After weeks of feeling rubbish and back and forward to doctors and hospital appointments, I just wanted to get away. My birthday was approaching so I asked Simon if he would join me for a couple of days in Llandudno, Wales.

My mum booked us in to a promenade bed and breakfast with a sea view, with good reviews and reasonable prices. I was due to be working on the Friday afternoon, but after a quick chat with my boss I was able to get the day off and Simon also did. So we set off mid morning and took a steady drive along the coast.

I’ve never been to Llandudno before but had heard lots of good things about the place. The weather forecast was dry but windy but I’d packed for rain, just in case. It took just over an hour to get there and we parked up right outside the B&B. I had seen online that the parking on the prom was pay and display but couldn’t see any signs or machines so decided to check with the owner first.

The check in time was 3pm but as it was only mid day we left the bags in the car and rang the bell. The owner (also called Simon) said the room was ready and he was happy for us to bring in the bags and gave us a quick tour of the accommodation. He confirmed that this part of the prom was also free parking, which was a bonus. The room was beautiful.

We dropped off the bags and decided to have a walk and explore. The promenade was wide, clean and quiet. It was quite windy and the tide was on it’s way out so a few brave souls were taking advantage, swimming and bodyboarding. Whilst walking along we found an Alice in Wonderland carved wooden statue of the Mad Hatter. It was one of several scattered around the town and we decided to try and find all of the carved ones before we left. This would prove to be harder than we imagined and required plenty of walking, in circles sometimes !

When we reached the end of the prom, at the start of the pier we decided to head inland and get something to drink. Tea of course, no trip with Simon would be complete without it. We found a little teashop, also Alice related. It seemed to be a big theme for the area but we couldn’t understand why. After a little Google it appeared that the girl, Alice Liddell who the story is based on visited the area. We slowly wandered back towards the accommodation. It was a lovely leisurely afternoon.

We arrived back and unpacked, got ourselves organised and decided to try out one of the local restaurants (recommended by the owner). The nearest was an Italian place, Carlo’s just round the corner. We arrived without a reservation and not expecting to get a table but they had space for two. The food was delicious, really tasty. All the fresh air and good food had wiped us out and we headed back to the room for a good night’s sleep, listening to the wind and waves.

The next morning it was windy, but again dry. The waves were amazing to watch. No one was swimming today.

We walked along the prom with the idea of going along the pier and enjoying fish and chips (one of list) but it was being used by a charity ‘Santa dash’ so instead we cheered them on instead.

It was a busy but relaxing weekend, full of fun with lots of laughter and chatting. All the fresh air and walking did us both good. The last morning was beautifully clear and again windy. We took our last stroll along the promenade, this time dodging waves and squid. We strolled up into Happy Valley and sat in the gardens looking down over the town. It was beautiful in the sunshine.

Another one checked off the list – stay in a B & B – to see the current list click here https://claireschaoticmiddleage.wordpress.com/2021/07/30/the-100/