On the train from Manchester to Swansea, it was sometimes hard to tell whether we were in England or Wales. Both sides of the border have lovely green hills and lots of sheep--but when we went past the Brains brewery, I knew I was in Wales!
My dorm room for the night--it felt like being an undergrad again!
At the end of the day, the workshop continued on to this pub--very cosy and cool, with real ale and live music & a Dylan Thomas themed room
Abbey House, where the workshop was held--and the prettiest building I saw on U of Swansea's campus
There was an open day going on, so there were groups of parents & prospective students
Really lovely campus, and it's right on the water, too
A park next to the campus--Swansea Pride was going on and it made me think of Daffyd Thomas...
The beach!
I walked to town via the beach, and I couldn't resist the chance to get my feet wet!
Swansea Bay is very foamy, with lots of little clams and mussels and oysters
The tallest building in Wales, according to the folks at the workshop--with a so-so restaurant at the top
Somebody's happy to be here!
Lots of references to native son Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas Theatre and statue
The Dylan Thomas Centre was a lovely little museum--it was great to listen to recordings of him reading his poetry, and I was amazed to learn that 1) he died at 39, and they're not sure of the cause but it was possibly undiagnosed diabetes, and 2) he's the second most quoted English-language writer (after Shakespeare, who's got to be pretty hard to beat)
I need to look into this one, but basically I just stumbled across ruins in the middle of Swansea's city centre
Some bits around the city are awfully derelict...I think after seeing this and the gorgeous beach, I can understand Dylan Thomas's description of Swansea as "an ugly lovely town"
View from the train home
