Adventures in Abergavenny

 ..which I think we just about managed to pronounce by the end of our four day stay.

Abergavenny was the perfect spot for another girly getaway. We opted to travel by train, and were pleased to find that everything we needed for a few days was within walking distance; amenities and hikes a-plenty! Worth noting, as well, that the train from Paddington to Newport / Cardiff is so simple. We could hardly believe how quickly we were in Wales on the way there, and back on the District Line in London upon our return. Absolutely a route I'll be taking full advantage of again in future, I hope.

From Newport, we had a short journey (just two stops) to Abergavenny where we were pleased to find one waiting taxi driver who delivered our baggage and us to our Airbnb on Regent Street (what a place name)! With the host still getting the last few bits ready, we dropped our bags and then headed out for lunch. A full three minutes later, we were on the high street and making our way to Portico Lounge where we opted for a table with a window view so we could people watch, and keep an eye on the weather which was being fairly indecisive at this point (a theme which would continue). 

Is it weird to be excited by a Morrisons? Because I was very excited by the Morrisons in Abergavenny. It was so spacious, and modern, and brightly lit (in a good way) and fellow shoppers were so friendly (another theme which would continue; the people of Abergavenny made us feel very welcome indeed)! Here, we gathered provisions for the days ahead, before making our way back 'home' to unpack shopping and cases.

Unfortunately, by the time we set back out again it was gone 4, and everything (the Tourist Information included) was closed, because.. small towns. So, we decided to walk through Linda Vista Gardens; a green space on the edge of town which we hoped would surely be open. 

It was! And we discovered lots of daffodils, wonderful mountain views, and a swing where we swung a while before continuing our wander into the Castle Meadows beyond. As we walked across the meadows in the direction of the River Usk, along with many dog walkers, the heavens decided to open, and winds were too strong for a brolly. So, we sheltered under a clump of trees until the rain passed over, which it did almost as quickly as it had arrived. 

Our walk continued to the river which ran along the edge of the meadows. We followed it for a little way before heading back to town in search of food via the castle grounds. Despite failed attempts with the log burner, we did have a very cosy first evening.

For fear of missing its opening hours again, we decided to start our day (after a hearty breakfast) at the Tourist Information Centre (which actually proved quite tricky to find) in the hopes of retrieving a map or two, and also in search of any recommendations for 'things to do' from a local.

We'd done a bit of research the previous evening, and the gentleman in the Tourist Information confirmed our suspicions that the Skirrid might be a bit excessive by foot (we'll just have to go back with a car), but Sugar Loaf was easy to reach from the town, as was the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.

With a view to doing Sugar Loaf as a birthday special for Jess, we opted for the canal walk. So, we returned to the Castle Meadows where this time we followed the river in the opposite direction before joining the road and crossing the Llanfoist Bridge into unknown territory..

Armed with instructions from the Tourist Information and an All Trails map, we were very proud of ourselves for making our way to the canal. A footpath took us past a cemetery and allotments, downhill to an underpass which went below a busy A-road, alongside a garden centre (we avoided temptation), and finally up a narrow road which would lead us to the base of the Blorenge, and steps up (we weren't expecting up) to the canal at Llanfoist Wharf. 

A bench by the Wharfingers Cottage with a view back to the town below made for the perfect lunch spot in the sunshine. Here we stayed a while, before walking on to Govilon Wharf. 

In the meadow, we'd experienced high speed winds, but were very glad to leave these behind in the shelter of the trees which lined the canal either side (although we were treated to some unexpected hail showers at least twice). The walk was really peaceful; just a few more dog walkers, and a couple of boats chugging along. At Govilon Wharf, we followed signs to the old railway line, and it was this that we followed all the way back to Llanfoist, making the perfect circular walk.  

Having missed the castle and town museum on the previous day, we decided to stop by on this occasion on our way back into town. Much of the castle is ruins now, which the child in me was disappointed not to be able to scramble up, but it still made for a pretty view with the mountains behind. The museum was free! And filled with interesting artefacts telling the story of Abergavenny which provided some afternoon entertainment.

In the evening, with Abergavenny famous for its annual food festival, we decided it would be rude not to sample some of the 'local' cuisine, so after a long soak in the bath, we tucked into tasty curries (from Regency 59) with an episode of Bridgerton before bed (of course not before Sam and I had blown up balloons and hung bunting for the following morning).

Our third and final full day came round all too quickly. As it was a special occasion, we'd booked breakfast in the Art Shop & Chapel in town. It was a really quirky setting, and delicious food!

Energised for the day ahead, it was time to walk. At the Tourist Information, we'd picked up a leaflet for a walk up to the Sugar Loaf with written instructions and a little map to follow. Written instructions always worry me slightly, because I overthink them way too much, but we made it up to the trig point with very little stress (aside from the challenge presented by hill-walking to a group of girls from the flatlands of Norfolk..) and were welcomed by stunning views and glorious sunshine!

The walk up took us along country lanes, through woodland, and past some wild ponies. Like with the canal walk the day before, we passed very few people and only as we reached the summit, did the 'crowds' start to gather. Our timing in some ways was rather unfortunate, because what seemed to us like a couple of groups of Duke of Edinburgh award getters, or maybe boy Scouts had already gathered at the top for photos and general merriment. However, they actually soon moved on, so we were left to have our own photos in peace, and also lunch with a view.

Another circular, walking down was mainly across the heath, and then was supposed to be through a different section of woodland, but it was here that we went a bit wrong, and ended up relying on Google Maps and our visual memory to get us back into town. At least our detour took us past a few sheep fields where little lambs were frolicking, so that was a welcome distraction.

We ate out on the last evening, at a lovely Italian restaurant (Casa Bianca) where we enjoyed tasty food and equally as tasty cocktails. Back 'home', we played a game of pairs and rested after a lot of walking, and ready for a day of travel ahead.

Our final morning had arrived, and we were all sad to be leaving. Kindly, our host allowed us a late checkout, so we were able to take one more stroll around the town in the morning before we needed to be back to collect our bags. It had been recommended to us that we should visit St Mary's Priory, and the wooden Jesse that was there. Apparently one of a kind; it is a wooden carving from the medieval times, and was explained to us by a very friendly elderly lady who was clearly very passionate about the history of Abergavenny, and the church.

On our way back to the house, we happened upon a fish & chip shop offering gluten free on Saturdays, so the decision was made that we would treat ourselves to lunch there before leaving later that afternoon. We collected our bags, and trundled our way along the high street (much busier at the weekend than it had been any other day in our experience) back to the restaurant. The sun was shining, so we decided to make the most of it and found a bench to sit on near the Chapel where we'd had breakfast the previous morning. And it transpired, as we were doing a last minute spot of local area research, that we were also sat right by the river Gavenny, which gives its name to the town.

Although we'd booked a later train, we decided that actually, it was probably fairly impractical to spend a day with our bags. And we wanted to end our trip on a high, which lunch in the sunshine without a jacket (in Wales in April) definitely was! So we made our way to the station, where we continued to be taken aback by friendliness as a trio of youths offered to carry our bags across the bridge to the other platform.. and didn't run away with them (ah, such cynics we are)!

Three short train rides, all very pleasant, and we were back in London and faced with crowds at Paddington station. But it was all very much worth it. And I'm definitely already looking ahead to the diary to see when I can get back to explore more of Wales! 

Prague

Woken by the gentle clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, we were lured out of bed by the smell of omelette wafting through the apartment, courtesy of Chef Stuart. Our day began with a highly civilised breakfast around the table before we headed out to join a free walking tour as an introduction to the city of Prague.

Slightly worryingly large numbers fortunately thinned out as we were split into smaller groups with different guides. Our tour guide, Nicolo, took us around the Old City, into some of the New, and through the Jewish Quarter; offering recommendations and lots of history along the way.

Our tour ended at the river, and just in time for lunch. Continued wandering along the tow path in search of a traditional Czech restaurant on Nicolo's list of recommendations. Having reached the restaurant, Kolkovna, we went for three pints of Pillsner, one of 'dark beer', and a selection of 'Meals to Accompany Beer' to share. Tastiest dishes were a turkey schnitzel fried in cornflakes and served with a potato salad, and smoked sausage baked in beer. We also mostly enjoyed pickled sausage slices, and a marinated Camembert-style cheese. Pickled cheese, however, is not something that would make it onto our recommendation lists!

Feeling that we'd had our fill of walking in the morning, we decided to head to a park, Vojanovy Sady, where we were promised peacocks. Slightly enamoured by pea-babies, we did a lot less sitting than expected, and a lot more following / herding them around, taking full advantage of the many photo opportunities.

Eventually tore ourselves away, and continued our search for a way to cool down. Found a boat tour on a boat with a maximum of 12 passengers, which suited us very nicely. The journey up and down the river at a snail's pace was extremely pleasant, and we very much enjoyed the meditation-style guide over the tannoy accompanied by gentle classical music.

Obviously we were highly disappointed when 'the moment of parking [had] come'. More Pillsner, the lilting motion of a boat, and a pretty jam-packed day had us feeling utterly soporific as we alighted and began to wend out way 'home'.

Chose a slightly different route to the one we had taken earlier in the day, and found ourselves at one of the gate towers on the Charles Bridge. Thought we might as well climb up as we were passing. In the Entrance, we were met with a sleeping cashier. Much like the troll guarding the bridge in the Three Billy Goats Gruff, she was soon woken when Clair trod on a particularly squeaky step and ordered us to 'pay' (still with as much enthusiasm as her sleeping on the job had suggested she had).

Beautiful views over red rooves and the river gave us plenty to 'ooh' and 'aah' at, as well as providing a few ideas for plans the following day. Our legs and feet officially dead when we reached the bottom, we called it a day and made our way directly to the apartment for a freshen up and a rest before heading back out for dinner.

In an attempt to save our feet from further cobble-related trauma, we opted for another traditional Czech restaurant close by. More Pillsner and more dark beer was enjoyed. Wanting to try both beef goulash with bacon dumplings, and roast pork bits with potato dumplings and creamed spinach, we decided to order two of each and do a half-way swap. Opinion was divided on which was the better of the two, but we did all agree that everything was delicious.

Back at the apartment via Tesco for Magnums, we settled in for a night of Catan. Beginners luck, and a tiny bit of accidental foul play saw me win after a long battle lasting around two hours by which time we were very ready for bed. First impressions of Prague - pretty excellent!

Opted for brunch at a bookshop café to kick-start our day. Took our time over a Full English, and three servings of Eggs Benedict; two with a side of salmon, one with a side of sausages. Couldn't then resist a browse before we headed out on a walk found in a leaflet at our apartment offering walks 'off the beaten path to places known and unknown'.

Globe, where we'd had brunch, was only a short walk from 'the wizardy hat' church, as Sarah had fondly named it, formally known as Emmaus Monastery. So, despite this spot being number 15 of 16 on the map, we began here and walked the route in reverse.

The map took us up, down, up, and down hill again, through streets almost deserted on a Sunday; we certainly felt very much off the beaten track. We wandered a while through the Charles University Botanical Gardens, passed an English-style red-brick maternity hospital, and stopped at a pub where we were plagued by wasps, as well as many a viewpoint looking over the city from various angles. Perhaps our favourite view was looking over the river leading out of Prague from the ramparts by the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. 

A wander round the cemetery of the Basilica was a fascinating, and peaceful near end to our walk. We sighted the graves of Smetana and Dvorak among many scholars, architects, and physicians.

Down a steep path, we were led from the ramparts back to the riverside where we wandered back in the direction of where our journey had begun. A small bar on a boat caught our attention, and we stopped here for more beer and entertainment in the form of swan and people watching, over-looking the river.

With a table at a jazz bar booked for the evening, we decided to make our way straight from the bar to another of Nicolo's suggestions, a pizza restaurant considered delicious even by his Italian standards. Delicious it was, and we soon demolished a lasagne, and three pizzas with various toppings ranging from anchovies, to artichokes, to Tuscan sausage.

The restaurant was close to our apartment, so full of pizza we headed back to freshen up before making our way back out again to Jazz Republic. The venue, also, was not too far from the apartment, although dusk over the river slowed us down somewhat as we crossed a bridge to reach it.

The bar itself was below street level, and full of small tables with benches around the room, and chairs in the centre, all facing a small stage. We were shown to our table towards the back, then ordered drinks while we waited for the music to start.

Bopped (mostly) along to 45 minutes of Blues before calling it a night (the band hadn't even made it through a full 3 songs by this point. It was a little indulgent) and taking a scenic walk back across Charles Bridge and 'home' for another night.

Pastries for breakfast in the apartment, we headed out fairly early for a trip out of the city to the village of Karlstejn. Found our way to a train station nearby, no thanks to Google Maps, and after some confusion over platforms, eventually figured out where we were supposed to be and waited for our train.

Great excitement arose when the train that pulled in was a double decker. Straight to the top deck, we each found window seats and sat back to enjoy the journey. Alighting the train, Clair and I were transported back to Ayutthaya as we clambered across the tracks to leave the station. Followed a small crowd into the village, up-hill all the way.

Decided to stop for an early-ish lunch before continuing the climb up to the main attraction, the castle. Found ourselves in a traditional restaurant with a terrace from where we could watch people making their own journeys up to the castle; some by foot, others by horse and cart. Thoroughly enjoyed our helpings of roast boar served with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and potato dumplings. Were also quite grateful for the sprinkling of rain that came down while we sat under the protection of a large parasol.

Our strength regained, we braved a move and carried on the rest of the way to the castle. Just in time for the next English speaking tour, we headed to the meeting point and were soon being led to the first chamber. Enjoyed the perfect dose of historic fact, and were really impressed by the castle itself, with its stunning views of the village below, and surrounding forest.

The journey back into Prague was straightforward, and we slightly sneakily opted to go one stop further into the city than our tickets technically allowed, taking us closer to the Old Town. As we wandered back towards civilisation, we passed another of the gate towers, this time the Powder Tower, and decided to climb up for an alternative view over the city. It was interesting to observe the contrast between here and the view over the Lesser City, with fewer red rooves this time, and more modern buildings peeping through here and there.

Back at the bottom, the view had given us our bearings, so we carried on towards the Old Town Square, via a bar where we ordered 'mixed beer', a tasty combination of Pillsner and dark beer. We were slightly disappointed by its appearance when it arrived, having seen it in on or two bars previously sitting very much like balsamic and olive oil, but we were pleased with the taste nevertheless.

Tummies rumbling, we made our way to a Vietnamese restaurant that we'd spotted the previous evening hidden in a convenience store. Prague is renowned for its Vietnamese, and we were not at all disappointed here. Pho was delicious, although a little warm between the steam from our dishes, and the spice from Stuart's fried duck. Sweating, we decided to go in search of ice cream to cool us down.

Crème de la Crème had an amazing selection, and their 'medium' portions were incredibly generous. I was super excited to find lavender ice cream outside of Norfolk, and had a scoop mixed with one of chocolate. We all ended up a melty mess (some of us more than others) as we sat outside on the steps of Prague City Hall.

Defeated by our enormous ice creams, we walked back along the river once again, stopping a while to watch boats passing through a lock. One of the boats had a jazz band on board, so once we returned to the apartment we were inspired to have an evening of jazz ourselves as we played cards before bed.

Hoping to beat the crowds, we set off to Prague's own castle at a reasonable hour. Took the most direct route in the hope of saving our feet. Some confusion over to actually enter the castle (sign-posting in Prague is not the best), but we eventually found our way in and joined the queue for tickets.

Collectively, we wouldn't recommend Prague Castle. St Vitus Cathedral was pretty, and the views from the castle were good, but otherwise we spent the day feeling like sheep being herded from one place to another, and found ourselves getting more than a little angry at groups of tourists in their swathes.

When we finally managed to escape, we decided to head straight to a monastery with a brewery where we enjoyed a stiff drink and our second beef goulash, served this time with two varieties of dumpling, and slices of bread for dipping in the gravy. Just what we needed!

From the brewery, we followed some of another route from our handy leaflet, which took us again off the beaten track and past another couple of beautiful churches, and along a stunning little street, Nový Svět, reminiscent of Norwich's Elm Hill. It was as we wandered along this street that clouds began to gather. Having been so lucky on the previous days of our trip, I had left my brolly behind, and Clair her poncho...

We had just reached the bottom of the castle steps when the heavens opened. Cobbles had proved tricky enough to navigate up to this point, but they became even more treacherous in the rain. So we slipped and slid our way to shelter sharing Stuart's umbrella and Sarah's rain jacket, and tried to figure out our next move.

Fortunately, rain drove us into an archway where we found a really lovely souvenir shop with lots of local art in the form of magnets, mugs, postcards and beer mats. Next door we stumbled across a craft beer café, so stayed a while as I made my way steadily through 750ml of passionfruit sour.

Rain clouds cleared, we were lured back outside by the reappearance of sunshine, and made our way via Charles Bridge back to the Old Town Square in the hope of climbing another tower and to embrace the Astronomical Clock experience. Got as far as the ticket office in the Old Town Hall, and discovered that entry to the tower was considerably more than we'd been paying for other towers, so chose to give it a miss.

Back outside, we were just in time to see the clock doing its thing. Experience over all too soon, we'd got a taste for Vietnamese the previous evening, so headed off to find Banh Mi at another restaurant recommendation. We found Banh Mi Makers tucked away in a little courtyard, so found a table where we enjoyed fresh mango rolls, fresh summer rolls, and Banh Mi filled with duck, and traditional pork.

Also similarly to the previous evening, we then returned to Crème de la Crème (for smaller portions this time); less for cooling properties this time, and more for a little something sweet. Chilled out at the apartment with prosecco and more games for our last night in the city.

A leisurely check-out meant that we managed a semi lie-in on our final morning. Headed back to Globe for another brunch, which turned rather dramatic when the heavens opened and we huddled together under an umbrella to eat.

Content that the rain had ceased at least for a moment once we'd finished our food, we made our way to a nearby tram stop and took the tram to the main station where we planned to leave our luggage and figure out how we'd make our way to the airport later in the day. Feeling highly productive after leaving our luggage in a locker, and purchasing four bus tickets to the airport, we braved the rain once more, and moved in the direction of the Jewish Quarter.

Wandered a while; hum-ing and ha-ing about whether to visit the Jewish Museum (we decided against it in the end, as it felt quite expensive after other attractions we'd enjoyed), and ooh-ing and aah-ing at pretty buildings. 

(rungs missing from the ladder to stop people climbing up to the roof in search of the Golem..)

It seems that no matter where you are in Prague, you always find yourself back at the river. On this occasion, we crossed over yet another new bridge, taking us back to the Lesser Town where we hoped we might find a drink stop. Crowds of tourists kept driving us on, and before we knew it we were crossing the Charles Bridge one last time, and headed back again to the Old Town.

As the rain got progressively heavier, we decided it was a good opportunity to find a drink, so when we stumbled upon a pub with self-serve beer taps at the tables, we were set. Stayed a while, enjoying our drinks and slightly unusual atmosphere before making a move to find food ('linner').

Mostly happy with our food selection on Day 1 (oh, the pickled cheese..), we returned to Kolkovna, this time to a branch nearer the station. Here I enjoyed my final schnitzel, Sarah had wild boar with gingerbread dumplings, Stuart had a leg of goose, and Clair went for one more helping of goulash. Great excitement then ensued when we realised that the restaurant was serving the mystical 'mixed beer' looking all Insta-worthy.

The walk back to the station was without a map, as by this point streets and landmarks had familiarity. Our bus journey to the airport was straightforward, and the airport process itself was so simple that we were able to sit in a pub enjoying yet more mixed beers, and playing a final game of Catan.

Prague, it was a great pleasure. I'll definitely be back one day (perhaps with sturdier shoes for excessive cobble action..)!