We ended up with fantastic weather. It had been predicted to rain all weekend. We were prepared with a big umbrella but it would definitely not have been as fun. We arrived on the Friday and left on the Monday. Friday night we had the obligatory fish and chips from Fecci’s, a Tenby institution. It was delicious.

Saturday we went to Caldey Island, which is made up primarily of the monastery and a few locals. The phone box photo was taken outside their Post Office which is only open a few hours each day. We took a boat to the island which was very fun. The island itself was so quiet and peaceful even with all of the added tourists. It was so relaxing to walk around and just hear birds singing. The one thing about Caldey besides its beauty and religious features is its fudge. What is it with monks and good food/drink? Tim and I bought four bars of fudge and it lasted all of five hours. By that evening we’d eaten it all. It was fantastic.

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant with the most appalling service ever. The owner who was serving us just seemed to be in his own little world. We waited ages for a menu, ages to order and then our wine was offered to the wrong table. He walked away with it when they said it wasn’t theirs and it was another ten minutes before he realised it was ours. It was a very small restaurant so how he messed things up so is beyond me. It’s funny now but at the time we just wanted to finish up and get out of there, hence no dessert and devouring the last of the fudge!

On Sunday we went to Pembroke Castle. Parts of it are 1500 years old. We had a fantastic tour guide who told the story of the castle and its inhabitants with such passion. It was also a gloriously sunny day (as evidenced by some of the washed out photos). The only problem was our feet and bodies were still exhausted from walking all around Caldey Island the day before. We saw most of the castle, only really missing the 100-step climb to the tallest tower. I think that’s forgivable.

That night we went to another restaurant, Plantagenet. It’s in a very old building with the hugest chimney and fireplace I’ve ever seen. It fit two tables of six people in it. Tim and I were nestled into a cosy two-seater under the stairs with Tim in a window-like box seat and me in a nook in the wall. There was a photo behind me of a tapestry found in the building that dated to as early as the 15th century. It was a nice little restaurant with great seafood.

We had a wonderful weekend away with weather that couldn’t be beat. I was told by colleagues on Tuesday that it rained most of the weekend in London. I felt so smug! I definitely want to go back. It’s such a quaint little place and the beaches are gorgeous white sand unlike the pebbly beaches on the eastern and southern coasts of England. If you ever make it to the UK take a trek to Tenby. It’s worth it.

Edinburgh was lovely. The reason for the black buildings is the Edinburgh sandstone. It holds dirt in the stones and cleaning it would break the blocks down therefore ruining old buildings and monuments. I think it adds to the charm though. We didn’t get to go in the castle or see much of the city but it’s just whet our appetites to go back sometime, hopefully when the weather is nicer. As with Brussels if you click here you can view my photos. Oh, we also stopped off at Lake Windermere on our way back to Cardiff Saturday. It’s in the gorgeous lakes district of England. Again, bad weather made for bad pictures but you get a sense of how lovely it must be in the sunshine. Enjoy.

Go to this link and you can view the photos. I’m sorry there isn’t more detail on what is in them. My mother asked for lots of photos so that’s what I did. I just snapped virtually everything! I have indicated where something is notable. Enjoy!