Travel Notes – Cardiff, Wales

Sunday, June 25th, 2006

I only got to stay one night in London before taking the train to Cardiff where I was supposed to meet my crazy travel buddy. I managed to convince Ojisan’s missus to come along and we made our way to Paddington Station three Sundays ago. We sat at Krispy Kreme before leaving and we also bought some strawberries and hashbrowns to eat on the train. Before long, we were on our way.

The trip itself was short. We arrived in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, in less than three hours. Rather than taking the bus or taxi, we decided to walk to the hotel from the train station to get our bearings. The temperature was moderately warm and the walk was pleasant. I stopped every few minutes or so to take pictures of the most trivial objects that caught my eyes, it was hilariously silly.

My crazy travel buddy arrived an hour later and the room was suddenly filled with three girls, all talking at the same time. I was still jetlagged and maybe that explained why I fell asleep at six that day after returning to the hotel from dinner.

The next day we started our hols by visiting Cardiff Castle, or better known to the Welsh people as Castell Caerdydd. The thing I remember most about this day was how beautiful the sky was. It was a bright blue with white ribbon streaks decorating its ceiling. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the castle and I only managed to take one shot of its ceiling and the castle grounds from one of the top rooms.

There were peacocks as we stepped onto the grass to feel the summer sun and made our way to the little Tea Room at the lower level of the castle. Here, I had a bottle of pineapple juice and a traditional english scone. It was delicious! We continued to explore the city and the first thing we did was get on the Hop On Hop Off bus (I can picture someone smiling upon reading this bit) to see where everything is located.

Cardiff Bay was gorgeous and the Wales Millennium Centre was just marvelous. I had barbecued ribs for lunch at Cardiff Bay and bought some things to take back from the Millennium Centre. I walked above Roald Dahl Pass and felt the evening summer wind blow on my skin. We went to the National Museum and were allowed to take pictures inside but had to sign a declaration confirming that we won’t be exhibiting those pictures on the internet, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to show you all the wonderful things we saw there. I saw the Town Centre and the university. I passed by the park and smiled upon seeing people lie on the green grass, enjoying the bright summer afternoon. It made me appreciate even more all the small wonders we’re blessed to have in our lives.

I spent the last day in Cardiff wandering around the Central Market and city centre area. I ate my last meal there in a nice little restaurant, Truffles, on Church Street and had a healthy serving of traditional fish and chips with vinegar and green peas. It was past noon when I parted with my travel buddies and took the taxi to Cardiff International Airport to head off to my next destination. As my plane took off, I opened my camera and flicked through the 339 pictures I managed to capture during my three-day visit in Wales. Little did I know that Edinburgh was going to take my breath away even more.

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