Horseback riding in Wales

Hello everyone!

I'd forgotten how long it's been since I've last written and I apologize for leaving you with such a cliff hanger about Cambridge and my interview.

As I'm sure you by now know, the interview went really well. I got a really good feeling about the company and they all seem cery nice and eager to help me learn and gain experience.

As far as my trip to Cambridge, it went wonderfully. The weather was very cooperative and Mother Nature provided us with a nice warm sunny afternoon perfect for punting. We had a short guided tour and then we were given time to grab lunch and wander on our own. We all met up in the afternoon around 2:00 and went punting. It was so nice to be able to sit down, relax, and still get to see Cambridge.

This past weekend I went horseback riding in Wales. It was such an awesome trip! Wales is beautiful. The trip I went on was set up through BU and they took care of arranging and booking our train tickets and accomodation. We were each responsible for getting to Paddington Station and getting on the train and then finding everyone in Wales to catch a group taxi to the lodge. I was a bit nervous since I had no clue who was going on the trip so I was travelling completely alone, but I am comfortable enough that I know how to get on and off the correct trains. The ride over was about 2.5 or 3 hours. I forced myself to stay awake the whole way so I could enjoy and appreciate the countryside we passed through. It was rather obvious once we'd crossed into Wales. I'm not sure how to explain it, but somehow you just knew you were finally outside London, and then the signs in both English and Welsh confirmed my suspicions.

The town we went to was Swansea. Once I got off the train I saw a group of girls circled together looking confused so I assumed they must be a part of the BU group. Turns out I was correct and I was surprised to discover there were only 7 students, myself included, that came on the trip. There were also two young staff members that brought along family members making us 11 in total. Once we all found eachother and used the restroom, we made our to the group taxi. Our train left London around 4pm so by the time we arrived in Swansea it was dark. We were in the taxi for about 30 minutes driving through the middle-of-no-where countrtyside when they driver stops and asks us if we know 'where exactly this place is'. We ended up calling the owners of the lodge who gave him directions and we continued driving through the pitch black countryside. The road we were speeding down was only wide enough for one vehicle so when we would occassionally come head to head with another car it became a game of chicken...who was going to finally back up on the twisting road with a cliff on one side so the other could pass? It was quite the adventure getting there. We finally drove through a small river in the taxi and we were on the grounds of our lodge. The place we were staying was absolutly beautiful and quaint. It is called Parc-Le-Breos and it is a 19th century hunting lodge that is family owned and operated. They served us the most amazing home cooked food in a nice warm dining hall and showed us to our rooms. All 7 of us students shared one room and after we put our things away we went and sat outside to enjoy the cold fresh air. It was freezing, we could see our breaths, but it was still so nice to get away from the city noise and lights. It was beautiful to see the stars again. the family also owns a dog names Sharp so she came out to play with us. We were all rather tired and had to get up for breakfast and a full day of riding by 8 so we tucked in early.

Breakfast was just as amazing as the previous night's dinner had been. They offered a full Welsh breakfast or pretty much anything you wanted. After eating we headed outside to find the sun glistening down on the soft yellow, dew covered fields.

After snapping a few photos, which do the area's true beauty no justice, we went to the tack room. Here we eaited for the other couples to join us for our day of riding. We were lined up in order of experience, the majority of the group being beginners and then we filed one by one into the tack room to collect a brush,bridal and the name of our horse. I got Kim. She was a sweet, rather chunky, white horse, but she was such a good girl. We then went in, put the bridals on our horses and started brushing them down for our ride. This was not only to get the horses ready to go out but for us to get to know our horses, feel comfortable with them, and most importantly show them who is in control. Then we went back to the tack room and got our saddles and mounted up. They gave a brief instruction on how to 'rev up' your horse, where the 'breaks' where etc. The lady instructing us was so cute. Her name is Olive and she is one of the owners of the house. We rode around for a few hours and then stopped for lunch at a pub down in town. We had about an hour to rest and then we got back up and continued on our trek. It was all so pretty.

When we got back and got our horses all washed down the girls and I decided to go exploring. We walked through the fields and back roads until we found a sign for the beach. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. Wales is just stunning. There are so many hills/mountains, cliffs, huge beaches, castle ruins. It is just breath taking. We got some quick pictures and then it was time to head back for dinner. Dinner of course was amazing and we had a delicious choclate cake for dessert. Olive ordered us a cab to take us into the 'big town' since she thought us youngins would want to 'get off the farm for awhile.' The cab dropped us off by the pier and we walked up to the town and stopped at the local pub, The White Rose. We sat there for awhile recapping the day's adventures. We were all exhausted from the long day so we headed back around 10 and went to bed.

Sunday we didn't have to meet our cab until 1:00 so we got up early for breakfast and then 3 of us did some more exploring. We found the path back up to the highest point in Gower, which was a part of the trek we had done on horse. It was nice to walk it though, a little less stressful. We took a lot of picutres overlooking the beach and the countryside and then we just took some time to sit and appreciate it all. We then headed back down to the lowest point, the beach. This time when we went down the tide was out so the beach was huge and amazing. We wandered through the marshy parts, poked at little creatures that got stuck in the small tidal pools, walked through some caves, and then played on the beach. The water was really cold, but the views and everything around us was just so amazing you couldn't help but feel amazingly happy and run around like a 5 year old. By the time we made our way back to the farm we had enough time to grab our bags and take a few more picutres of the horses and it was time to go. The cab got us a bit after 1:00 and we got to the station about 10 minutes before our train left. I think I slept pretty much the whole ride back. It was such a fun but exhausting weekend.

When I got back into London it was around 5:30 and I called my friend Shanna. Shanna is a friend I've danced with for years and she is studying at Oxford for the semester. She came a few days early though so she could get to explore London. Anyways, she is spending 2 nights with me so I called her to let her know I was on my way back to my flat. She's been staying with another friend in London and they were finishing up dinner, which worked out perfectly since we had people over at our flat working on our marketing project. We were just about done with our meeting when she came.

It's so weird to think I'm almost done with my classes. I have my marketing project to present this Thursday. It counts as 35% of my grade so it's a little stressful getting it all together. I also still have one last paper to write and then my 2 finals to take next week.

Today after class I took a short nap and started working on typing up this hugely long blog. When Shanna got back I took she and her friend to my favourite creperie and I showed her where the museums are near me. They both loved the food. Shanna and I took a nice long walk back past the park and I basically took her in a big loop to show her around South Kensington a bit. After I finish this blog I need to work on my marketing project and then I'm taking Shanna out to the area I was in this summer and my favourite pub there, since she has yet to go to a pub here in England.

I think tomorrow I will take her around central London to go see all the 'typical' London places e.g. Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, Buckingham Palace etc. and then at night we have another group meeting about our marketing project.

So, I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. Things have just been a bit crazy around here. I am having an absolutly amazing time though and I really enjoyed Wales. It would be the perfect place to go for a part of a honeymoon, so cute and quaint and quiet. Well, I'll try to get my photos online so I can add my links in here. Hope everyone is well! I love you and miss you all.