Llandudno

Llandudno has no castle and no medieval city wall. It had no need. This city didn’t exist until the mid-1800s — and the Victorian obsession with holidays by the sea. It is beautifully preserved with its picturesque pier, waterfront promenade, and brightly colored Victorian hotels. It’s still a popular holiday resort. On the train down to Llandudno (pronounced Clan-did-no) a Syrian man sat next to me and asked for help with his ticket. He spoke very little English and could not read English script at all. His ticket was on his phone but the translation on the app was clunky. It has to be so frustrating looking at a document in a different writing system and trying to decipher it. I helped him find his transfer information and showed him where the Arabic translation was. He had been in a bit of a panic so he was so relieved. He was very grateful and told me he loves Americans “but not Biden.” He searched for the words to explain that he has five children and brought his family to the UK because of the war in Syria. He found work through the UN. He wanted to thank me for helping him but what he came up with was, “You’re very cute.” He followed that up with “Americans are cute.”Read more