Neyland, Pembrokeshire, Wales: 18 July 2016
Day 18

Justin really doesn't feel well.  We went to the pharmacist this morning to get something to help.  He is pressing through but I know he feels puny.  We headed off westward toward St David's Cathedral today.  The roads are ubber narrow and the fences along the sides are covered with bushes.  I call them "haystacks" and even though there are wire fences under all the brush, they are a lot more forgiving than the stone walls I remember in Ireland. Today we drove through lots of haystacks.  I was driving and doing ok until in the middle of one of these haystacks, I met an oncoming tour bus.  I pulled over as far as I could, but the driver said there was no way he could make it.  Remember I am driving Lorayne's car and it has left hand drive.  I backed up a good two hundred yards in the haystack before we came to a space wide enough for us both to pass.  Good thing I am ok in reverse.
 
St David is the patron saint of Wales.  Situated in the most westerly part of Wales, the cathedral was built in the 9th century.  (How do they know that?  Really?  How do they know?).  The story goes that William the conqueror visited St David's to pray in 1081 and then in the 1100s the Pope decreed that two visits to St David equaled one visit to Rome... Thus the pilgrimage site was firmly established.  Mimi and I roamed a bit through both the ruins of the Bishops palace as well as through the refurbished church and the small town on this beautiful sunny afternoon.  

Inside the basilica at St David's

 I've read that a basilica can be so named because either the construction is such that the hulking has two naves and I've read that it is a basilica because the pope visited.  Both appear to be true according to Wikipedia.  In St David's , I learned that a cathedral is so named because it is the seat of the bishop.  So far, I haven't read anything to make me question that so I am going with it.
After getting the check mark in the church box for the day, we headed to the beach.  Pebble Beach, on the shore of the Celtic Sea, is a very long, sloping sandy beach.  Mimi and Justin and I walked and walked.  Gemma is ok with the beach, but she doesn't really like the water.  She ran and ran and was quite a happy pooch.  We were all very eager to soak in the sunshine.
Back to Dale for dinner at The Griffin Inn.  Mimi was especially pleased with her fish option given her gluten-free requirements.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather even more by sitting outside on the upper deck.