Castles and pubs

It's incredible how many castles are still standing in Wales. Stace and I satisfied our love for history by visiting several on our trip.

Tuesday morning, we headed to Carew Castle, which overlooks a mill pond and one of only a few tidal mills left in Britain.

The original stone keep is nearly 1,000 years old!

As you can see, Monday's sun had abandoned us in favor of cool drizzle.

From Carew, we drove to St. Davids, to visit St. Davids Bishops Palace . It's not a true castle, but a beautiful palace built in the 1300s, overlooking a cathedral.

Stace's grand plan called for viewing the beautiful, famed coastline on our way to our next hotel. But the British weather can be a funny thing; though we had great weather for so much of our trip, this particular day was not. Here, I'm laughing at the foggy, drizzly scene behind me.

At our next little pull-in to see the view, I stayed in the car, while Stace got out to read the plaque. He then ran back to get me - we were off down a trail to find the following fort, built in 1781 to ward off pirates.

Real pirates! Real castles where knights and royalty lived! We can't wait until Cora and Violet are old enough to tour these places with us.

Here is the lovely pub and inn we stayed in our second night. The Trewern Arms was fantastic, with well-appointed rooms and delicious food.

The setting was ideal - quaint, tucked away in a valley, next to a river in the tiny hamlet of Nevern. The ancient church a short walk over the bridge boasts one of the oldest Celtic crosses still standing on its grounds.

After our little walk, we returned to the pub for a great meal (and pint), before bed. The next morning, our breakfast was just as good. I hope we can return someday.

Being in Wales was interesting; Welsh is still spoken and taught in schools, though everyone also speaks English, with a lovely accent. You feel like you're very far away from home when you see signs in a foreign language!