Swansea at Christmas
The Christmas spirit is all around the town now. Banners hanging about giving the dates of special seasonal events, Christmas lights and light pole banners throughout the city and Christmas trees decorating homes everywhere.
And with school winding down for the semester and getting ready for a long holiday break, I found myself without homework requirements and an opportunity to get out and about to do some shopping. So I headed out for Oystermouth and an afternoon in the busy little village.
Oystermouth is a lovely place on Gower with plenty of shops, a castle and loads of places to eat. I sound like a travelog, don’t I? Can’t help it, it really is a fun place to visit.
So I spent a lovely afternoon going in and out of shops, buying Christmas gifts for friends and family and treating myself to a bunch of treats. However what I enjoyed the most was the people. Because the one thing that you can count on in Wales is being able to converse with just about anyone whether you know them or not. Personally, I love the friendliness of the people here. And the pure joy of being able to meet people and share a conversation is something that is sorely missing in most of the United States. No one stops to visit when they see a neighbor - it’s a quick wave and you’re off. But here, it’s a part of the experience. When you grocery shop you talk to people. When you wait in queue in a bakery you visit with people. In an elevator at school, you fill the silence with comments. It’s a way of life.
I had a great chat with the proprietor of a gift shop today as we tried to figure out the size that would fit my wee grand-nephew. I enjoyed a visit with the lady in the lovespoon shop and exchanged a few laughs with the girl in the bakery.
A quick stop at Don’s for an ice cream with chocolate sprinkles and my day was complete. Does life get any better than this?