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I arrived safely in Australia and from what I've seen so far, it's pretty amazing. Yesterday I went for a walk around Manley, where I'm staying with my brother and his girlfriend. I saw lizards, parrots and all sorts of birds that I couldn't identify. Also, spiders as big as my palm - eek!
I've been taking photos but working out Flickr is a bit beyond me right now so you'll have to wait on those. I'm also doing a travel journal, which is great fun.
Went paddling in the sea - in the rain! It cleared up later on though and I managed to catch the sun and get a little red, that's the disadvantage of being 'a pale blue Scottish person', it doesn't take much sun for my skin to be very surprised at the concept! Fortunately I'm not sunburnt and I'll be more careful today. Apparently even overcast rainy days need sun cream here.
Hoping to go over to Sydney later to see the gay Mardi Gras, if my killer jetlag allows - I'll be fine for a few hours and then I'll suddenly start swaying and staggering as though I'm drunk.
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Plas Newydd was one of our favourite places in Llangollen.
Plas Newydd was the home of the famous Ladies Of Llangollen. Originally from Ireland, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby eloped together in 1780 and set up home in Llangollen. Famous in their day as a perfect example of the 18th Century ideal of romantic friendship, they lived together happily for 50 years. No one knows whether they were lesbians or not, although there has been much speculation, both at the time and since. Although they slept in the same bed, held hands and called each other 'beloved', all these things were perfectly consistent the ideal of romantic friendship. What is completely clear from visiting their house, is that they loved each other utterly: when Eleanor died at the ripe old age of 90, the younger Sarah was so distraught that she couldn't attend the funeral and she died, broken hearted, two years later. They are buried next to each other in the local churchyard.
Despite their somewhat unorthodox lifestyle, the Ladies weren't shunned by society, even though they made the conscious choice to live a somewhat secluded life of contemplation, which only added to their romantic aura. Despite their seclusion, they had many famous visitors including Byron, The Duke of Wellington, Wordsworth and Sir Walter Scott. Very intelligent and well-read, they also kept up regular correspondences with many of the leading lights of the 18th Century.
The Ladies were also hugely beloved in their adopted home because of their many good works and their constant support of the town. When they died they were deeply mourned by the locals, especially the poorer people whom they'd constantly helped.
Apart from the romantic story associated with the Ladies Of Llangollen, Plas Newydd itself is utterly delightful. I wasn't allowed to take photos inside the house but it's completely covered in a medley of old stained glass and wood carvings that the ladies rescued and reused to create a wonderful collaged effect. The word Cat and I kept using was 'charming' and it really is - we were very glad that we'd visited.
![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) catvincent on top of one of the stones outside Plas Newydd. This isn't an original stone circle, it was built about 100 years ago for an Eisteddfod but it's pretty funky nonetheless.
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Over at Up All Night Again, I've just posted the first in a series of articles about creating an online presence for artists. It's entitled Why Artists Need To Be Online and I'm quite proud of it. I don't want to repost it here because it's a bit specific but if you're interested, head over there and check it out.
And now I really need to get on with preparing to go away for the weekend. The Kidlet is going on a PGL holiday for a week (a mix of computer programming and outside adventure activities) and we're driving him up there tomorrow. Since it's catvincent and my 13 year anniversary on Sunday, we're going to take a short break in Snowdonia.
EDIT: We're actually going to be in Llangollen: I've just spent an hour researching and booking somewhere because of course I'd left it until the day before - yes, I just am that organised! Neither of us have visited Llangollen before but it looks gorgeous and we're both excited. We might drive over to Snowdonia but it looks like there's masses to keep us occupied in and around the town, including a ruined abbey and a nearby stone circle.
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touched
accomplished
