Sunday at Mumbles

It turns out there is a paved road that goes all along the Swansea Bay. I have previously used this path as "the scenic route" to get to Tesco (the grocery store in this area). It takes about 40 minutes, but is very beautiful. However, as it is mainly rainy weather here, I bought a bus pass for the year. Still, I know I will take advantage of the path when the sun comes out.

Since getting here, the majority of my days have been sunny. Second and third year students have warned me that it is typically like that for the first two weeks and then you are blasted with constant rain. This is a big change from drought-ridden California. Last year at Sonoma State, rain was rare during the first semester. The first time water began falling from the sky, people ran out of their dorms and started to cheer and dance in the rain. When I tell that story here, people laugh and say that here it is opposite and people cheer when the sun comes out.

With that in mind, it seems necessary to enjoy the sun before it hibernates. Some international girls (some from the Cardiff adventure as well as a fellow Californian) and I walked along the Swansea Bay in order to get to a city called Mumbles. When I told my dad that it was over an hour long walk (3.4 miles) to get there, he seemed to think it was a bad idea. My argument was that he would love to go on an hour long hike (and has many times before done longer ones), so why is an hour walk along the beach any different? In his opinion it was just a lot of beach and it was a very long walk. He did feel more comfortable to know that I was with a big group of girls when doing it, which means it was probably less about the distance and more about being over 5,000 miles away and going on a walk in a foreign country. After all, at home we walk along the San Francisco Bay in Crissy Fields. At the end of that path there is warming hut with coffees and sandwiches. What I was doing wasn't anything new in that regard.

This walk was beautiful and it was fun to see the vast expanses of the beach at low tide.

A nice sunny day in Swansea!

For once, the lack of water is not due to a drought.

At one point a lone green balloon passed by our feet. Up ahead there was a girl crying on her bicycle apparently because she didn't want to ride it and her dad wanted her to. I ignored the balloon, but one of the girls thought that it may be the little girl's and that was why she was crying. Once we got closer, she tried asking the girl if the balloon belonged to her, and she stopped crying. Without a word, she quickly shook her head. Once we continued on our way, she continued crying and complaining about the bike. We laughed because to that little girl we probably seemed like a stranger danger situation, trying to coax her with a partly deflated, sand-covered balloon. At least her dad never thought we were a threat.

On the right by the trees is a smattering of houses. Getting closer to Mumbles

 When we got into Mumbles, the houses got nicer and there were many boats. I imagined it was a little bit higher classed than Swansea. What was really interesting to me was all of the boats along the path. They were parked there as casually as cars along a road.

Our destination was soon after this. I had only heard it described before as a cafe that's walls are made up entirely of glass. A local girl recommended it to me at a social for one of the clubs on campus. She said that I had to get the hot chocolate and that it was all dressed up in a glass cup with whipped cream. The other girl from California had also had this place recommended to her, but for its ice cream.

Welcome to Verdi's Cafe!

We all ordered an assortment of treats and drinks. Hot chocolate was a popular beverage choice (and was very tasty). There was conversation that cheesecake is made differently in America than in Germany, and I added that even in Wales it was fluffier than the standard American variety.

Hot cocoa and white chocolate cheesecake.

To be honest, the fancy cafe on the water reminded me of something that you would see in Tiburon, not Wales. I told my mom this and she just said that we live in a pretty great place. One of things that I was not expecting to gain from my study abroad experience was a newfound appreciation for where I live. That doesn't mean I am ready to go back there any time soon (I am just getting started traveling here), but maybe when I am back in the states and miss Wales I can remember that California is nice too and not be so dismal.

It was with smiles on our faces that we headed back to Swansea University. Amazingly, the tide had come in while we were eating, creating a new walking experience for the way back.

 

The entirety of the Swansea Bay.

This is still zoomed in.

But this is why I wanted the camera with the 200x zoom.

 While the three of us made it more of a casual Sunday stroll with sightseeing, the two ahead of us were just on a walk and were always five minutes ahead (though they waited for us at the cafe and one of them waited for us by the university). Perhaps our group of three were being a little touristy; none of us cared. It was a walk to be enjoyed, even if that meant stopping for pictures.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. Though it may have been a long walk, it felt like it took no time at all as all of us were enjoying the view, the sun, and each other. Being outside is a medicine all in it's own; even when you're sad, the sun and atmosphere can always help lift your spirits. One of the girls from Germany commented that she would sleep well tonight with all of this fresh air in her lungs.