“Challenge Accepted!” anyone who knows me knows I’m stubborn and ridiculously competitive especially when it comes to games. Sports games, board games it doesn’t matter I play to WIN. Then again, I don’t mean this in the brutal, will do absolutely anything to crush my opponent by cheating. Instead I’m saying that anything can be a challenge especially a loss. There will always be someone better than you but that is the fun of games. So, in the (unlikely) event that I do lose a game… I will go home practice the game, come back to find you and then beat you.
If you noticed the title of this post, you’ve probably guessed that it might have something to do with Wales and YAY! It does! I went to Wales this past weekend and saw one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be the perfect backdrop to some enchanting scene out of a storybook or romantic comedy. There was soft green grass that came up to my hips and an array of multicoloured flowers all along the most beautiful coast line. I swear that if I was not so allergic to grass I would have run through the fields singing and done Julie Andrews proud! But then again, I may have also been a tad concerned about the prospects of snakes or other beasties whose homes I might tread on whilst singing to the hills. Potentially dangerous grassy field aside, it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I’ve ever been.
On the first day, I went on a hike that was a little longer than anticipated because we missed our turnoff and ended up walking a long way past it before looping back to go in the right direction. Honestly, I’m not really surprised about this as I have a history of long hikes because somehow putting a large stick with directions in the middle of nature just doesn’t do it for me and I can’t really remember the last hike that I haven’t gotten lost (ALWAYS hike with friends). We were staying at a lodge near the coast of the county of Pembrokeshire. My favourite part of the landscape was the ease in which civilisation blended into the scenery. All of the houses and farms matched the lush green landscape so well that it still had a sense of being undisturbed even though there were clear signs of civilisation all around.
Pembrokeshire is also home to the beautiful and medieval Pembroke castle which was, (fun fact!) the birthplace of King Henry VII. He was the first of the Tudor monarchs and won the throne in a legendary (and very dramatic) battle in which he and King Richard III fought for the crown (and unsurprisingly given the fact that I just referred to him as KING Henry) won the aforementioned battle, leaving King Richard III slain and his army defeated. King Henry VII was also the father of the infamous King Henry VIII and grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I.
On the last day, I went sea kayaking and I’ve never seen so many jellyfish! I felt like Dory in Finding Nemo! (Although I’m very glad I was ON the water and not IN the water when I saw them. After kayaking through a few caves, we came to a small bay area where our instructors challenged us to stand on the kayaks and try and paddle while standing (I feel like it is important to note that this was a non jellyfish infested area. When on a sea kayaking excursion in Wales, this was — of course— was a challenge I couldn’t refuse. Side Note: I am terrified of large bodies of water that have animals in them. I absolutely love both Jaws and Jurassic Park so naturally I’m both fascinated and terrified of large animals with big teeth. In needing to know everything about them I also know all of the ways they would like their meals prepared and I definitely look like freshly popped popcorn to some beasties. But back to the challenge at hand, there was absolutely no way I could say no I had to at least try! So after a careful rearranging myself, I stand straight up and the next thing I know I’m under my kayak with a ton of salt water in my mouth. I found out after that one of my friends who was in another kayak watching, thought I jumped out so I’m glad it looked intentional. However, this marks the second scary challenge I have accepted since coming to London (the first one being going to sites and meals by myself) so cheers to grand adventures and great stories after the fact. Get out there and try something new!
Xoxo
Sophia
Diaries of a Dancing Queen 