Today was a
surprisingly good day – we had heard much bagging of Cardiff before we headed
there but we enjoyed our afternoon and evening here thoroughly!
We’ve got
behind in our journaling so Roni has decided to start writing daily and ‘fill
in the gaps’ when we can...to keep from getting any further behind...hope that’s
ok for anyone still reading!
Sleeping on
the couch at Clare’s was warm and snug, slept well apart from when Roni kicked
Bray in the head while asleep... Woke up early and had a piece of toast with a
drink to wake us up before heading to the Tube. We left early in order to miss
the ‘mad hour’ on the Tube! From Clapham Common, to Stockwell then
Victoria...all without delays and only having to let one train go due to not
being able to fit in the doors!
Once in the
vicinity of Victoria Coach Station we found a cafe with coffee & croissant
combo for a fair price and free wifi so set up shop there for an hour or two.
After catching up on some emails, news from NZ and general communications we
walked down to catch our bus. The bus left at 1030 without a hitch and drove
straight to Cardiff.
We stepped
off the bus into biting wind but clear skies. Following the directions we had
found online we were going well until the use of street signs petered out... We
carried on nonetheless for some time before Roni had enough and approached a
local for directions to the street we hadn’t been able to find. He gave us
directions to our accommodation instead – thank you Mr Welshman!!
We found
Nomad Hostel, checked in then headed out toward the Bay – had checked online
and rain forecast for tomorrow so wanted to get any ‘big walking’ out of the
way today!
Off we
trotted past HM Prison (walls 3x Roni height), Cardiff Magistrates Court (which
has a cool tile like mural), Cardiff International Arena and John Lewis before
finding Bute Street – our road to the water! Past numerous churches and South
Wales Islamic Centre we made it to historic Butetown. Took photos of historic
pubs, the Red Dragon centre and a few pieces of graf before purchasing hot
chips at a kiwi-themed burger place on the water as we realised no lunch had
been consumed and it was now after 3pm. Then we walked around Mermaid Quay,
past Techniquest and the big hotels to the wetland. Saw some adolescent swans,
a great sunset and some cool views before making our way back around the water
and through Roald Dahl Plass, past Pierhead Building and back towards town.
We had
spotted one of the two ‘historic pubs’ still going strong in Cardiff on our way
out of town so decided to grab a pint there and maybe have a game of pool. The Packet is down in Butetown and Golden Cross closer to town – we went to
the Golden Cross for a local beer
(Brains) and two games of pool. After that we decided to stay for dinner as
they had 2 for 1 steak dinners cheaper than in NZ even! We got the mixed grill
and a sirloin, both came with onion, tomato and chips – yum!
After
letting our kai settle we headed uptown to check out the lights and evening
life. AWESOME! Roni was like a little kid with the Christmas lights and we
ooh-ed and aah-ed (while taking numerous pics) then wandered all over the
centre of town. There are SO many Christmas lights and trees everywhere, with
giant stars on the castle, Christmas trees lit up in every window of the town
hall’s second floor and a ‘Winter Wonderland’ set up outside the museum with
ice skating, rides, lights, mulled wine, nutcrackers, and more twinkling
lights! We people watched and wandered about before succumbing to the
smells...Bray bought two hot fresh donuts (mini ones) and got Roni her first ever
bag of candy floss. Much excitement – though she was weirded out by how it
feels like eating cotton wool and concerned with the ‘correct way’ of eating
it! After this we wandered back through the sparkling lights toward home
(discovering a street lit entirely with purple lights – thoughts of Lara and
TA!). We inadvertently took the long way home but made it there eventually.
Lovely being completely warm again, in a building and to snuggle under the
blankies with a movie!
Sleep was
not long in coming after a full on day.
