Cardiff!

CARDIFF!

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel quite a bit in the last week and half.  Most of that time was spent in Ireland with my family, and was wonderful!!  So much fun! But my travels began with my husband a few days before.  Our first trip was just a day trip, but was one of my favorites!  On Saturday we took the train (for only £7.70 round trip!) to Cardiff.  It was a great city.  Right when you leave the train station you see the huge Millennium Stadium, home to the Wales Rugby team.  It was built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup and holds up to 74,500.  Made me wish I had been able to go to the Rugby match the previous weekend even more.

                                                              (picture from Wikipedia)

Millenium Stadium 

When we arrived we wondered off the train and just walked around for a little while.  For some reason we both wanted a doughnut, and lucky for us we happened upon a Krispy Kreme (wish granted!).  Now, I know that Krispy Kreme is not exactly authentic Welsh or British food, but it was just what we wanted. 

So after our American breakfast of glazed doughnuts and lattes, we continued to wonder around.  The city had all of these great covered alleys with all kinds of shops that led to large pedestrian streets with even more shopping.

Shopping in Cardiff

Some there were many modern chains like H&M and Top Shop, but there were also small local shops of all kinds.  If I had money I would love to spend more time in Cardiff!  However, since I don't, we moved on to the tourist attractions.

We were planning on jumping on the open-top tour bus, and knew we were supposed to catch it at the Castle.  We weren't quite sure where the castle was, but knew it was not far from the train station, so we just wondered for a little bit and sure enough ran right into it.  It was quite amusing really, we turned a corner... and there was a castle!  Not something that happens in the States.

Cardiff Castle

So we took the bus around the city.  I'm not sure if it was totally worth the cost, but I'm sure we wouldn't have seen as much of the city otherwise, so I guess it was.  If we would have had more time we would have gotten off and looked around the bay area because I've heard it's really nice, and I'm sure would have been extra exciting the weekend we went since the Canoeing World Cup was taking place there.  However, we didn't have a ton of time, so we just rode around once and saw everything.  We did hear about a very unique restaurant they will be opening soon called the Clink.  It is unique because it will be in the prison located in the middle of the city, and the inmates will be the employees of the restaurant.  I would love to hear about this if anyone does go there!

When we got back we went into the castle.  It was really cool to see and hear about its history.  Well worth the visit.

In front of the original castle.

While we were there I saw a poster about a jousting competition that was going to be taking place the next weekend.  I wasn't able to make it, but Sarah, who works at the International Development Office did and said it was really cool.  I stole this picture from her:

                                                                             Picture taken by Sarah Spitzauer
Jousting at Cardiff Castle

After the castle we decided to walk over to the art gallery that was only a couple of blocks from the castle, and on our way there we were quite surprised to see a naked bike ride going through town.  There were probably about 100 riders.  I did not know this at the time, but they were riding to raise awareness of cyclists and the dangers they face on the road.  (I think I will skip this picture).  We went on to the museum.  The building itself was quite nice.

After our visit to the museum we caught a train back to Swansea in time for dinner at the Bryn where we watched the beginning of one of the Euro Cup games.  Definitely a great day!  I would highly recommend a trip to Cardiff to anyone!!


Fun Phrases: 

"Proper" I know this isn't a new word to most of you, but I love the way the Welsh use it.  They use it sort of like the word very.  For example, someone said a lid to a bottle was "proper stuck" when they couldn't get it open.

"Toilet" Again, I realize you all know this word, but here in Wales, they use the word toilet instead of bathroom.  So people always ask where the toilets are, not where the bathrooms or restrooms are.

"Rubbish" means trash.