A slight exaggeration

Up long before dawn, who probably had a lie-in, and drove over the hills of South Shropshire to Ludlow station. The most stunning early morning views I've ever seen, in fact quite a match for Ansell Adams. Unfortunately I was running bang on time and no time to stop and shoot the views. So after a train trip across most of Wales all I got was the Grand Hotel at Swansea. Maybe it was once, or maybe it is what passes for grand in Swansea, but it doesn't compare with the Grand Hotel of Brighton, of infamous memory, or the Grand Hotel of Balbec, where so many dreams are created.
Proust