Llandudno, Wales - the Sarasota of the UK

We made it to Llandudno on the northwest coast of Wales after making two train changes from York, arriving in Llandudno in the early afternoon of 15th August. We were able to check into the Grafton B&B straight away and we got ourselves sorted with alacrity. Our first stop - the Imperial Hotel, where my parents stayed on their honeymoon.

Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, Wales

We had a late lunch at the Imperial, to toast my parents and to offer ourselves an auspicious welcome to this quaint Victorian seaside resort (the Irish Sea, if anyone is wondering).

It's at the Imperial that I began to suspect that I was among the younger crowd in town. As we watched the world go by on the outdoor terrace, I realized that the world moved a little more slowly here - a plethora of canes, walkers, scooters and wheelchairs paraded before me on the promenade. I started to tease my Dad that we were at his kind of resort town, but I desisted as he began to get a little defensive about it. He has a lot of good memories from this place, like when he and my Mom went to a discotheque down the street at another hotel and she got (uncharacteristically) smashed on screwdrivers and he ended up letting her sleep it off in the Imperial's bath tub.

My Dad worked his way into grudging and humorous acceptance of my observations about the median age of the place.  I told him to look on the bright side - other than maybe in Florida, he can count himself as a member of the younger crowd in Llandudno.
This is an actual picture taken as we walked down the street from the Imperial toward the Pier.  Every seaside resort town has to have a pier. 
 
We walked the length of the pier and back.  Our original plan, to ride the cog train up the Great Orme, was put on hold by unanimous consent as the heavens started to open up on us. Instead we hightailed it back to the B&B to wait out the rain. I braved the rain and found us an off-license (a package store - liquor store) where I picked up a couple of beers to help us wait out the rain.

Mostyn Street, Llandudno, Wales at Twilight - August, 2013

The rain faded along with the sun and we made our way to a fish and chips place. We were anticipating a good meal as the place had won an award for 2012. Unfortunately everyone must get a trophy nowadays and the place was mediocre at best, and pretty greasy. The dessert, a jam roll, was pretty good.
We didn't do too much else our first night in Llandudno - for a resort town there is a dearth of decent pubs and the hotel bars are way overpriced. I don't think the seniors like to go out after dark, anyway.

The next morning, 16th August, we had a very serviceable breakfast at our B&B and we readied ourselves for castle-palooza - to Caerarfon and Conwy Castles - two well-preserved Edwardian castles from the 13th century. The day greeted us with a rainbow, too.

Stay tuned for the awesome castles at Caernarfon and Conwy!

Interesting VacaKen Sidebar, Entry Five:

I don’t usually buy a lot of souvenirs when I travel.  A couple of small items only, or freebie beer coasters from pubs.  Instead, I turn my photos into souvenirs.  I have had several of my better photos turned into canvas prints via the CVS Photo website (thanks Darlene for the idea!), and I’ve used these canvas prints as wall art throughout my house.  They lighten the place up and keep me drooling for more travel.  Amsterdam, Salzburg and Bruges adorn my living room walls, and a huge 30”x40” canvas print of a fine art painting from the Kunsthalle in Hamburg hangs in my bedroom.
Oh, and a spooky pic of a Neanderthal skull from the Teyler's Museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands, stares at me from the back of my toilet when I pee.