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JD Vance says Welsh castle was ‘coolest thing I’ve ever seen’
US Vice-President JD Vance has revealed that a 2013 visit to Caernarfon Castle in north Wales left him profoundly moved, describing it in a new memoir as "the coolest thing I've ever seen and it's not particularly close". The disclosure comes in an excerpt from his book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, published in The Sunday Times, in which he links the trip to a broader shift in his outlook on life and marriage.
Vance visited the 13th-century UNESCO World Heritage site with his wife, Usha, who studied at Cambridge, drawn partly by its history as the location of King Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969. He writes that the castle's age, far older than any building in his native Cincinnati, gave him a striking sense of "the scale of time" and human insignificance within it. The couple also breakfasted at a local pub, visited Conwy Castle, and met Welsh utility workers who turned out to be fans of his conservative writing, an encounter he called "hilarious". Vance says the trip established a lasting habit for the couple of seeking out authentic, off-the-beaten-path experiences when travelling.
In short
- JD Vance calls his 2013 Caernarfon Castle visit the "coolest thing" he's seen
- Comments feature in his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith
- Trip shaped his outlook on time, marriage and off-the-beaten-path travel
Explained simply
JD Vance is the current Vice-President of the United States. A new memoir he has written includes reflections on how a 2013 trip to Wales profoundly affected his personal outlook.
That trip took him to Caernarfon Castle in north Wales, a medieval fortress built in the 13th century. The castle is the location where King Charles was formally invested as Prince of Wales in 1969.
In his memoir, Vance describes how the visit gave him a striking sense of the scale of time and human insignificance within it. He says the experience established a lasting habit for him and his wife of seeking out authentic experiences when travelling.
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