05 May 2017

Visit by Monique

Next year we'll have been friends for 25 years! And this month I will have lived abroad for ten years. And this would be the first time Monique would visit me there! Originally, she would come in January, but then one of her dogs died and she postponed the trip. Now the moment had come!

On Saturday early afternoon I picked her up from the station. Great! I took her home and made her tea. She had had to get up really early that day, so we couldn't really do anything very strenuous that day. I suggested we'd have a scamper on Llandwyn island that afternoon. We had to see something beautiful! And we did. And all the while we caught up.

Posing on Llandwyn

When we got back we made dinner together. After dinner we talked a bit more in the comfort of my living room. But soon it was bedtime!

The next day we went for a more extensive adventure; I had suggested we'd go and see the Prince of Wales mine, which I had seen from Moel Hebog and which I had failed to run to. We'd walk from Rhyd Ddu. That is a nice distance, not steep (Monique isn't quite used to hills) and gets you into what I imagined would be a stunning valley. And she agreed!

After breakfast we went on our way. And it was a nice day! And the route was nice and clear and also very pretty. By the time we got tot the mine we were rather hit by the wind. We didn't go deep into the valley; Monique wanted to keep the amount of going-down-which-would-necessitate-going up-again limited. But we had a blast! But quite soon we turned back.

Some mining remains 

 Monique happy in front of a drum house

When we had Rhyd Ddu in sight again we sat down for lunch. After that we did an extra bonus mini-walk over the causeway as there was another mine on the other side, but then we went back to the car.

Once home we showered and then read a bit it was time to head for the restaurant. I had booked Dylan's; the sort of go-to place in town. The food was good! And we still had plenty to talk about. But after another cup of tea at home it was bedtime and thus pretty much the end of the visit. The next day she would take the 8AM train back to the airport. Too bad! But it had been a very good visit! And she promised to not wait ten years again. Do come back Monique!

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