Aberystwyth

Melisa and I hopped on a bus to Aberystwyth today. We had no idea how far away it was; it turned out to be a 3.5 hour bus ride, one way. But it was well worth it. The scenery here is beyond amazing. Between the mountains and the ocean, we had the most gorgeous bus ride ever. Those buses go really fast, down really narrow roads. It's a little scary, and we nearly hit a sheep today. It made it up the hill with just a few seconds to spare! Sometimes, the roads are too narrow for more than one vehicle. If the bus encounters a car, the car has to put it in reverse and get out of the way. I could seriously never drive here.

Once we got to Aberystwyth, we got off the bus and wandered around. Our intention was just to go shopping, and see what was there. We didn't plan to see anything exciting, so it was quite the surprise to find a real beach (with sand and everything) as well as castle ruins and a WWII monument.

We did fit in some shopping as well. Melisa was looking for pants, which we unfortunately did not find. However, we got matching passport holders ;) We were a little bit worried about all our traveling; on the way to Wales, my passport just kind of floated around my purse. We found these holders that zip--plus there is room for my id, credit card, money, etc, so I can keep everything organized! It was very exciting. Plus Melisa and I dream of being on The Amazing Race, so we figured the matching passport holders were a necessity.

We stopped at Costa Coffee (which could be a clone of Starbucks) for hot chocolate and muffins. We knew we'd need a snack for the 3.5 hour bus ride back to Bangor. The bus ride wasn't too bad, although it was exhausting. It was also pretty interesting, because lots of random people got on the bus. There were about 15 girls who were headed for a night out on the town, and apparently whatever town they lived in wasn't good enough. I would never ride a bus for 2 or more hours just to go out drinking with my friends, but that's just me, I guess. Melisa and I really enjoy watching the girls around here, and...evaluating their clothing choices. One girl wore a shirt, and black tights, with heels. I do not think that tights count as "bottoms" so it's a little strange to see girls who look like they forgot to put on pants. Or a skirt.

We met this nice older man on the bus. I helped him pick up his cane when it fell, which was clearly a sign to sit and talk to me. It was funny. He wanted to know where we were from, and what we were studying, all that stuff. He's been to New York City, Ohio (with the American Army?) and Washington, D.C. He apparently doesn't like Washington, D.C., or Bush, or Obama. But we did have a good conversation, and he told me that I have a good head on my shoulders :)

It was a good day. Melisa and I always have fun exploring together. We just sit and laugh at everything. We tried to figure out how to pronounce the names of places one day, by putting accents in different places. It was hilarious. We did decide that it is better to look up the pronunciation, because otherwise no one understands us. And then we wouldn't get where we wanted to go!