United Kingdom Trip Day 4: Cardiff, Wales

 

After a wonderful but crazy-busy Day 3 in London, we woke up the next morning and hit the ground running again. Why? Well, first off, there's no rest for the wicked, and secondly, we had a train to catch. So, we got up, got ready, and headed to the Underground. A few of the Underground stations also connect with the National Train Stations, Paddington being one of them. We got off at Paddington Station and walked through to the Paddington Train Station.

Our destination? Cardiff, Wales, for a quick overnight. This was Audrey's pick because she really wanted to hit up another country while we were in England. She found a Dr. Who walking tour, and since she's a big fan of the show, it seemed like a good enough excuse to visit.

The train got us to Cardiff in a little over three hours.

A brief walk took us right into City Centre. Cardiff is the same size, both geographically and population-wise to my city, Omaha, but much older. We had booked a hostel for the night as it was the only option. Turns out, the Cardiff Half Marathon was the next day which is why we couldn't find a standard hotel with availability 10 months prior. Not that I mind a hostel stay, not at all, but truth be told, our hostel couldn't have been any worse. I digress though, as that's a whole tale unto itself.

The Dr. Who walking tour was at 1:30 and we arrived around 11, so we left our bags back at the hostel's bar and ventured forth.

Down at the end of the main road, is Cardiff Castle. While there are a couple of buildings within that require paid admission, wandering around the inside grounds is free, so that's what we did.

Note: see that odd bit of wall on the bottom right-hand side of the castle? Fun fact, that's what's left of a Roman wall that has been here for centuries, and the castle repurposed what was left of into its walls. After the Mithraeum, the Roman history buff in me was thrilled to see more Roman history before my eyes.

In the large courtyard sits what I believe would have been the armory, but I don't know that for sure. You can also spy the back wall and gate of the castle. We were to meet our tour guide outside the castle gates, so it was a great way to kill some time. 

Now, I generally hate walking tours and this one was no different. All that standing around is not something I enjoy one bit and this tour lasted almost twice as long as it was supposed to. I nearly died, y'all!  

While I wasn't excited about the tour, our guide made sure to point out significant bits of Welsh history and Cardiff's history. I enjoyed that quite a bit and made me feel like I got more out of Cardiff than a quick overnight.

I took pictures of the city while we walked, and reminded myself to check out this bar later in the evening.

As someone who received their BA in Religious Studies and whose favorite parts of history are Roman and Knights Templar, I was excited that our guide brought us to an old church in the city: The City Parish of St. John the Baptist (aka St. John's).

I was even more thrilled to learn that the side chapel in the church was (and still is) dedicated to the sect of Knights Templar. You have my attention, sir!

Knights Templar flag and crest.

See the little Knights that adorn the top of each post? How cool is that?

A shot down the main chapel.

From this vantage point, I get a glimpse of the Knights Templar chapel.

Back out on the street, we saw a double-decker carousel. I've never seen one like that in my life.

Another stop on the tour was the New Theatre, located close to City Centre. Opened to the public in 1906, this theatre has been here for a long time.

After the tour finally ended and we had gotten another 20k steps day in, Keith went off to get souvenirs, while Audrey and I went to get dinner and a drink. As usual, I wanted to get authentic British food, so we went to Pieminister. I got the steak and bacon pie (yum), with a side of slaw, mushy peas, and gravy that automatically comes with each pie. I washed it down with an amazing Swedish cider that I drank plenty of while in the UK.

After that, Audrey went to the hostel to nap while Keith and I met back up and proceeded to hit up the town. We went to a pub called The Cottage which was just like most British pubs we have been to.

We hit up two more establishments before checking out the Brewery Quarter.

It was a double-decker space with restaurants and bars both up and down. We went to a few bars in here.

Since our hostel was in City Centre we were never more than a stone's throw from it all night long. This made it easy to drink a bit too much.

I have to say, I was struck by how different it was being in Cardiff compared to Omaha. The citizens do not sit in their houses all day staring at their phones. They are out and about, walking, playing at the park, shopping, visiting with friends, and just living life as it was meant to be lived. I loved it. Also, the Welsh really know how to party!  lol

We went to bed after this as we wanted to see a few more things in Cardiff before we caught the train back to London the next morning. That, then, will be part of my next post in this series. 

See you then!