Discovering Wales

by Laurence Lugiez and Joëlle Pace (level A2)

Photos by Joëlle Pace 

We had a really wonderful trip to Wales ! We were 25 students of English from the UIAD accompanied by Melanie Brumberg.

We left Geneva by plane to land in Bristol. Our local guide, who travelled with us in the car, commented on the different visits. In Bath, we discovered this town with its well-preserved Roman baths.

After, we visited Cardiff, the capital of Wales : we saw its magnificent castle renovated by the family Bute. In the evening, some of us went to test the atmosphere in the pubs and see the die-hard and somewhat alcoholic supporters of the All Blacks against France, first match of the Rugby World Cup 2023 !

Others preferred to listen to lyrical songs in the renowned "Millenium Centre".

In the north of Cardiff, in Blaenavon, the visit of the coal mines was essentiel to understanding the great industrial boom (in the 18th century). The descent into the underground galleries gave us a little thrill of adrenalin, but the humorous comments from the old miners were very funny !

Laurence

We went to the Wales with a teacher from the UIAD, Melanie Brumberg, from the 7th to the 15th of September 2023. She was a great teacher as she talked to each of us, all the time.

We went to Cardiff, the capital, where three thousand inhabitants live. Three million inhabitants  live in Wales.

In each town, there was a castle, open air, very imposing, with a beautiful story. Every town was built around this castle.

The funny thing about this country was that there were eleven million  sheep to three million
 people. Also, Welsh people speak a similar language (Welsh) to French people from Brittany.

On every road sign, we saw both languages (Welsh and English).

In the pubs, there was a nice atmosphere and people were very friendly, speaking to us.

This was a great experience and a very good trip.

Joëlle