, but is also official. 

I looked it up and was pleasantly surprised to find a detailed analysis and research on the name, which could be a translation of the German for rainbow. Regen is German for rain.

Here are some translations of German names and words which are part of names. German has more compound words than English.

German - English

baum - tree

blau - blue

braun/brun - brown

cassell - castle

geduld - patience ((both Dutch and German)

grun - green

klein - small

mann - man

regen - rain

Roth - red (as in Rothschild)

schwartz - black (hair or head or complexion)

wald - wood

weiss - white

English - German

black - Schwartz

blue - Blau

brown - braun

green - grun

man - mann

rain - regen

red - roth

small - klein

white - weiss

wood - wald

Useful Websites

 https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=rainbow

About the Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

 

WHERE TO SEE MULTI-RELIGIOUS SITES in Spain, England and worldwide: Madrid, Seville, The Alhambra, The Alcazar

At many airports there are prayer rooms but one airport has a multi-faith prayer room.

When I lived in Rickville, Maryland, in the USA, two Christian and Jewish commnities saved money by having the same building. As the rabbi left at the end of the service on Saturday, having locked away the Jewish signs and symbols in the cupboard, he swivelled the sign at the from from saying synagogue to saying church reading for the wormshippers on Sunday.

The same was done in North West London, when a new Jewish community needed a building and were offerred the opporuntiyt to hire a church building for one day a week.

Over tin the eST

Spain
In Spain there's a fabulous whole ring of cities around the capital, central Madrid and more further south near Malaga: Segovia, Avila, Toledo and further south Granada and Seville. Plus Jerez de la Frontera, for sherry. Tours will take you to the major landmarks, the cathedrals and palaces. A surprising number have monuments and motifs sacred to more than one religion.

Granada. Alhambra.Court of the Lions

Court of the lions, Alhambra, Spain.

Granada - Alhambra
In Granada you see the Alhambra, which means red fort. (Al is the in Arabic.) A muslim stronghold with fabulous fountains in the gardens, and elaborate architecture, arches and intricate stone lacework and mosaics.


Alcazar, Seville, Spain. Roof showing eight point star.

Seville - Alcazar
In Seville you can visit the Alcazar. Cazar means castle (from Latin Castum) or palace. This is where my family recently saw a six point star. The guilde told them it was Christian, Moslem and Jewish symbol. The Alcazar of Seville was used as a setting in the film (movie) Lawrence of Arabia.

Something of multiple religions. Even a building which is a mosque and cathedral in one. (Cordoba?) And a synagogue converted into a different religious building. (Segovia)

Maimonides
In Catholic Cordoba, Spain, see the statue of Maimonides, medieval sage, revered by both Muslims and Jews. He wrote in Arabic. He travelled from Spain to the Middle East where he was the physician to the Kuridsh Moslem 'king', as well as treating Jews, and the poor, from morning to midnight, or at least sundown.

Across the Mediterranean, in Morocco, at Fez, you can see the house where he lived.

In Tiberias, Israel, you can see his monument and tomb.




TOLEDO
The synyagogue converted into the church.
Santa Maria La Blanca. (Website in Wikipedia listed below.)


The Six point Star - Easy to Draw
As a child I was delighted to discover that if you can draw a triangle, you can add a second one upside down over the first to create a six point star.

Israel and Jewish

Later I discovered that a star with six points is a symbol which you see on synagogues and the Israeli flag and souvenirs from Israel, ranging from ashtrays and ornaments to ear-rings and necklaces..

Having digested this information, I was surprised to see the symbol again in India, on buildings which were not Jewish. I learned that Muslims call the six point star the Seal of Solomon.

Recently, members of my family were in Spain, and saw a six point star which they say was a Christian symbol as well as being Muslim and Jewish.

1. Star in Seville, Spain.

My family Let's look at the history of the star. Then I shall show where you might see it on your travels. In order to keep track of countries, I shall list them alphabetically.
See next post for more information on stars on buildings.

Other well-preserved, pre-expulsion synagogues in Híjar, Córdoba, Barcelona and Tomar.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagogue_of_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_la_Blanca
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/07/what-to-see-in-gibraltar.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Gibraltar
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar
https://wikitravel.org/en/Gibraltar
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Gibraltar
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/SmartDeals-g187510-Gibraltar-Hotel-Deals.html
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/gibraltar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagogues_of_Gibraltar

OK, so you can go. Which airlines will take you?
https://www.skyscanner.com.sg/flights-to/es/airlines-that-fly-to-spain.html

About the Author, Angela Lansbury

I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a travel writer and photographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a language evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting the first Wednesday of the month, Usually on Zoom. But the other Wednesdays have workshops on app learncool.sg

Incoming president Faith from Wed July 15th 2020 change dates and platforms so please contact the club.

Latest is only two meetings each month.

For meetings learncool it is quicker to type and easier to remember: 

 tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

Useful Websites On Speaking and Languages

https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
translate.google.com
duolingo.com

https://www.duolingo.com/enroll/vi/en/Learn-Vietnamese

https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

Other Useful Posts By Angela Lansbury Author

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html 

Please share links to your favourite posts

Learn Easy Portuguese words - Praia da Luz - what does it mean? Words of the day

Portuguese word of the day, actually three words for starters.  Praia da luz means beach of light.



Portuguese flag

Atalaia Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Atalaia)

Castle of Senhora da Luz (Portuguese: Castelo da Senhora da Luz/Fortaleza de Nossa senhora da Luz),

Now some more.
Portuguese: Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Luz (church of Our Lady of the light)


My search through pictures led me to a website page all in Portuguese, but most of it was instantly recognizable to anyobody who spoke English. Look at this:
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_de_patrim%C3%B3nio_edificado_no_distrito_de_Faro

That is 12 words we now know and can recongize.

Portuguese - English
Praia - beach
da - of (like French de)
luz - light
castello - castle
distrito - district
edificado - buildings
senhora - lady
Torre - tower
familia - family
lista - list

English - Portuguese
beach - praia
castle - castello
district - distrito
buildings/edifices - edificado
family - familia
lady - senhora
list - lista
light - luz (like the English word luminous)
of - da
tower - torre

Where can you use Portuguese? Over on the American continent in South America in Brazil. In Europe in Portugal. Offshore from Portugal in the Atlantic in the island of Madeira. Or as I did when reading news articles about places in Portuguese speaking countries.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a trave writer and phtographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a langauge evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting every Wednesday, on zoom the first Wednesday of the month but the other Wednesdays are workshops on app learncool.sg
Or quicker to type and easier to remember:  tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

useful Websites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html Please share links to your favourite posts
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8384769/Major-breakthrough-hunt-Madeleine-McCann-police-identify-German-suspect.html
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_de_patrim%C3%B3nio_edificado_no_distrito_de_Faro
translate.google.com
duolingo.com

Conversational and Everyday Welsh Words into English and back - alphabetically

A member of staff at a hotel in Fishguard, Wales, told me that she could not speak a word of Welsh.  However, her children learned Welsh at school and could speak it fluently. They did not miss out on European languages, but had the option of learning French and Spanish. How I envy and admire polyglots.

Not to be outdone by children, let's get started.

Here's a handy list of greetings, placenames, numbers, colours.

English - Welsh
beach - traeth (try-th)
beer - cwrw pronounced koo-roo
castle - castell
goodnight - nos da
hello - helo
house - ty (pronounced tee)
river - afon (ah-von, like England's Stratford upon Avon)
sea - mor

town - tref (traive)

Welsh - English
afon - river
bore da - good morning
castell - castle
cwrw - beer
helo - hello
nos da - good night
ty - house

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages.
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.
Author of
Quick Quotations.
How To Get Out of the mess you're in.
Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

What's Weird About Welsh Words? Snippet

Flag of Wales.

If you are thinking of a holiday in Wales, look for a couple of Welsh words.

You can learn Welsh on Duolingo.

If you haven't had time to brush up on your welsh, if you drive across the border from England to Wales you will see bilingual signs, Welsh and English.

Adjectives and Nouns - which comes first
On my most recent trip to Wales, as we drove along and I attempted to translate each word back, I could see that the nouns came first in Welsh, the adjectives second, the reverse of English. So business park became park business. The city of Newport became port new.

One familiar word was castle, castell.

Useful Website:
duolingo.com


About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. I teach English and other languages.
I have several other posts on Welsh and Wales. Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Strindberg Museums in Sweden and Austria

Map of Europe showing Sweden.

Probably your first thought would be to see the Strindberg museum in Stockholm. On the other hand, on a trip through Europe you are more likely to visit Austria where the Strindberg museum is less likely to grab your attention. Both are worth visiting if you get the chance. If not, read about them online.

Strindberg's lady love was Austrian. they lived in a castle and then a nearby building. You can see the piano he bought. Then around the area you can see many features of the locality which appear in his books.

If you get the chance to visit Sweden, in the capital, Stockholm, is the Strindberg Museum in the distinctive Blue Tower, as he named it, after the rooftop. He spent the last four years of his life here and you can admire the art nouveau lounge and learn about his writings, the novels and the plays.

The question with authors is so often, how much influence on their writings came from the geography of their area, the history of the area and their own family characters and conflicts.

Stockholm in Sweden: The Blue Tower, where Strindberg had a home, lounge, bedroom and balcony.
Photo from Wikipedia article.

Useful Websites
https://www.strindbergsmuseet.se/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strindberg_Museum
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Sweden
https://www.duolingo.com/course/sv/en/Learn-Swedish

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

What Would You Want From Cardiff Airport Development? Read My Exciting Ideas

CROESO - Welcome

I've never been to Cardiff airport. I didn't even know they had an airport. It's not in Cardiff, airports normally aren't - you occasionally get helicopters alanding in cities but mostly airports are outside.

Cardiff Airport is about 30 minutes away from the city centre. Every twenty minutes the Cardiff Airport Express bus sets off from the airport to the city centre.

If you are travelling by car, on the M4 from London, or further into Wales, it is 13 miles from Junction 33. The area is the Vale of Glamorgan.

Cardiff from the train. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I take the train through Cardiff about twice a year (into Wales and out), and have done for at least ten years.

To get me to visit Cardiff airport from London, paying for a flight, would mean I would need
1 quick check-in with hand baggage; cheaper price than the train from Paddington.

However, many people do fly in, about a million a year. From Cardiff Airport you can connect by direct flight to Dublin and many other cities for a city break. It's not all hops. Their website tells you that you can also do an indirect flight with a stopover, going on to as far away as the Middle East, and Malaysia.

I would like to see an Aviation Museum with quizzes; some interactive activities on a Welsh theme with a huge model of Wales and lots of photos and quotations and life stories of Welsh people such as Dylan Thomas. Add signs to transport to attractions all over Wales. Show photos of events involving the airport: NATO Wales Summit, Rugby World Cup and UEFA Champions League final. (UEFA stand for Union of European Football Associations.)

Conference Centre
I would like to see a conference center at the airport, part of the big hotel or beside it. The conference centre could be underground, like the conference centre I went to at a hotel in Brighton, England.

Changi airport, Singapore, is full of flowering plants. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Changi's Award-Winning Attractions
The airport could be a kind of theme park. Go and look at the website of Changi airport's current terminals (which include a butterfly garden). The butterfly garden is stunning. Giant butterflies are attracted to huge cut tree stamps. Detailed descriptions explain everything you would like to know about butterflies.

Butterfly Garden at Changi Airport. See Wikipedia.

Changi Airport terminal building with indoor gardens. From Wikipedia.

The plan for Changi airport's next terminal.

A proposed new Changi terminal includes a giant fountain and waterfall. I've seen the outside started, as I drive past.

In Cardiff, build at least two storeys underground to make more space; and a safe refuge area - with an escape tunnel.

Airport Hotel Or Hotels!
The Draft Masterplan says the Cardiff development organizers are considering building a hotel, implying just one hotel.

However, Wales on line talks about a four-star hotel plus a budget hotel, which sounds a better option, pleasing more passengers.

My view is, don't just have one hotel, but two or three, at different prices. Better still, six types of accommodation, 1 to 5 star. Also have short term bunks, like the Japanese hotels, with alarms for people who want to sleep, rest, or hide away and shut eyes with their belongings secure, between flights.

Activities
Have a masterplan of connections with other airports so that people can plan a two centre holiday, staying at both airports in the airport hotels.

Run a Welsh language course at the airport, or even a three hour or one day course for business people, those relocating, or a weekend away.

Have an underground garden of things which can grow in the dark, such as mushrooms and potatoes, and serve them in the restaurants or export them freshly picked on flights to other countries, or as Welsh airline meals. Plus leeks.

How about a mascot, the flying sheep.

Welsh Music
I would hope to hear some recordings of Welsh music.
A Welsh male voice choir.
A Welsh harp.

This lady performed at Writers' Holiday in Fishguard, Wales, where I have seen her several years running.

I would like to hear a specially commissioned Welsh song - in English and Welsh so everybody can sing along. Something along the lines of Men of Harlech, Que Viva Espana or Take me back to Sorrento.

Bilingual Signs
I'm delighted to hear that all the signs are bilingual. The same applies to the motorway signs and the railway station signs. Before you reach your destination, as soon as the train or car crosses the border, you start to see the Welsh words. You think: I'm in another country, another language, I'm on holiday!

Welsh Food
See my posts on destinations in Wales, Welsh food and drink, learning the Welsh language. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Wales has Welsh cakes.

Welsh cake. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Welsh cake with butter. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Welsh Drink
Wales has wine and whisky.



















Penderyn whisky Distillery, Wales. Photo supplied by the Distillery. (I met the people who run it at an educational slide show at a wine and food show in Singapore.)

I've driven to Wales, I've taken the train from Paddington to Wales. Maybe it's time I took a flying visit.

What to See in Cardiff
Cardiff Castle.
Cardiff Museum - free!

Elsewhere around Wales -
If the Cardiff airport is not only a connection to Cardiff, but the gateway to Wales, you have lots to see. The Dylan Thomas boathouse and Dylan Thomas trails.

Fishguard's embroidery of the Last Invasion of Wales is fascinating. (A few feisty Welsh women in high black hats frightened off the French soldiers.)

Onward Train Connections
Heathrow and Changi airport both have underground railways into the capital city centre. Cardiff should have the same.

Instead of competing with the trains, the airlines and trains should co-operate on combined tickets. You could even do the travel equivalent of a triathlon. Fly into Cardiff. See Cardiff.

Take the train to Fishguard. See Fishguard.

Stay overnight at the old Fishguard Bay Hotel, where Liz Taylor and Richard Burton stayed, filming Moby Dick and Under Milk Wood.

Take the ferry from Fishguard to Ireland.

Bilingual sign on Cardiff Central railway station.

A million people fly into Cardiff, Wales. Now you know why.

Useful Websites
cardiff-airport.com
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/plans-new-hotels-cardiff-airport
http://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-experience/explore-changi/things-to-do-articles.html#recommend-4 (Shows the butterfly garden and giant sculpture and flower arrangements.)
visitwales.com
visitbritain.com
visitcardiff.com
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/04/where-to-find-welsh-whisky-and.html
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/days-out/regionwales/wales
https://www.duolingo.com/course/cy/en/Learn-Welsh-Online

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Slovenia - Love Slovenia they say, caves, castles and poppyseed

Love Slovenia, they said. What a clever pun. Of course I love Slovenia. I love travelling. I love everybody.

Problems
Just a minute. Where is it? East of Italy, near Italy's border town of Trieste which is to the west. North of Greece, part of the old Yugoslavia, the Communist country which broke away from Russia.

Memories of Yugoslavia
We had an au pair girl from Yugoslavia. She used to recite a saying with numbers, "Yugoslavia is a country with seven languages and five great lakes,' - or was it the other way round, five languages and seven great lakes?

She bought clothes in England.  But before she went home she cut out the labels.

I asked why. "Are the labels scratchy?"

She looked at me warily, disdainfully, surprised at my ignorance. "We are not allowed to take out money, more than a small amount, not enough to buy a lot of clothes. We are not allowed to buy and import items from other countries."

I was sorry when I first heard that the country had split up. I had been to Dubrovnik with my parents when I was a teenager, on a cruise. I remember my parents walking through the narrow cobbled streets, admiring the architecture, looking up. They paused to listen to somebody playing music overhead, beyond a balcony, through an open window. Now Dubrovnik, the well-known tourist stop, was cut off from the rest of the country.

Now in 2018 in the UK we have Brexit. Slovenia is independent, proud of it, glad of it. There are two sides to every story. Times change.

What is there to see and do?

In the middle of the country is the capital, Ljublijana - easier to say if you realise the j is pronounced like a y. Small capital city, pocket-size, or pint size they say.

 See all the usual museums on history and art. The main landmark is the triple arch bridge. At night the bridge is attractively lit and makes reflections in the water of the winding river.

Your next choice is a trip to the lake or a trip to the caves?

This is me at the World Travel Market at Excel in London last year. I am standing next to a delightful picture of a lake with an island reflected in the water. The lake is Lake Bled, famous for the island with the church. Bled's other attraction is a cliffside castle.

Poppyseed cake. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Slovenia Cake
In my hand is a pastry. The famous gibanica cake has poppyseeds. I love poppyseeds. The cake also contains walnuts, apple, raisins cheese and a cream topping.

The food features potato dumplings. Called Kraški pršut.

You could finished a meal with a Turkish coffee or a lemon tea. You can also take wine tours.

Take trips to two sets of caves, the giant Postoyna and the Unesco heritage Kkocjan.

Postyna Cave Complex
Take the train through the Postoyna cave. The cave contains a concert hall.

Railed walkways take you past stalagmites and stalagtites. Which is the mite and which is the tite? Stalagtites hang down like tights.

The place is busy. It even has an underground post office.

Admire the beauty - and learn about the history. In WWII the Nazis stored petrol (Americans say gas for gasoline) in the caves. Partisans set fire to the stores.

It's not hot now. Underground can get cool, even chilly. Wear a jacket and a hat.

The train in the cave. Photo by Donald Judge in Wikipedia.

Go to the nearby 13th century Predjama castle which is built into a cave. This castle has everything you'd want of a castle. History. A dungeon. A secret passage.

After the castles and caves, Slovenia has a gorgeous gorge.

Where next? West to Trieste or East to Zagreb? Look at the map again.

Slovenia used to be part of Yugoslavia. Instead of visiting one country, the old Yugoslavia, you can now cover the same distance and legitimately claim to have visited two countries. You are only two hours from Croatia whose capital, Zagreb, is to the East. Happy travelling!

More information from:
http://www.slovenia.si/visit/
https://wikitravel.org/en/File:Slovenia_in_its_region.svg
https://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page
https://www.skyscanner.net/flights-to/si/airlines-that-fly-to-slovenia.html
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia

Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my next post about countries splitting up, covering the USA and the Romans.

Royal Wedding Countdown - what to wear and eat, British style, out or at home

Windsor and Eton with crown decoration. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

This is the street decoration for Christmas. You can bet there will be street decorations just as fine for a royal wedding. At the end of the street you can see Windsor Castle.

Problem
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedding - what happens when? I don't want to miss any of it. Dress in your best to enjoy the day. What will you wear? The date is Saturday May 19 and in England we say, Ne'er cast a clout til may be out, meaning the sun may be out but it could still be chilly.

Answer
Windsor in Berkshire is expecting more than 100,000 people and if you go there security will be tight, so you may be stopped and searched or wait in line whilst others are checked. If you are not one of the 600 guests viewing the wedding in St George's Chapel, you could still see the carriage procession.

If you decide to go to Windsor before or after the event, you can see the wonderful castle which dominates Windsor and Eton which are two sides of the river.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, photo by Mark Jones in Wikipedia.

The Countdown
11.30 Sit down by the TV in a comfortable chair with a glass of Champagne, Cava or Prosecco, or something British such as cider, Scotch whisky, or an English white wine from one of England's many vineyards such as Denbies or Nyetimber.

What To Eat - Main Course
What could you eat? Something British. If you are out in the street, get a takeaway, fish and chips.

My favourite pubs/ The Wetherspoon chain. Lots of choice of food and drink. Lots of bargains.

My second choice? A carvery.

At home for lunch or supper? How about roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Roast potatoes. Brussel sprouts.

Buy British
You should find something in Marks & Spencer, Tescos, Waitrose, Sainsbury's or Morrisons, all British. (Or, for cheaper prices, opt for Aldi, Lidl and sandwiches from Poundshop and Boots the chemist.

British Desserts
At a pub in Eton, I ordered a dessert called Eton mess, which is broken up meringues (looks a mess but tastes declicious) with strawberries and cream.

For less sugar, more fruit, after your main course, order or make apple crumble with yellow custard.

Between Meals
Perhaps a healthy snack of an apple, a British apple, Cox's orange pippin.

At tea time you could have homemade scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Timing
12 noon, the Ceremony starts. This should take about an hour.

The wedding reception will take place in Windsor Castle.

Later that day there's a sporting event, maybe involving the royals. At 5.30 it's kick off time for the FA (Football Association) cup finals. Prince William usually presents the prize, but it's not certain where he will be.

However, you can bet the pubs with TVs will be busy with screens turned on and special flags and bunting and special offers on drinks and food.

You can't wait until May? The couple will be visiting other places in the UK, notably on Friday April 6th 2018 in Bath, England, at the trials for the Invictus games in Sydney Australia. HRH Prince Harry is patron.

Invictus, you may recall, is a poem, one of my favourites. (More Invictus games in Sydney, Australia in October 2018.)

Booking a British Break
You have still time to book a flight to England, or postpone a trip from England to elsewhere, or come home early.

Angela Lansbury at a souvenir shop in Heathrow airport, London, England, UK, standing behind a cutout of HM THe Queen. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

Useful Websites

https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnfLVBRCxARIsAPvl82GP69PmU8JypOxaHH_UHQUjjtuE47vI1wGfGlU2pqkIdYBrRy3OpLgaAvT5EALw_wcB

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5558081/30million-ring-steel-protect-Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markles-wedding.html

https://www.invictusgames2018.org (Sydney, Australia.)

https://www.teambath.com/2018/03/28/invictus-games-trials/ (Bath, England.)

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Welsh Place Name meanings or translations and emergency words

Problem
It helps you to get around, find your wall past landmarks and to your hotel if you can understand Welsh names and emergency signs.
What do Welsh places names mean? If I knew the meaning, it would be easier to remember them.

Answer
Here's a useful list.
http://acen.co.uk/en/welsh-place-names-2/

In Cardiff a major tourist site is Castle Coch, or Castell Coch, which means red castle. In Welsh the adjective comes second.

Aber is mouth, usually mouth of the river, where it joins the sea, but it could just join another river. The word which follows is often the name of the river. The one which immediately comes to my mind is the place name Aberystwyth.

Welsh - English
aber - mouth
afon - river
bach/fach - small
betwyn - house of prayer
castell - castle
coch - red
coed - wood
llan - church
llyn - lake or pool
pen - top or end
pont - bridge
ty - house (with a hat or circumflex on the Welsh y, like a rooftop)
y - the

So Llandudno, is a church, the church (of St) Tudno.
Llandewi is the church (of saint) David.

English - Welsh
avenue - avenue
hill  - bryn
house - ty (y with a circumflex)
lane - lôn (with a circumflex on the vowel o)
lake or pool - llyn
mouth (of river) - aber
promenade promenâd (a with a circumflex)
road - fford
river - afon
street - stryd
wood - c o e d
y - the

Useful Emergency names
danger - p e r y g l
doctor - meddyg
chemist / pharmacy - f f e r y l l f a / f f e r e l l y d d
fire brigade - frigâd dân
garage - g a r e j
help - helpu
mechanic - me c a n i c
no smoking - dim y s m y g u
nurse - nyrs
police officer - h e d d w a s
school - Ysgol
shop - siop

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, Author and Speaker, teacher of languages. See my previous post on Welsh colours. Please link to your favourite posts.