Well that was a mission!
It's been a big few days of trip planning for me!
Insurance
First things first, before I started booking in anything non-refundable, I wanted to get our
travel insurance organised. Hubby and I both have pre-existing conditions, so took a while to get through the quoting process for probably half a dozen different providers. They were mostly around the same cost, but one was slightly cheaper and one slightly more expensive. The cheaper provider was the same one my parents have gone with, so we went with them too. Unfortunately it was Qantas that was the most expensive, so no bonus points for us
Beddgelert
Back to Wales, I booked our week in Snowdonia at a nice looking townhouse in a lovely looking village called Beddgelert. I had really been hoping to stay in one of the amazing stone cottages like this:
However, with accessibility limitations and wanting to be closer to a town it meant that we had to go with something with a little less character.
Still, it looks very nice inside, has lovely views from the upstairs windows, and the town itself has more than enough character to make up for it! Borrowed from google...
Beddgelert is a picturesque village in Snowdonia National Park, Wales, known for its stone cottages, traditional charm, and scenic location at the confluence of the River Glaslyn and River Colwyn. The townhouse is about a 1-2 minute walk downstream from here, directly across from the river but behind another house - maybe that one you can just see the roof of.
It's a popular tourist destination that offers a base for outdoor activities, with attractions like a station on the Welsh Highland Railway, walking trails to nearby mountains like Snowdon, and the famous legend of Gelert's grave. I get teary at the mere mention of this legend (even though it's just a legend and not a true story), and not sure if I'll be able to do the walk to Gelert's grave, but if it's something that interests you, feel free to do your own googling.
Llangollen
Before finalising our bookings, I just did some quick double-checks. Unfortunately the favourite for Llangollen didn't quite check out. One problem was that towels weren't supplied, but the bigger issue was the reviews for the other listings. This was one of several terrace houses in the same building, managed by the same owner. The one I was looking had decent reviews, but only 3 of them. The other ones also only had a few reviews each, but they were not as complimentary, with complaints about cleanliness and bad smells. Had the complaints been about something inconsequential I wouldn't have been as bothered, but cleanliness is pretty important, so it was back to the drawing board.
I considered several options - one large house for the 5 of us, splitting us up over 2 separate houses, also looking at guest houses - and sent off a number of enquiries. Many of the replies came back explaining that there were steep and uneven stairs, spiral staircases, stairs with no handrail, or the bedroom/bathroom that Grandma would need was on the attic level. So they were all out. I was definitely running out of options. I was starting to get a bit stressed out so, with the knowledge that it's only for 4 nights, Hubby and my parents told me to just pick one and we'd all be able to help Grandma manage. So this morning I finally pulled the trigger on a large 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom townhouse right in town. It's larger and grander (and more expensive) than what I was originally envisioning, but we will all be glad to have the room to spread out a bit by then. It's not a cute little stone cottage either, but does have some character in a more grand Art Deco kind of way. Towels aren't supplied here either (seems to be a thing in Llangollen), but we all decided we would be happy to buy some cheap towels to just leave there to make it work.
The final flight
I have been waiting and waiting for reward flight availability for my flight back from Hong Kong. Yesterday, I finally decided to do a bit more poking around. I started looking at nearby airports, thinking maybe there was something out of Singapore or KL that could work. Frustratingly, there was availability for a flight from Singapore VIA Hong Kong to Perth, but still no availability just for the flight from Hong Kong
I ended up seeing something available on the Sunday, so I've just jumped on that. There was even availability for premium economy, so I decided to splurge a little since Cathay Pacific is regularly regarded to have one of the best premium economy products in the world.
It wouldn't get me home until probably midnight the Sunday night, and luckily I have already organised to include that Monday in my leave. However, ideally I would really prefer to have an extra day for recovery, so if something comes up on the Saturday, I will change it.
Hong Kong
I also looked at Disney hotels in Hong Kong. I'm pretty much ready to pull the trigger on a Mickey themed room at the Hollywood Hotel. I've stayed at the Hollywood Hotel before, but before the update, and the rooms look super cute! I would always prefer Explorer's Lodge, but for a quick stopover just for me, I can barely justify the cost of Hollywood lol!
I wanted to use my AMEX to book, as there's a good bonus points offer on at the moment for foreign currency spend, but it was nearly at its (quite low) limit, so I had to make a payment and will finalise the booking once that's come through.
What places in Austria are you visiting? Will you be hiring a car?
