Our Day Exploring Cardiff

Before Claudio arrived in Europe, I'd made a list of places for us to visit together in the UK, and Cardiff was one of the places on that list. I'd been there back in January last year and really enjoyed exploring the city, especially the castle. However, by the time Claudio got here, non-essential travel to Wales was banned, so we thought we wouldn't be able to go. But fortunately, after Lockdown 2 was over, we were allowed to travel from England to Wales for tourism purposes. I was very happy that we had the chance to visit another country in the UK!

We took the train to Cardiff from Swindon, which was actually an unexpectedly memorable experience. A man on the train wearing a balaclava was acting strangely, and went and hid in the toilet for most of the journey. Once we arrived in Cardiff, he finally emerged and we could hear him being questioned by the staff and telling them that his name was "Wolf". And then after we'd passed the ticket barriers, we saw him go through, following right behind someone else (as he didn't have a ticket). The station staff started shouting at him, but he ran outside before they could catch him. It was a weird, but also entertaining start to the day!

When we got outside, we discovered that it was absolutely tipping it down with rain - not ideal for sightseeing. But we decided to persevere!

Naturally, we headed for the castle, and on our way there we saw the impressive St John the Baptist Church, the only medieval building in the city apart from the castle.

Then we went inside the grounds of the castle! The interior wasn't open to visitors, but the public square was free to enter. It was very quiet, but there was a lot going on there compared to the previous time I'd visited, including a German Christmas market, a Christmas lights display, and an Alice in Wonderland display.

Claudio was really amazed by the castle, and he said that it was one of the best things he'd seen in the UK. It really is a dramatic-looking place, especially in the rainy weather.

Next we went to Bute Park, which is just next to the castle. It was very muddy there but still a nice place to walk. This is where you can find the Gorsedd Stone Circle, which looks very similar to Avebury but which was actually installed in 1978!

There are also great views of the castle from the park. 

The next place we went to see was the City Hall, a very grand and beautiful building.

After having lunch in St David's Dewi Sant mall, we went off to explore another part of the city, Cardiff Bay. I hadn't managed to go there on my previous visit, as it's quite a long way from the city centre, and I'd ran out of time. 

Luckily this time, I had some Uber vouchers courtesy of my side hustle doing online surveys, so it only took us 5 minutes to get down there.

Cardiff Bay looks like the ocean, but it's actually a man-made lake, with the sea just beyond its boundaries. The part we arrived in was a retail area called Mermaid Quay (what a name!) and it was a very attractive place. We were quite intrigued as to why there were Swedish flags there!

Many of the capital's most famous buildings are in the bay, including the Pierhead Building...

...the Senedd, which is the Welsh parliament building...

...the Millennium Centre...

...and the Norwegian Church. This is actually now an arts centre with a café, but unfortunately it's closed at the moment. It was still very cool to see such a typically Scandinavian building in the UK. It brought back memories of Skansen in Stockholm!

After exploring Cardiff Bay, we took the Uber back to the train station and just managed to board the train with a minute to spare! It had been a very tiring and rainy day in the capital of Wales, but we had had a fantastic time.

Claudio really enjoyed visiting Wales for the first time, and we'd like to go back there again and see different parts of the country. Here's hoping we can do that in the relatively near future!

My Day Trip to Cardiff

Last week, I left England for a day to visit Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. I'd been there before in 2012 when my family and I were lucky enough to get tickets to watch an Olympic football match at the Millennium Stadium. That was a great day, but I don't remember seeing that much of the city itself. Recently I started wanting to go back, after finding out about Cardiff Castle. I love visiting castles, so when I had the opportunity to take a day trip last week, I decided it was the destination I most wanted to go to!

On the train to Cardiff, we passed through Newport. There were great views of Newport Castle next to the river. I tried my best to take a decent photo, but it wasn't easy!

Stepping out of Cardiff Central Station, I was immediately reminded of the fact that I had arrived in a capital city. The station is located in a big square with the headquarters of BBC Wales directly opposite. For me, it's a great thing that within two hours, I can go from my house in a small village to a big city in a different country (sort of)!

My first sightseeing stop was the castle. Apparently, Wales has more castles per square mile than any other country! Last year, I enjoyed seeing Chepstow Castle, so I was intrigued to find out how Cardiff's version compared. I definitely wasn't disappointed. Even its outside wall is an impressive sight.

I'd bought a ticket online, so I was able to start exploring the grounds of the castle straight away. Firstly, I went up inside the keep, which is probably the most famous part. From the top, there are amazing views across the city. You can see the Millennium Stadium and the City Hall, depending on which part you look out from.

The Welsh dragon in the centre of the grounds is a nice touch! Afterwards, I went into the main building to look around the castle apartments, which are very ornate. My favourite room was the Arab Room, which is decorated in a beautiful Arabic style.

Next to the castle, you can find Bute Park. Along the park's wall is a series of statues of different animals. Unsurprisingly, this is called the Animal Wall!

Next, I made my way to the National Museum. On my way there, I saw the City Hall, which is a beautiful building.

The National Museum is a great place to visit. What makes it even better is that entry is free! Dippy, the dinosaur skeleton replica from the Natural History Museum in London, is currently on display there.

The museum has a natural history section as well as an art gallery. The art gallery has a brilliant selection of paintings by some of the most famous artists of all time. I especially liked the Impressionism section, where you can find two versions of Waterlilies by Monet.

I had wanted to visit the Norwegian Church Arts Centre at Cardiff Bay, but it's a long distance from the city centre, and I wanted to get the train back before rush hour. But I had time to see the River Taff before going home.

I really enjoyed my trip to Cardiff and I'm sure I'll return in the future. 

Over the next month, I'm going to be busy getting ready for my big move back to Chile. Before going to Santiago, I'll be spending a few days in Buenos Aires, and I've also got a day trip to Uruguay planned, so I'm very excited about it all!