Tea, Talk and Take it easy!

So, I am back. I have had a few days away from the laptop. and how refreshing it was. However, it is now back to my journey. As I am want to do, I have steered away from my path of travel and taken too many side roads so let’s get back on track!

I started my retirement journey and road back to health visiting the health club every morning for 9 months where I swam, ate and talked! Two years later I am not such a good visitor to the pool. I try, honestly and with this beautiful weather I make much more of an effort but my days are so busy now that I don’t make enough time for exercise. Shameful really. But there is nothing like a bit of exercise to give you the energy to attack each day with vim and vigour so I try and go as often as I can.  I exercised in the indoor and outdoor pool  – walking up and down, running up and down, a dreadful attempt at breast stroke up and down, float kicking up and down, dumb bells for arm strengthening and all this because I am not the world’s best swimmer!!  I also sit in the steam room for a couple of minutes and had the best compliment ever which I must tell you about! I walked in one morning and was asked if I was Italian. My hair stuck to my head, my mascara and eyeliner black around my eyes, my voluptuous body bursting out of my size 12 swimsuit (bought when I was a stone lighter, I must add)  and I’m asked by a swarthy,  dark gentleman in a strong Italian accent, “Are you Mediterranean?” to which I replied, “No, I am Welsh but I do speak some Italian.” “Ah!” came the reply, “when you aopened the door and awalk in I think you are Gina Lollobrigida!!!!”  Oh joy! Such beautiful words to lift the spirits and make you feel like a million dollars. Thank you kind stranger, never to be seen again!

Then came my flower arranging which was mentioned in a previous blog.

**An up date on that blog for a moment. **

I believe I mentioned that I have been asked to arrange a wedding posy. I have been practicing. What do you thing?

                     

                   

I am enjoying this and my house and garden looks beautiful!! I’m taking orders!!

Next came my socialising! This is the easiest part of being retired! Socialising and journeys! I feel I need to share with you, visitors to Wales especially, just a few of the wonderful places to chill out and relax and catch up while you eat – afternoons and evenings. There is a beautiful seaside town on the Swansea coast called Mumbles. Mumbles is a beautiful little gem of a seaside village with shops, cafes, bas and restaurants. This is one of our favourite meeting places. Tea or coffee to begin with, cruising the shops to follow and a nice light lunch to round off the day.

Cafe 93 is a lovely little cafe. My favourite here is the bagel and cream cheese with smoked salmon. The salads are large and the cakes and biscuits are wonderful. It’s a cosy little cafe a great place to relax and chat after a few hours window shopping.A great little novelty shop is Eden, and for some unusual clothes you must visit Splash! and Goose Island, Rowbbery’s for shoes, but only on the sale, and the hardware shop is like Aladdin’s cave. Visitors to this area need to visit the Lovespoons shop. You will find beautiful ly carved love spoons to take home. But no visit would be complete without a lick of a Joe’s ice-cream the best vanilla icecream this side of Italy. Vanilla is the best, in a cone or a tub with the chocolate sprinkles and nuts! The best!!

You could go a little up market and take a walk to Verdi’s. There you will have a beautiful view of the bay from the outdoor seating area and you have a choice of loads of flavour ice-cream. The apple crumble is wonder full .Not my picture. I borrowed it from Google images.

Another chat cafe to visit is a very small place in Ynys Tawe called No6hundred. A lovely café that serves tasty cakes, a well brewed pot of tea and yummy sandwiches to name  but a fe delicacies! You are surrounded by beautiful gifts, clothing, candles and jewellery it’s perfect place for a catch up or a relaxing, indulgent afternoon.

 

Another little gem is Cafe Chameleon in Ystradgynlais. small, quirky, friendly and full of atmosphere. The food is homemade and ‘different’. there is also a good selection of vegetarian dishes and healthy choices with pulses and beans of all sorts. Again, there are items all around you which are for sale and another great chat and catch-up place.

 

Close to home, one of my favourite catch-up cafes is a relatively new place here in Neath called Moruzzi’s. Full of character, friendly, busy a lovely cafe where shoppers gather to have lunch and tea and where I go simply to relax and chat with friends. A must on the menu is the pulled pork sandwich, the pasta and the home made lasagna is to die for!

I could go on for ever on this page but I think I will leave it at that for now. The walls of these little places hold a number of my stories deep in their crevices. They have helped me on my journey of recovery and they have now become places I go to chill. ;laugh, relax and sen my retirement hours! It’s such a shame they offer calories, especially when I started the page with the hours of exercise I once did!!