Cardiff for Easter

March 29 - Journey to Wales

Since Friday and Monday are part of the Easter Holiday and we were not required to be at the hospital, we decided to go to Wales to see some of the country and history.  We slept in a bit Friday before heading to the train station, then it was several changes of trains to get to Cardiff.  The last and longest train (2 hours from Crewe to Cardiff Central) was very crowded to the point Matt had to stand for the first part of the trip due to no seats.  Once we finally arrived in Cardiff we got a tourist map of the area, but our hotel was not on the map.  We took a bus and then discovered it was only a little ways off the map and an easy walking distance to Cardiff Castle and Cardiff Central.

Since we were tired from the 5 hours of train travel and it was already after 4pm, we decided to just walk down the road a little ways to find an ATM and somewhere to eat.  The ATM happened to be close to Llandaff Cathedral and a little corner of partially ruined castle wall that was very interesting.  While we could not go into the cathedral due to a service in progress, we did wander the grounds and saw a evenly round depressed area with a marker in the center where a bomb had apparently hit and destroyed part of the cathedral.  After the cathedral, we walked down to a local pub called the Black Lion for some fish and chips (very good) and talked to a local man that gave us some pointers on what we might want to see, including the cathedral we had just seen.  

As we had had a long day, we then called it a day and went back to the hotel where we actually had good internet access for free.  We stayed at a small hotel called Churchill Hotel (yes named after Winston) with only 20 or so rooms, but it was very cozy with good service and a nice breakfast.  The bed was not the most comfortable but it was still a nice little place within easy walking distance of the sites.

March 30 - Cardiff Castle & Doctor Who

We started Saturday with a full English breakfast and tea before starting the walk down to Cardiff Castle.  As my camera battery was dying I decided to take my cell phone as a backup camera as well, which turned out to be good fortune as I discovered the panorama mode.  Along the walk to Cardiff Castle there is a section of wall along the street called the Wall of Animals, containing a statue of an animal every few feet until you arrive at the castle entrance.  These animals were first made in the mid 1800’s and were the inspiration of a children’s book that was popular in Wales (I haven’t been able to find the actual title of the book but I know two of the characters were Remus and Romulus the Lions).

Once you enter the Cardiff Castle grounds you can see the remains of some of the old walls, the old Norman Keep, and the much added to Victorian Manor (once part of the main castle).  In some areas you can also see the walls to the original Roman fort that also stood there.  The oldest parts of the castle are 2000 years old, with the most recent sections (other than the tourist center) being built during the Victorian age in the 1800s.  The castle was also used as a bomb shelter during WWII, with some of the old posters and recordings of old radio announcements under the battlements.  In some areas the age of the old castle is amazing, while in the Victorian manor home it’s the opulence that astounds.  We spent the majority of the day wandering the grounds, climbing to the top of the keep, and touring inside the manor house.

 Panorama views of Cardiff Castle:  the Keep in the middle of the top, the Victorian Manor in the middle of the bottom.

 The Welsh Dragon in front of Cardiff Keep

A span of times...if you look closely you can see a trebuchet behind the canon.

Pictures from inside the manor:  Top - stained glass of Henry VIII & Jane (wife #3), Middle - fireplace in the great hall, Bottom - over fireplace in library (represent 5 ancient languages:  hebrew, arabic, runic, roman, greek)

We also decided to have our lunch at the Café at Cardiff Castle, braving a traditional Welsh dish called Cawl.  This is a stew like dish made with lamb, potatoes, carrots, and leeks served with cheese and a roll.  I also had an alcoholic cider with my lunch called Black Dragon (yes the name was half the reason I bought it).  I greatly enjoyed my lunch, cleaning every speck off my plate and using the bread to soak up the broth left at the bottom of my bowl.

After lunch, we did some shopping then decided to take a water bus down the river to Cardiff Bay.  The bay area was pretty and the boat ride a nice change of pass that also got us off our feet.  Once at the bay I decided to go to the Doctor Who Experience – yes, for those of you that don’t already know I’m a bit of a geek.  (Notice:  If you are unfamiliar with Doctor Who you may want to skip the rest of this paragraph.) This included a short interactive section where you help the Doctor escape the Pandorica 2 (it’s just like the first one, even the same color) and in the process must fly the TARDIS, escape the Daleks, and even avoid the Weeping Angels (of all the villains to choose from it just had to be angels in a mock forest with lights that turn on an off).  Then it was out into a museum like section where you could see the various props, a couple of the actual TARDIS sets and police boxes, and costumes.  I found it interesting but those of you that aren’t fans of the Doctor probably don’t care that much.

After Doctor Who, we hopped on a bus back to Cardiff Central so we could head back to our hotel.  On the way back, we stopped in at the Westgate for dinner and watched a little of the Rugby match that was being played in the stadium a couple blocks away.  I still don’t understand Rugby.  Then back to the hotel to Skype and talk to a few people.

March 31 - Easter Sunday

After Saturday, Sunday was pretty uneventful.  Full English breakfast again, check out of the hotel, and then the train ride back to Southport.  I did get some pictures of the Welsh countryside on the train ride.