Village in Wales

 

One of the roads leading in the the historic village of Portmeirion.  

Portmeirion, Wales

The Garden

 

A view of one of the gardens in the charming village of Portmeirion. 

Portmeirion Wales

Hotel Portmeirion

 

The Hotel Portmeirion in the very unique village of Portmeirion.  

Portmeirion Wales

Portmeirion

 

Portmeirion is a unique village in Wales.  It has become a tourist attraction because of the architecture of the village and the fact that it was the filming location for the British spy television show called "The Prisoner". 

County of Gwynedd, Wales

Welsh Castle

 

Castle Deudraeth, now a hotel

Gwynedd Wales

Hercules

 

Hercules Sculpture by William Brodie

Portmeirion Wales

Hotel Portmeirion

 Hotel Portmeirion

Portmeirion, Wales, UK

Favorite Photos from European Travels

 

Last week I posted some favorite photos from travels around the United States.  Today I have some favorites from travels in Europe.  First up is a photo from Florence Italy.  I snapped this photo during the golden hours from a window in my hotel.  

Here is another photo from Italy, this time from Venice.  I love that the lady with the blue umbrella stopped to look across the canal just as I was crossing a bridge.  Perfect timing.  I have a 16 X 20 enlargement of this one done on metal.  

I really love this photo.  It was taken inside a church in Verona Italy.  That angel has such a melancholy look.  I have a framed print of this one hanging in my dining room.

Here is another favorite from a trip to Italy.  This castle sits at the edge of the city of Sirmione located at the southern end of Lake Garda.  In fact, you enter the city through a passage located all the way to the left of this photo.  I have a large, framed print of this castle hanging on a wall in my office.

I have several photos of Stonehenge that I like but this is the one that I had enlarged and printed on canvas.  I've visited Stonehenge twice, the first time in 2000 when I took my Dad on a trip to London.  The second was on my last trip there in 2016.  

This is a photo from Paris France.  This is the Lapin Agile, the largely unchanged night spot where famous painters and writers would enjoy some libations.  It still serves as an old style night club to this day.  

This last photo was taken on the coast of Wales in the village of Portmeirion.  This is not a classic photo from this quirky village.  I walked down a narrow lane between some buildings to catch this view of a beautifully coiffed tree overlooking the estuary. The village of Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough William-Ellis who wanted to pay tribute to an atmosphere of the Mediterranean when he designed the village.  I did a post about this place that you can see here.

Travel Inspired by a Television Show

At the risk of dating myself, I will admit that I was a huge fan of an old British television show called "The Prisoner".  I have warm memories of staying up late, just me and my dad, to catch the latest episode.  In spite of obsessively watching every episode (and the repeats), it wasn't until many, many years later that I learned that "the village" featured in the show was an actual place and it really did look just like the unique and colorful place I grew to love in the TV show.  That was when the village of Portmeirion in Wales went on my list of places I had to visit.

In 2006, I traveled to London with my best friend David and another friend and while they had their heart set on an overnight trip to Paris, I decided it was my perfect opportunity to visit Portmeirion.  So early one morning the three of us headed off in our separate directions.  I took three different trains to arrive at the station in Porthmadog, the closest station to the village.  A short taxi ride took me to my destination and soon I was checked into a room at the beautiful Pormeirion Hotel pictured above.

I set out to do some exploring and immediately found the famous "round house", the place that was used on the television show as agent No. 6's apartment.  The building now serves as The Prisoner gift shop where pilgrims like me can pick up a souvenir from the old show.

Portmeirion is located on an estuary and I watched the water rise and fall at least three times while I was there.  Above is one of my favorite pictures overlooking the water.

 The village was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, an architect and environmentalist.  It dates back to 1925 and construction continued until 1975.  Williams-Ellis gave the village a Mediterranean or Italianate look that is fanciful in many ways.  It was built mostly from reclaimed materials because the architect believed in reusing materials that had been discarded.

This statue of Hercules by William Brodie sits in the center of the village in a prominent place.

The village is a beautiful place and a perfect spot for a weekend visit.  The hotel was beautifully furnished and dinner in the hotel restaurant was delicious.

Obviously, I'm very happy I went and if the opportunity ever presented itself again, I'd go again.