Day 25: July 15th

We decided to do a hop on hop off bus tour around Cardiff to get our bearings. Well that was not entirely easy as it is not clear just which are the sightseeing bus stops, even with the online route map. However we eventually found a nearby one after asking several different bus drivers. Some of the stops have signs but not others. We got a seat upstairs and undercover which was good as it rained most of the time. The commentary was pretty reasonable.
Half way around we encountered a school trip of 8 or 9 year olds. They were pretty good considering some had to sit in the pouring rain but kids do have a tendency to stare at anything different and I found their curious scrutiny of my bruises and swollen nose a bit unnerving. Mike’s tooth was much better but he had a sore head most of the day (possibly a migraine in the night) so we had a quiet day of sitting and looking! The photos are limited as I didn’t have much time out in the open part of the bus. The kids exited the bus at the museum but rejoined the same one as us after we went to the castle. We were happy just to ride it around the route but it didn’t really improve our understanding of the layout of Cardiff, even though it is pretty compact. Probably the lack of landmarks.

Outside the newest shopping centre and looking back to the Radisson Blu in the background.

When we were in Porthmadog there was a sign in the kitchen which said “Happiness is a warm Welsh cake”. Then when we got to Tenby there were 2 Welsh cakes on a plate with the tea and coffee. We hadn’t realised they were an actual food item. So when we went past a store that had them making Welsh cakes we just couldn’t resist. Mike is supposed to take the antibiotics with food in any event. They look like pikelets but are crunchier. Maybe a cross between a pikelet and a sweet scone with sugar sprinkled on the outside. We went to the bar next door and had a coffee and Mike discovered that Welsh cakes don’t all have good structural integrity. Good thing he didn’t have far to go for a replacement.

The Fabulous Welsh Cake Shop. It’s directly opposite the entrance to the castle.

We didn’t go into the castle as it was drizzly and we’ve seen lots of castles. You can go down to the original Roman wall that they have discovered below the present Norman walls. It is beautifully decorated and parts that they have excavated are painted and gilt with gold leaf. Truly amazing and you don’t have to pay to see that either.

This is part of the decorated Roman wall that is down below and just inside the present outer walls. We only found it when we were looking for the loo!

You can get in through the outer walls without paying but the castle itself is on this small hill inside the outer walls.

It wasn’t quite like this photo suggests. They do a pretty good job of stopping you from getting good photos unless you’ve paid.

The city centre is largely pedestrianised with a series of interconnected arcades and shopping malls. We actually finished the bus tour at the castle and it was less than a 10 minute walk across the shopping area to our hotel. The hardest part is working out which direction to walk in!

We found the restaurant area of the central city while looking for the bus stop earlier in the day so found the nearest place out of the rain and were glad to secure a table. I had the steak which was cooked well and tasted good and Mike had the beef pie which was on special. It was pretty noisy with lots of people out on a Saturday night. Even at 8.30 there were some that needed to go home! We were glad to have an early night and nurse our colds and headaches. What a pair!