Llandudno Promenade, Wales, United KingdomMarine Hotel Llandugno Wales
We were up at the usual time but had had extra time since we could not check into our next hotel until 3 pm.
We packed up, ate breakfast, and watched another mysterday series Rosemary & Thyme that I had seen on Candae's netflix.
Marilynn had made a taxi reservation for 11 am and a luggage assist appointment for 10:45 am. The receptionist came up to help her exactly on time, but when we went out to catch the taxi, one came 5 min early and a couple got into it. We were afraid that it was our taxi since we waited until after 11 with no new taxi. When I went inside to check, the receptionist said that ours was on its way. The guy was ok and dropped us off at the bus stop. We waited a bit for the bus which was quite full when we got on with a few others. The ride was pretty nice, through some residential areas with beautiful old stone buildings, some fields with sheep ad cows and some cliffs inland with some sea views on the other side. We wound in and out of highway to service the various stops. I think I am getting used to this Welsh countryside bus tra vel.
When we were clearly in Llandugno, I asked the woman sitting next to me where the best stop for the Promenade would be and she asked which hotel I was looking for but did ot recognize the Marine Hotel.
She said the next stop would work and pointed out a tall building near the Promenade. I got up to get ready to get off and tell Marilynn but she was following instructions for a different stop for the hotel and didn't want to get off at this stop. So I sat down. Then Marilynn thought about getting off. I could not say which stop was the best one but we got off soon after and Marilynn started using her GPS to locate the hotel. We walked down a few streets and I could see the sea and what I thought must be the Promenade but the GPS was pointing in the other direction. Eventually we headed for the seafront and happened upon the hotel on the corner.
When I tried to check in, the receptionist was ta bit abrupt and told me where I could store the luggage safely. I was led to a room and told to go to the end and turn left for the ballroom but there was luggage in front of this first room. When Marilynn came in, she figured that was the correct place so we left the luggage there.
We wee both hungry but first we followed the signs to the tourist info. The first set of signs to the library proved out-of-date so we went a but farther and found the relocated tourist info where we got some maps and maplets and postcards. This was the first staffed tourist info in quite a while. Then we went down the street to a bakery where we had coffee and some pasties or pies - mine was chicken and ham and Marilynn's pork and apple. I was quite pleased with mine.
After this, we went in search of the tram and cable car rides up the Great Orne, a big hill overlooking the city and seafront.
It turned out we got to the tram first and found it would be less expensive to to do a round trip on the tram rather than do one up and the other down. There was a halfway point where we had to switch trams. When we got to the top, we walked around to see the views and watch some of the activity. Oh, I forgot the best part. When we first got into the tram, we took the window seats facing one another. A family with two young boys sat down next to us. The younger boy - missing a few teeth with a dinosaur hat on his head wasseated next to Marilynn. He immediately took her hand and held it for the whole time we rode to the middle stop
After we returned from the tram ride, we walked to the hotel ad checked in,, made ourselves comfortable and rested a bit, got some computer work out of the way and I wrote this blog up to now - about 5 pm.
We went out for dinner and walked along the main street one block off the Promenade and then Marilynn saw a cafe and walked up a side street where we checked out the cafe called the Blend.
(Blend Coffee Bar, Clonmel Street, Llandugno) A man came out to entice us into the restaurant by telling us all its merits including the fact that they had all fresh food and had tapas-like dishes that we could mix and match. We ended up decided to try it and I had the hake that he recommended and Marilynn tried something called Bombay which were pototo samosas I guess. She had wine and I had the Snowdonia IPA once again. We really enjoyed the food because it was different - not the usual burgers, baguettes and pasta, or what does Marilynn call it?? After dinner, we walked back to the hotel but I felt like taking a walk along the Promenade so I did that while Marilynn went into the hotel.
I walked down the Promenade away from the tramline and passed the Hydro - whatever that is - and something else that took over several buildings farther down the seafront. I walked down one concrete ramp to the stones and sand but not as far as the water. When I came back, I overshot the hotel, but recognized the fact within a block or so and came back. When I knocked at the door, Mariltnn asked me to go get a second hand towel so I did. Then I uploaded my Nikon photos and finished today's blog up to this point....which is the end.
2025-05-22