Cardiff, Wales

Our Cardiff Journey began early Friday morning.  We left Vandon House around 8 AM to head towards Paddington Rail Station.  I only get up before 8 AM when I have my internship, so this was stretch for me.

It was about a two and a half hour train ride and we arrived around noon.  Our first  goal was to find the water and eat the peanut butter sandwiches that we had made.  On our walk we met two very interesting people.  The first was a lady, probably in her 40s with a very unique appearance.  She was wearing skinny jeans, a screen printed t-shirt under a leather jacket, had a few choice piercings, crooked, yellowed teeth, and ratty hair.  Needless to say she wasn't a choice encounter.  My whole group was taking a picture of a statue when she heartily came up and offered to take a picture of the four of us.  I said sure, hoping someone else would offer their camera, but no one budged.  Then she said "I swear I won't run off with your camera".  I'm not sure if I was supposed to be comforted by that, but in the end I sized her up and figured I could take her if she tried anything so I hand over my camera and she took a lovely picture of us.  AFter she gave back my camera she proclaimed, "Now you will always remember Maria, from Cardiff!"  She is right, I don't think I could forget her.

This is the picture Maria took.

Maria left me wondering whether or not this was a genuinely friendly place or if Maria was just some  oddity.  We were making our way to the water when we paused to consult the map.  A young man came up and asked us if we were lost.  He was so genuine in wanting to help, and had this perfect little accent, that I kinda melted a bit.  He told us the prettiest road to go down and we both went on our ways.  We never got his name but I don't think I can forget him either just because he was so genuine.  His only downfall was the hideous zip up sweater he wore.  The fashion during the day reminded me of an old fashioned sea town.  There were a lot of older couples strolling along the streets.

The modern Opera House.

Finally we made it to the bay.  There was a carousel, a church and several restaurants by the water.  We sat down to eat.  As soon as we got comfortable a small boat docked, people got out, and the driver began announcing his next departure towards Cardiff Castle.  That was exactly where we were heading next so planned to take the water taxi.  It would have been nice if that's where this part of the story ended, but the man seriously would not shut up.  For a solid half hour he would either speak in to a loud speaker or shout his advertisement.  I was getting really sick of it.  Luckily the ride was well worth it.  I got some great video and pictures.  We got to see Millennium Stadium from the water, and that was probably the highlight.  That and passing the Brains factory.

The river.  It was such a nice day out.

The Brains Factory.  See all the Kegs?

We hopped off the water Taxi and went directly to the Cardiff Castle.  It cost students £9.50 to enter but I think it was worth it.  We had so much fun in there.  You have access to basically everything, and you can take photos everywhere, which is rare.  I took about a million.  I took more photos in Cardiff than I did in Paris.  Inside the Castle there is a war museum at the bottom of the information building.  Inside it features military apparel throughout the years and there was this awesome little corner where you got to try some stuff on.  We had lots of fun there.  It combined history and the girly love of dress up.  You can't really go wrong with that.

Check out that awesome jump in front of the Castle Keep.

The Roman Entrance

That building is where the lord would have lived.

A view of Cardiff from the top of the Keep.

Inside the Castle.

I'm the one pointing.  We had fun.  It's me, Stephani, Sarah, and Jessica.

I make that uniform look good!

After the castle we went exploring for a good souvenir shop.  Along the way we found the longest place title in the world.  No one knows how to pronounce it partly because it is in Welsh and partly because it is so freaking long.  Consult the picture below for proof.

We went through several arcades, which are like inclosed alleyways that feature shops.  Our next venture was into the National Museum but only saw one room before we sat down to rest.  It was a short rest though because they were shutting down.  It was only 5 but the whole town was starting to shut down so we went searching for a place to finish our night.  We ended at a place called The Yard.  After a confusing few minutes of trying to figure out what to do when we entered we found a table and ordered.  I got a salt beef sandwich a washed it down with a Welsh beer called Brains.  We had seen signs for Brains everywhere in town, and I just thought it was the Welsh word for Beer, but it's an actual type of beer, and surprisingly it's delicious.  I might even call it my favorite beer.  It's just soooo smooth.  I got myself a cup for a keepsake.

My meal, complete with a brains beer.

We left Cardiff at 8:30 fully satisfied with our day.  When we were back at Vandon House I basically went straight to bed.  I had a long day ahead of me, because Saturday I was seeing my old friend Katy in Oxford.  That update is next.

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Pip Pip Cheerio!