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What happened down Abertawe way
at 16:22 21 Jul 2018

Well we had some time in your fine city and fair enough, we enjoyed our trip and hope to go back sometime in the future. However a change of hotel would seem paramount. Here's essentially what we saw and took in :

#1 The bay is outstanding. Beach is hard to walk on as no real hard sand and tide too close to the front but views are something else. Spoiled a bit by factory plants, wind turbines and industrial facilities to the west but you can see Mumbles in the other direction and took a walk towards it taking in such sights as an outdoor Lido, University and Running course with exercise utilities at certain stages.

#2 Nearly everything was written in Welsh and English. Not a problem, it was something of a nice touch, but at no point did we attempt to learn any native language. Someone on the trip over said Welsh is a very hard language to learn, I won't dispute.

#3 Visited the Rail station, thought it was a bit small for such an expansive city. No through trains, just a terminus stop. The 'ambition is critical' design is still there, it makes a certain amount of sense.

#4 Plenty of stores in the City Center, a shopping mall with it but not much in the way of different names once inside. A big screen in one part of the city showing Tennis or something or highlights of the 'Swansea Bay' program. I'd imagine it would have been some scene if they had played Wales' European Championship games a year or two ago at such a venue.

#5 Hills / Mountains in the distance that seemed inviting but possibly too hard to reach. Some of the roads were very steep, it seemed anywhere from the waterfront was on a steep incline the further you went into Town.

#6 People friendly enough, some talking in the Welsh language but not as many as thought expected when on arrival. People seem more courteous here than other places in the UK, asked for directions a number of times or place information and got satisfactory replies.

#7 People can tell when you're from elsewhere. Got asked a few times where had visited from / place of origin. One woman didn't know where Montreal was, so simply said Canada.. Still seemed a bit vague.

#8 Weather was OK, hot but not oppressive. Had a torrential rain storm early one morning but lasted a few minutes. If visiting again will probably choose later in the year, a more suitable season or month.

#9 Got woke up one morning around 3 am by some "people" returning to their hotel room. Cue bumps, loud voices, moving round and general disturbance but got off eventually.

#10 Not one mention of English soccer, or none that was evident. Made the trip that extra bit special.

#11 Cycles about that were designated to the City. Saw some on view but you need to register with a local authority to use one. Needless to say, that venture was quickly overlooked.

#12 Some design near the Oystermouth Road, a half circle or bridge thing near the beach that was an interesting model. Not sure what purpose it served but surprised to see no-one on top of it or trying out at any time.

#13 Never saw the soccer ground although was never really looking for it. The old Vetch Field stadium was believe near my hotel stay but went past a sports venue near the front a number of times, believe it was for rugby purposes or amateur level.

#14 City seemed too much to see in one visit. I'm familiar with large cities and expansive urban area but was unprepared for how big the place was, just took in what you can and keeps your eyes and ears open.

#15 The bridge that crosses between England and Wales was impressive, someone said it was a river, it looked more like an ocean. Don't think saw the actual Tawe river as was in other parts of the City during visit, it's possible it may have been sighted.

Bottom line it was a good trip. No regrets, will go back in the future. The travel time was hard, left Swansea around 12 noon on the day, got back sometime before Midnight the same day. Someone got left in Bridgend by all accounts on the way back at a rest stop as the coach wouldn't wait for missing persons. It's their policy apparently. Had to feel a bit of sympathy for whoever was involved.

Thanks for reading.

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Could you spare a moment, we're coming over in short time
at 14:35 13 Jul 2018

Right let's get to it, leaving for Wales tomorrow and got a long trip from the East of England but looking forward to it and haven't been back for some 30 years.

Arrival in Swansea around early evening and accommodation arranged etc. Point being, any advice you can offer about the trip there.

I'm hoping to take in the Dylan Thomas museum, waterfront, shopping mall, Mumbles and other sights of interest but anything else to suggest.

This wasn't supposed to happen, vacation was arranged in advance because believed English would be in the World Cup Final and didn't want any part of it should they win. Chose Wales because money's a bit stretched at the moment and can't really afford more outlandish European trips.

They do use still English money in Wales don't they ? Feel like an ass asking but better to risk that than arrive tomorrow with useless currency.

It should be a good trip.

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