Saara van Rugge

Day One

For this trip we thought we would try a bus instead of the train. Although it is a slightly longer journey at three and a half hours, tickets were a quarter of the price of the train at £22.

The National Express Bus departs London for Cardiff from Victoria Coach Station. For new players, it's a good five minute walk from the Victoria Station (depending on where you are coming from). So if you haven't been before best check where it is before hand, otherwise you too will be boarding the bus with two minutes to spare. Also, there is a reason the only seats left on the bus were next to the toilet...another reason to get there extra early!

"What's Occuring?"

We arrived in Cardiff at 11:30am and made it our first priority to grab a coffee, and some Welsh Cakes. Trip Advisor gave us the hot tip that the best Welsh Cakes close to the bus stop were from Fabulous, a small shop right across from the Castle. Not only were they hot and fresh, but we could buy 12 for £5. Needless to say, they didn't last long.



Cardiff Castle 

Cardiff Castle was high on our Cardiff to-do list. We took our fresh welsh cakes and hot coffee, and headed in.

The hour or two we were expecting to spend inside turned into almost four, having been completely unaware of the how much there was to explore. The £13.50 ticket will give you access to the grounds, the fort, and the house, and an audio guided so you can explore at your own pace. You can also add on a guided house tour for an extra £3.75.

We were surprised to learn that the origins of the castle were Roman. The remains of the original Roman walls, that the current castle is built on today, were only under covered a few decades ago. The castle has changed plenty over the centuries, evident in the ruined walls within the grounds.

We climbed the steep stairs up to the fort, and then to the top of the fort itself for an amazing view all over Cardiff and the surrounding valley.



The house too has seen many additions and alterations over hundreds of years by famous architects and designers. The architecture, decoration and craftsmanship is amazing, and definitely worth the visit.

As a World World buff, I also took particular interest in the walk through the castle walls, used as an air raid shelter during World War II.




Cardiff City

After checking into our hotel, we had an emergency wardrobe malfunction which required an immediate shopping expedition. Thankfully, it is as though half of Cardiff CBD is in fact a shopping centre, and St David's mall met all our shopping needs.

Cardiff comes alive on a Saturday night! There are plenty of places to eat, drink, and party. We decided on an Italian restaurant just away from the main area. Unlike everyone else in Cardiff, we weren't feeling so lively after a long day.


Cardiff Bay

8pm and with the summer sun still shining, we walked the twenty minutes down Bute Street to Cardiff Bay.

Keen to see the Millennium Centre and the Pierhead building, we seized the opportunity to take a few photos and check out the bay. I thoroughly enjoyed the water front which reminded me of home. Here you can also find National Assembly Building. Cardiff Bay has plenty of water front restaurants if you are keen to get away from the hustle and bustle of the CBD.

We walked back the much nicer Lloyd George Avenue, after attempting to hire bikes in the failing light and lack of phone battery.




Day Two
Armed with more coffee, we assembled at the John Batchelor Statue ready for the 11am Frogo Free walking tour with our guide Eugene. I absolutely love these walking tours. Every new city I visit I do another, I find out more about a city than I ever would by myself. And Cardiff with Eugene was no different.

For two and a half hours we walk through the streets of Cardiff, learning about the history of the city, the country of Wales, the food (of course), the Bute Family and the Castle.





After hearing about Madame Fromage from several people on the tour we just had to go there for lunch. Madame Fromage, located into the Castle Arcade is absolute cheese heaven! Adrienne had the traditional lamb stew, while I chose the vegetarian option - Goats Cheese toastie with salad. Now I am not kidding when I say cheese heaven!



After lunch we took a walk through the beautiful Bute Park that boosts an impressive collection of nationally significant trees. We were then onward to Sophia Garden to board the bus home.



Cardiff was not at all what I expected. It was quite wonderful really.



All my love, S